Written by Karen Tang, General Member
Given that this month’s theme at the YCRH is on Climate Health, it would be remiss to not have a blog dedicated to climate change and its associated mental health impacts, because we know there are many! Ranging from anxiety around climate change and the environment (also called “eco-anxiety”) to feeling hopeful enough to be proactive and engaging in different actions that shape our world for the better (affectionately dubbed “active hope”), this blog will dive into all that!
From my clinical experience as a clinical psychologist trainee, I have worked with a lot of Gen Z clients who have expressed concerns about the environment and climate health, and have brought up in our therapy sessions how these have impacted their mental health, ranging from moderate anxiety to pure hopelessness. Unbeknownst to me at that time, there was a term that aptly captures what a lot of my clients were feeling. It was not until I attended a research focus group held by the College of Sustainability at a higher education institution that I learned more about “eco-anxiety”.
What is Eco-Anxiety?
The American Psychological Association (APA) defines eco-anxiety as “the chronic fear of environmental doom” due to observing the seemingly irrevocable impact of climate change. Eco-anxiety is also linked with the concern for one’s future and that of future generations. Therefore, the APA considers that internalizing these environmental concerns can have very serious psychological impacts for some.
Eco-anxiety can range from mild stress to clinical disorders such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide. As a result of eco-anxiety, people may have poor coping strategies leading to intimate partner violence and substance use. Eco-anxiety can be further exacerbated by trauma, including via intergenerational effects, where environmental damage involves a loss of culture or a way of life.
Now, this all seems a bit doom and gloom, but what are some things we can do to cope with and manage our eco-anxiety?
How to Cope with Eco-Anxiety
One of the key concepts I took away from that focus group was “active hope”. Coined by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone in their book Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power, “active hope” refers to how we can become “active participants in bringing about what we hope for”, rather than giving into the climate doom, gloom, and hopelessness. Active hope can be cultivated to build your resiliency by engaging in activities that bring about what you hope for.
Tying into the concept of active hope, we can also focus on our agency. Agency refers to the sense of control you feel in your life, the capacity to influence your own thoughts and behaviors, and your ability to handle situations that arise. One clinical concept I want to share (and was very well received in the focus group and with my clients), is sphere of control (also called circle of influence), which focuses specifically on agency. If you picture a sphere, everything within that sphere is something that is within your realm of control. Conversely, everything outside of the sphere is beyond your control. As such, it is most fruitful to focus on things that are within your sphere of control, given that you can make the biggest impact there. When it comes to climate change, you may not be able to stop pollution from large corporations (unless you are the CEO of said companies), but within your sphere of control you can participate by boycotting that company, writing to your local lawmaker, spending your money supporting local businesses instead, etc.
Lastly, it can be helpful to focus on the achievements of humanity, especially to combat the hopelessness and burnout feeling. Oftentimes, the news cycle focuses on news that draws you in, which is typically skewed towards negative things occurring (e.g., crimes, inflation, climate change, etc). As such, if you can be intentional on the type of media you consume, it can really help bolster your mood. Focusing on the achievement of humanity, or even just positive news, can have wonderful benefits. There are a number of websites that focus on the good of humanity or share positive news, for example: https://www.positive.news/ and https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/.
Summary
To summarize, experiencing eco-anxiety is normal and you are definitely not alone. There are a number of ways you can cope with eco-anxiety including focusing on your agency and sphere of control, cultivating active hope, and focusing on the achievements of humanity.
Resources and further reading:
Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance (March 2017) document: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdf
Learn more about eco-anxiety here including how to cope with it: https://www.iberdrola.com/social-commitment/what-is-ecoanxiety
More on Sphere of Control: https://positivepsychology.com/circles-of-influence/
How you can help combat climate change: https://davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/top-10-ways-can-stop-climate-change/ and https://www.un.org/en/actnow/ten-actions.
Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Powerbook by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone (revised edition, 2022).