Misconceptions of Ecological Anxiety.
The Solution We Aren’t Willing to Talk About & My Personal Coping Strategies.
Anxiety is often associated with excessive and unnecessary fear or worry. A looming job interview preventing you from sleeping, concerns over people’s perceptions hindering your social life, panicked memories taking control. Fortunately, the ever-evolving facets of modern medicine and psychology have developed a plethora of treatments for the multiple identified anxiety disorders. Many individuals find tremendous relief through appropriate medications and psychotherapy, aiding in understanding and overcoming their anxiety.
But, what is one to do when that fear is justified? When your anxiety is no longer pathological. When the nature of your fear is focused on a legitimate external danger. For instance, ecological anxiety. Should we medicate and numb ourselves to the environmental crisis?
Although climate change is recognized as a growing threat to mental health, recognition of ecological anxiety and depression as disorders has not ensued. Ongoing research is still attempting to define ecosystem distress syndromes by understanding what characterizes ecological anxiety, depression, and solastalgia.
Admitting the links between these symptoms are hazy still, the impacts of environmental anxiety and depression, especially in youth, are a growing concern.
While the nexus between climate change and mental health has long been ignored at the table of global environmental politics, arguments on its origin, validity, and racial interactions are commonplace conversation. It is not unusual to come across writings suggesting that ecological anxiety is a byproduct of historical guilt — long overdue on the white western population, or a symptom of an over-mothered Gen Z, or a result of climate alarmists falsifying for their agenda.
I wish to pose an alternative angle; ecological anxiety is natural. It is debilitating, and it is caused by the normalcy of disconnection in our modern world.
This conclusion is far from a ground-breaking epiphany. We are now, more than ever, disconnected from each other and from nature. At this point, it would be typical of a scientist like myself to quote a peer-reviewed study as proof for my assumptions. In good faith, you can read about it here. Or you can, dare I say, admit that you feel it.
I’ve thought long and hard about how it feels to have ecological anxiety.
A younger version of myself suffered from other anxiety and depressive disorders. Psychotherapy and a breakfast of SSRIs helped me overcome what felt like constant suffocation—drowning on dry land. But many years have passed since then, I no longer require assistance to stabilize my mood. My journey, although long and excruciating, has been somewhat completed.
This time it is different. The pain I feel is constant; it is all around me. My eyes can not ignore consumerism, deforestation, and pollution. My ears can not tune out greenwashing, political excuses, and denial. This time, I am not suffering at the mercy of my mind. Now, my mind is at the mercy of the world. Waiting and watching calamity unfold, I fear that no amount of medication will suffice.
Removing the cause for ecological anxiety is, unfortunately, not an easy task. Climate change and ecosystem degradation are complex and deep-rooted issues intertwined with our modern society. We have removed ourselves from the natural world, believing we are greater than it. We are on a trend to replace our connection to nature and people with social media and virtual reality. Our world is turning grey, and we are supplying the concrete.
The solution is drastic. Some even say it is idealistic. It is a replacement of the current ideology — the Earth is a tool. It exists only for exploitation- with a holistic approach that insists — the Earth has intrinsic value and should not be degraded. Such a shift would require the dismantling of age-old systems, beliefs, and narratives—no easy feat. To those who say it is unrealistic, I ask you this.
How can you look into the eyes of youth who cry for their future, tell them to have hope, but not to expect too much? Tell them that their desire for security, justice, peace, and equality is unrealistic.
How can you expect us to have hope if you aren’t willing to acknowledge the solution?
Reactions to climate change and ecological degeneration manifest as anxiety, depression, fear, anger, and hopelessness. Collectively, we are grieving for a dying Earth. I can not offer much more than my empathy and a few suggestions on how to cope with ecological anxiety.
- Accept the limitations of individual action:
I’ve always lived by the mantra “if you want something done right, then do it yourself,” but this mindset will be the detriment of anyone engaged in the fight against ecological collapse. It is essential to recognize that while individual action is meaningful, striking a balance between climate war and emotional burnout is vital.
Stop. Take a deep breath. You can not carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. You are one person, and this is our problem.
2. Tune out of the problem and into the solutions:
Living in a time where we have the world at our literal fingertips is both a blessing and a burden. It is easy to become consumed by news of the wildfires, starvation, oil spills, deforestation, and loss of innocent species. In my previous post, I spoke about walking the tightrope of ecological despair and empowering hope. This particularly pertains to environmental news.
Staying informed is important but limit your exposure to bad news. Allow yourself equal amounts of time to catch up on positive green politics and innovation. Surround yourself with like-minded nature lovers, immerse yourself in the online “yes we can” communities. Our brains have a negative bias, don't let it take control. As long as humans are willing to fight, there is hope.
If these do not help, then here is my final suggestion;
3. Envelope yourself in nature:
This is, by far, my favorite way to deal with ecological anxiety. It is accessible, it is free, and it is powerful. Regardless of your location, go outside.
Feel the sun shine or the rain fall on your skin. Become a part of the forest or the meadow, or the city park. Watch the birds, listen to the trees, breathe in and out with the waves. Exist in nature, amongst all of Earth’s beings.
Just be, as nature intends us to be.
