Ecological Anxiety: What It Is And Why It Occurs

Unless you’ve spent the last five years of your life hiding in a cave, you surely know who Greta Thunberg is. If you know about the girl, you will understand why we wonder if this young woman could suffer from ecological anxiety. Could it be possible?

The truth is that we do not have the answers. And it is that scientifically there is still no psychological condition called ecological anxiety. However, in 2019, a group of experts from the Climate Psychology Alliance already coined this term to refer to a phenomenon that, far from being a pathology, can be considered as a real and rational concern.

What is ecological anxiety?

If we simplify the term, we can affirm that ecological anxiety is the concern for the natural environment, the destruction of habitats, climate change, pollution and all ecological problems and disasters caused or reinforced by the action of human beings and their productive activity on the planet.

People with these worries feel anxious when thinking about their own mortality, and also that of their loved ones. In addition, the future of the world produces a deep perception of unease in them.

However, it can never be confused with a clinical anxiety disorder. As we have commented, it is not considered a pathology nor does it present a specific clinical picture.

However, according to the American Psychological Association, which defined the term in 2017, this chronic fear of environmental doom could worsen existing mental health problems or trigger previously non-existent ones.

The aforementioned North American association affirms that, in 2019, due to the media repercussion that the numerous natural disasters caused by the weather had, there was a general increase in ecological anxiety.

The weather and mental health

The weather has a direct impact on the mind of every human being. Some are affected by current effects, others by what is yet to come, such as knowing that an island can be completely submerged in a few years due to the effect of climate change.

However, both can provoke various sensations, such as anger, shock or terror, and all of them in a more or less intense way, which can lead to post-traumatic stress disorders.

Furthermore, the consequences of climate change influence economic and social activity. Infrastructures, livestock farming … All will be affected by natural phenomena that are increasing in intensity, such as storms or heat, which can cause feelings of fatalism, impotence and mental disorders of various kinds.

The scientific journal Global Enviromental Change linked depression and anxiety with the environment through a study. In fact, in women and people with low incomes, the possibility of the condition rose, impacting them in the form of ecological anxiety, although there are still no clear data in this regard.

What do we know about those affected?

For now, against other types of anxiety that are based on what we could call unfounded fear or disproportionate in intensity – if we compare it with the magnitude or objective probability of the threat, – when we speak from the ecological point of view, we are talking about a real problem.

Thus, this feeling of insecurity becomes a natural response to the anxiety it arouses. And, according to the data supporting the existence of the problem, these factors are especially noticeable in women, who are much more concerned about pollution, global warming or climate change. Many consider that it could even affect their fertility.

A special incidence is also observed in young people, who show greater ties to the environment and a high concern for their future, as well as in young and middle-aged parents, who suffer from the impact it will have on the development of their children.

Is there a solution for ecological anxiety?

Fortunately, we still have time to alleviate this type of anxiety that, if it continues like this, could become a serious problem for thousands of human beings. To do this, basically, the best solution is to change social and economic behaviors, avoid compulsiveness in consumption and commerce and start implementing more ecological forms of energy.

Beyond that, it is also necessary to develop resilience, which will be accompanied by balanced and environmentally friendly policies so that they have a positive effect on the human psyche.

Changing habits for healthier ones, such as less use of the vehicle or spending more time among nature will also allow you to improve your ecological anxiety. It’s in your hand!