The Climate Anxiety Virus
Aren’t our young people anxious enough?
Our planet is in peril but so are our vulnerable children.
As a secondary school teacher, I see the passion students have for protecting the environment. This is excellent, but when this passion coincides with anxiety, we have a problem.
Yes, climate anxiety is a ‘thing’ and it is spreading like wildfire in schools, families, and friendship groups.
So what is climate anxiety?
Climate anxiety otherwise known as Eco-anxiety isn’t a clinical diagnosis but a term many are using to describe the negative emotions associated with the perception of climate change.
In general, younger people tend to experience more of it. This is to be expected as they imagine what their future will look like in terms of all aspects of life. The state of the physical world will no doubt have an effect on whether their hopes and dreams can be fulfilled.
Young people are constantly reminded by scientists, the media, and society in general of the looming threats that face our world of which they will no doubt have to deal with in their adult lives. These being global warming, more frequent and severe extreme weather events, widespread biodiversity loss, and threats to food and water security. The negative emotions associated with concerns about the above disasters is what is now known as climate anxiety.
Does my child have climate anxiety?
In my role, I am seeing an increasing number of students with anxiety. However if we can target the specific anxiety our kids are suffering with, it can help us take a more targeted approach to help them overcome it.
Some signs and symptoms specific to climate anxiety include:
- anger or frustration, particularly toward people who don’t acknowledge climate change or older generations for not making more progress.
- fatalistic thinking
- guilt or shame related to their own carbon footprint
- feelings of depression, anxiety, or panic
- grief and sadness over the loss of natural environments or wildlife populations
- obsessive thoughts about the climate
Kids are living in fear and that’s not right
The results of a survey conducted in 2016 revealed nearly one in five therapists described their clients’ responses as inappropriate. Several participants said that their clients’ beliefs about climate change were “delusional” or “exaggerated”. Another quarter gave mixed responses.
Examples of traumatic responses have included:
- children barely sleeping at night.
- panic attacks when bush fires break out.
- crying about never having a family when they get older
This type of message is not healthy, and it is affecting the social climate in a negative way. Children and teenagers should not have to fear such things. Care about the environment is important as is showing concern over climate change. However, when it starts to affect the mental health of children, then it has gone too far.
Everyone deserves the chance to live life to the fullest
Young or old. Everyone deserves to live their lives to the max. Lying in bed at night worrying about the fate of the world should not be occurring. The media and other overly fanatic individuals responsible for sending nightmarish messages to our kids should be reprimanded for their cruelty. As adults, we have a responsibility to protect our children and to guide them through life’s challenges. Not put up barriers. Young people have enough concerns and questions they need answers to without worrying about the world ending.
A 2008 study in an Australian medical journal highlighted some case studies that are convincing that we have a real problem on our hands.
- A 17-year-old boy who was hospitalised after refusing to drink water during a nationwide drought.
- A patient confessed that she secretly wished a pandemic would strike to ease stress on the planet.
- One student wouldn’t attend school as she deemed it not important while the Earth was in grave danger.
Although students can acquire delusional thoughts from school, there are many teachers and schools who are educating students about the environment but with the focus on how to play a positive and active role in protecting it.
Sustainability is an ever-present topic in the classroom
The schools of today provide students with activities that put them in the driver’s seat in instigating positive changes to the environment. Students. design plans to protect the environment in their local communities, undertake independent action research projects and work with external organisations on various initiatives. Gone are the days of simply reading about climate change, animals, and waste management.
The new way students are taught in schools has rocked experienced teachers and traditional parents by storm! Teaching students real-life lessons about sustainability is an area that most of us either learned about in books or not at all. Depending on your country or state, sustainability or environmental studies is a mandatory part of each syllabus.
I can assure you though, delusional messages such as the ones mentioned in this article play no part in the curriculum. Well, at least in Australia anyway.
Clearly, the answer is balance.
A spoonful of climate anxiety isn’t necessarily a bad thing in children and can actually alert them to the need to deal with the problem of preserving the environment on all fronts.
Shouldn’t we be doing everything in moderation? Educate our students about the importance of protecting the environment but do so in a realistic manner. Teach them to take messages from the media (on all topics) with a grain of salt in the hope that they can form a distance between their headlines and thoughts.
So how can I help my kids?
Psychologists have come to the conclusion that the cure to climate anxiety is the same as the cure for climate change — action. It is about getting out and doing something that helps rather than focusing on a doomsday picture.
The first strategy is to acknowledge the young person’s anxiety even if you feel their worries are absurd. To them, it is imperative that you take note and statements like “Don’t worry” or “calm down” won’t cut it. In fact, these very unhelpful remarks will make the situation worse.
As a family or class, brainstorm ways that you can reduce your carbon footprint. You may not be able to afford a TESLA but you could cycle or walk to walk and don’t forget to reduce, reuse and recycle! Of course, there are countless other strategies listed on your favourite environmental awareness websites. You could even ask your child what strategies they have learned at school!
Key Take-Aways
We are dealing with two incredibly serious issues. The future of our planet and the mental health of our children.
In order to do as much as possible to help the environment, we have to be well.
If we maintain everything in moderation, we will stand ourselves in good stead for maximum positive impact on our future.
