How to Tackle Eco-Anxiety, According to the Experts

Eco-anxiety is a uniquely modern phenomenon. Eco-anxiety itself is not considered a “disease”; however, the American Psychology Association describes it as the “chronic fear of environmental cataclysm that comes from observing the seemingly irrevocable impact of climate change and the associated concern for one’s future and that of the next generations.”

Who Is Affected by It?

Eco-anxiety can affect anyone of any age. However, it is most likely to affect those who might have the most to lose from climate change. In many cases, these are young people. The youth non-profit organization Force of Nature finds that over 70 percent of young people feel hopeless in the face of climate change, while 3 out of 4 teachers feel ill-equipped to deal with climate change.

According to Britt Wray’s book Generation Dread, about 45 percent of young people felt that climate change had a negative impact on their daily lives, and many expressed doubts about having children because of the uncertain future.

Beyond age, your physical proximity to the effects of climate change can increase your chances of experiencing eco-anxiety.

One study found that of 10,000 people between the ages of 16 and 25, 92 percent of young people in the Philippines felt that the future was frightening, whereas that figure was 56 percent in Finland.

Beyond proximity, the news cycle that highlights the worst forms of climate breakdown can add to a sense of helplessness surrounding the climate crisis, too.

What Are the Symptoms?

The symptoms of eco-anxiety can be broken down into five different categories: emotional, cognitive, behavioral, social, and physical.

While eco-anxiety may not be considered a disease, it mirrors the symptoms of traditional anxiety.

These symptoms may include persistent feelings of sadness or depression related to the state of the environment and the future. They may also relate to mourning the loss of ecological environments, otherwise known as “ecological grief.”

Cognitively, they may result in over-thinking or constant rumination about the planet, which has also been reported to result in a withdrawal from social relationships. Eco-anxiety has also been reported to result in physical symptoms such as weight loss or sleep disruption.

What Can We Do to Ease the Feeling of Eco-Anxiety?

I recently chaired a roundtable discussion held by the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Save Soil on the topic of eco-anxiety and how to cope with it. As stated during the discussion by Dr. Emma Lawrance, the Climate Cares Centre Lead and Mental Health Lead for the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, many of the solutions to eco-anxiety create a virtuous cycle effect, whereby they can help with climate change too.

Deliberate Time in Nature

Dr. Emma Lawrance noted that spending deliberate time in nature is one such example. Spending time in nature has been shown to have a positive impact on our mental health, especially if we are grappling with the impacts of eco-anxiety. More time in nature, especially for children, has been shown to harness their attention and enhance their cognition.

Yet this has a secondary benefit. Spending time in nature can help give us the motivation to turn anxiety into action.

Forge Connections With Like-Minded People

Similarly, Dr. Emma Lawrance spoke about just how crucial it is to forge connections with like-minded people. Eco-anxiety is caused by the fear of the uncontrollable and the unknown, which can lead one to shut down and go inward. Forming connections can prevent that from happening.

Climate Anxiety Essential Reads

Child Mental Health and Climate Change Adaptation

Climate Anxiety in Make-Believe Mirrors Real Time

Connection is essential for our general sense of well-being. In fact, the longest-ever study conducted, known as the Harvard Study of Adult Development, shows how human connection is the single indicator that can predict a healthy, happy life. In fact, the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, released an advisory calling attention to loneliness, a public health crisis in the U.S.

As noted by Benedikt Bosel, an agricultural economist and regenerative farmer, during our panel discussion, aligning your profession with your passion for the environment can help to turn a feeling of powerlessness into one of agency, especially when that profession surrounds you with those who have similar beliefs.

Embrace Your Feelings Without Judgment

As stated during the session by Akila Rayapuraju, speaker at the roundtable event and project administrator at the Sadhguru Centre for a Conscious Planet in Boston, accepting your feelings non-judgmentally can be the key to using these emotions to trigger positive action.

By observing our feelings from a position of objective observation, we can avoid the trap of rumination and understand our emotions with clarity.

Practice Empathy Towards Yourself and Others

Eco-anxiety can be tied to feelings of guilt for your own impact on the planet, along with resentment towards others. Model, science communicator and sustainability psychologist Zinnia Kumar noted how divisive forms of environmentalism can breed intolerance for yourself and others.

Practicing deliberate internal and external empathy has been shown to alleviate feelings of anxiety. When applied to eco-anxiety, this could also help us to build the communities we need.

Develop a Meditation Practice

As a Harvard doctor and researcher in meditation and mental health for the Sadhguru Centre for a Conscious Planet, I know just how effective a meditation practice can be. My own research found how Isha’s Inner Engineering meditation program can alleviate stress, enhance sleep quality, improve mental well-being, and reduce feelings of anxiety throughout the global COVID pandemic.

These findings are transferable. Much of the anxiety around COVID stemmed from fear of something outside of our immediate control, but that affects us directly. A meditation practice can open the door for other actions, such as fostering empathy, breeding connection, and observing our thoughts non-judgmentally.

Conclusion

Eco-anxiety could be seen as a rational response to climate change. Yet, what we do with this anxiety remains up to us. While we may not directly control global carbon emissions or biodiversity loss, we can manage our emotions and what ecological actions they lead us to take.