Introduction
Eco-anxiety is a new form of mental health that has increasingly come more present and impactful amongst those who are aware of the increase in environmental concerns that have been impacting people of all ages and around the world.
What Is Eco-Anxiety?
This is considered to be anxiety that is based on a chronic fear of environmental doom. As with all forms of mental health, this comes with both psychological and physiological effects. Such as:
- Low Mood
- Expression of Anger
- Struggling to sleep/Sleep Insomnia
- Panic Attacks
- Frustration and Guilt
The Royal College of Psychiatrists conducted a study and found that “Over half (57%) of child and adolescent psychiatrists in England are seeing children and young people distressed about the climate crisis and the state of the environment.”
We are going to explore further as to why this may be the case.
Where Has Eco-Anxiety Come From?
People who experience eco-anxiety will have done due for a variety of different reasons. However, these factors are likely to be the larger drivers.
Media
As environmental movements have started gaining momentum, they have boosted awareness of the impacts we have been making on our environment. This mainstream awareness of ecological issues paints a rather apocalyptic and impending doom picture. This can have a huge impact on those watching these news broadcasts, podcasts, documentaries and social media posts.
Imagine this…
You wake up, and the first thing you do is scroll through your social media to find TikToks, Facebook and Instagram posts and videos of “Climate Crisis” or “Tripcoal Strom Kills Thousands”.
Afterwards for you to get ready to go to work or school and on your way you see newspapers with environmental doom headlines or protesters in your city.
You finally get home after 8-9 hours of work, turn on Netflix or anyone another big streaming service to find Climate Chnage Documentaries and Dystopian movies of grand narratives regarding mass extinction and floods.
You get the picture… This is only addressing environmental and ecological hysteria, let alone other major economic and social crises.
Mental Health Is On The Increase
Whether mental health issues have actually increased or we are just talking about it more remains unsure, nevertheless, this awareness will be exacerbating the number of people experiencing this new form of anxiety. As well as the appearance of this will likely be thriving with people who already have present mental health issues.
Currently in the UK the statistics on mental health speak for themselves with
What Can You Do To Relieve Your Eco-Anxiety
Before we get into some recommendations, for reducing eco-anxiety. I just wanna say, if you have gotten this far into the article, you are already doing great! Acknowledging an issue and seeking ways to do something about it, is a really healthy attitude that makes you one step closer to a resolution.
Therapy/Counselling
Go see a professional you youc an talk to about your eco anxiety and any other issues that may be plaguing your mind. It can be quite expensive, however, the money spent on working on yourself will always be worth more than the money spent on material goods. The investment of improving your mental health will have greater and positive knock on effects to your personal life. Just have to take that leap!
Be Active In Your Decisions
Another way to help reduce your anxiety, could be manifesting from a lack of action on your end. The feeling of helpleness is the feeling of someone not being able to do something.
It might not be the asiest thing to do to find the time and money to start participating in protests or climate groups, however this will be a way to reduce your sense of helplessness.
Summary
Eco-anxiety is another issue mental health issue that is set to increase along wide many other meantl health conditions. The major reasons, for this condition will be due to the impact the media has on our emotions, especially the broadcasting of negative environmental and ecological stories. This and the rise in awareness of mental health will only be exacerbating the the occurrence of this type of anxiety,
Remember, going to therapy and being active are great ways to reduce your anxiety of the future, helping you fell less helpless and gain some sense of control.
Found this post useful? You can buy me a virtual coffee to help support the site’s running costs.
You might also like
