#EcoAnxiety
Chronic fear about environmental doom and climate change’s impact on the future.
Definition
The American Psychological Association (2017) defines eco-anxiety as: “A chronic fear of environmental doom.”
Not a clinical diagnosis, but a rational response to real threat.
Who’s Affected
- Gen Z & Millennials (will live through worst impacts)
- Parents (worrying about children’s future)
- Climate scientists (know the data)
- Activists (bearing emotional weight of advocacy)
Symptoms
- Persistent worry about climate
- Guilt about environmental impact
- Grief over species loss, ecosystems
- Hopelessness about future
- Existential dread
- Decision paralysis (should I have kids?)
Triggers
- Extreme weather events
- IPCC reports
- News cycles
- Personal carbon footprint calculations
Coping Strategies
Individual:
- Limit news consumption
- Channel anxiety into action
- Connect with nature
- Therapy (climate-aware therapists)
Collective:
- Community organizing
- Advocacy
- Support groups
- “Active hope” (Joanna Macy concept)
Criticism
- Privileged concern (climate-vulnerable communities focused on survival)
- Can become paralyzing vs. motivating
- Risk of nihilism
Climate Grief
Related concept: mourning what’s already lost
- Species extinctions
- Ecosystems destroyed
- Future climate imagined
Resources
- Climate Psychology Alliance
- Good Grief Network
- A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety (Sarah Jaquette Ray, 2020)
- https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdf