Eco-Anxiety: feeling the weight of the Earth on your shoulders?

It’s fire and ice. The Amazon is burning, and Iceland has lost its first glacier. 

 Scientists first confirmed the unnatural rise in CO2 levels in the atmosphere in 1958, and the public and mainstream media only started to take notice in the 80s. Fast forward a few decades and we have a veganism movement, Greta Thunberg, mass disturbances, thousands of arrests, and a climate emergency declared by the government. The commotion and uproar for our planet has never been louder. 

 But in amongst this chaos and activism is fear. And it’s hitting more and more of us: hard, fast and constantly. The overwhelming amount of alarming information we’re absorbing every day about climate change is having its effect – and it’s been given a name: eco-anxiety.

 It can take on many forms. Helplessness from the lack of significance of our individual actions; frustration towards politicians and big corporations at their resistance to change; the uncertainty and dread for the future. I’m sure you can relate to feeling at least one of these: a friend of mine told me she’s almost certain she won’t have children as their quality of life would be poor. This is getting pretty dreary. And of course we’re going to feel this way, right? It’s only natural to, in the current climate crisis - relying on only hope and optimism couldn’t have kick-started the huge changes we’ve started to see. In other words: “Eco-anxiety” can be dismissed as a pathology rather than as a rational response to a growing emergency.”

 Here’s my counter to that thought though. The fact that it’s taking a toll on our mental health shouldn’t just be dismissed as collateral damage. Piled on top of other pressing concerns on our minds as young students – exams, finances, relationships – the nagging climate anxiety can be difficult to cope with. Hearing about the state of our planet’s is scary and leads to so many unanswerable questions and concerns. To be taking this into account when thinking about our futures as young people can be extremely challenging in terms of our state of mind. 

 The mindset and frustration that our individual actions can’t do anything without the big guys also doing their job can be destructive. It’s a slippery slope towards “there’s no point trying”. The effect of this, however, is that it ends up exacerbating the initial eco-anxiety. 

So what can we do?

1. Prioritise your mental health. Check up on yourself and do what works for you to de-stress.

2. Be the change you want to see – taking steps to be more ethical will encourage the positive vibes to keep you going. It can, however, be expensive and unfeasible for us to think sustainably all the time – sometimes I’m happy to spend longer at my weekly shop to check the backs of everything I buy for the sustainable options. Other times I have to give in and buy the cheaper granola that contains palm oil, or the packaged veggies on offer. But while it’s not always accessible, it’s important to try where we can.

3. Encouraging more positive climate change-related news – we need to “inspire not shame”. Here’s some to get you started:

   1. Officials of OPEC (one of the most powerful oil companies) have said Thunberg’s campaign has been the “greatest threat” to the industry. They are also feeling the pressure to change from within their own families and children asking about their future.

   2. Milk sales in the US plummeted by $1.1 billion in 2017.

   3. The Governor of the Bank of England made a statement telling companies they will go bankrupt if they don’t adapt to climate change. 

   4. Plastic Odyssey: a 3 year expedition in a vessel that converts the microplastics in the ocean to fuel will set sail in 2020.

   5. California has already met its goal of getting greenhouse gas emissions below 431 million metric tons by the year 2020 – this came as the economy grew by 3.6%, proving to the world that caring for the planet doesn’t have to come at the expense of the economy.

4. Get talking – between each other, family, friends, anyone that will listen. Not just about the problem, but things we can all do to help. Keep your eyes peeled for sustain@bl campaigns and events.

5. Let’s get the big guys to listen – channel that frustration in the right way. Write letters to politicians, join the global climate strikes, don’t be afraid to voice your concern.

 Now don’t get me wrong, scientists started sounding the alarm decades ago – we’ve spent too much time at the other end of the spectrum, too relaxed and waiting for someone else to clean up the mess. Brutally honest headlines and a bit of panic is definitely what we needed to start listening and give us a kick up the backside in the right direction. But equally, a bit of positive reinforcement to keep the morale going wouldn’t go amiss.