Are We Doomed?
Climate change refers to long-term changes in the Earth’s weather pattern and temperatures due to increased fossil fuel emissions. Studies have shown that humans have become the leading cause of climate change as the Earth’s surface is now around 1.1°C (2°F) warmer than in the 1800s. While that may not sound like a significant rise, the United Nations notes that it can lead to major environmental changes with catastrophic consequences including water scarcity, flooding, declining biodiversity, severe fires and storms.[1] Such dire warnings and predictions have led to psychological distress about what the future may hold.
Climate Anxiety
Ecological anxiety (i.e., eco-anxiety) is the psychological discomfort arising from the threat of an ecological disaster, which itself is seen as uncertain or difficult to control. Climate change anxiety falls under the category of eco-anxiety and is explained as “the distress caused by climate change as people become anxious about their future.”[2] Nadarajah et al. (2022) note that climate change has become a source of concern for many international organizations including the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) as they now consider this ecological threat to be the greatest danger to mental health within the next century.[3]
The consequences humanity is already facing have been shown to have effects on their mental health and well-being. For example, excessive heat has been associated with increased aggression, suicide, and hospitalizations for mental illness. Air pollution caused by fine air particulate matter can lead to cognitive impairment and behavioral problems in vulnerable populations. Extreme heat and severe weather events also pose a greater risk to children’s development due to their thermoregulation not being fully developed and their greater dependency on adults and social support.[4]
Climate anxiety can be caused due to either direct causes (e.g., trauma resulting from extreme weather events) or indirect causes (e.g., trauma from a perceived threat to the future). These causes can have different impacts on an individual’s symptoms of climate anxiety. Cognitive-emotional impairments include difficulty sleeping, crying, nightmares, and rumination. Functional-impairments of climate anxiety include the inability to work or socialize with others.[5] Other mental health disorders have been associated with climate-related trauma such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and survivor guilt. Some individuals can even develop mood disorders or maladaptive eating due to the great uncertainty the future can hold and the intense fear that comes from questioning the future of their existence.[6]
Cross-National Investigation of Climate Anxiety
While climate anxiety is just beginning to be studied, most research conducted has been done in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich Democracies (WEIRD). However, more emphasis is being drawn on the need for worldwide research on how global warming is affecting global populations psychologically. A 2021 study conducted in 50 different countries by Peoples’ Climate Vote found 64% of 1.2 million respondents believed climate change to be a global threat. Additionally, a survey conducted by Yale University in 2021 noted that the majority of people from over 30 countries felt climate change would affect them by either a “moderate amount” or a “great deal”.[7] Further, a 2021 poll conducted by Hickman et al., in the Global South found that Brazil (86%), India (80%), Nigeria (70%), and the Philippines (92%) all indicated high levels of fear for the future. Adversely, Russia reported some of the lowest concerns at 9.6%,[8] but this may be attributed to that population’s lack of climate-related information due to extreme internet/information censorship enacted by their government.[9]
Due to the great fear of climate change, many studies, such as Ogunbode et al., (2022), have shown a direct relationship between climate anxiety and pro-environmental behaviors, such as supporting climate policies and climate activism. This is especially prominent among European, democratic, affluent countries - as their citizens are likely to have fewer political or financial barriers to expressing their concerns and have more opportunities to learn about global warming and its consequences. Additionally, pro-environmental behaviors are linked with individualist countries, as people feel a greater need to act on their personal beliefs.[10]
Generation Z &the Fear for Their Future
While most climate anxiety research involves WEIRD countries, a global trend is beginning to emerge in cross-national data: Generation Z (i.e., those born 1997-2012) is more concerned with climate change than the generations before them. The Lancet Planetary Health (2021) conducted a global survey in 10 different countries asking young people (16 to 25 y/o) about their climate anxiety and their reaction to governmental response.[11] From this study, 83% of young people reported they were at least “moderately worried” and 59% reported they were “very worried” about global warming and its threat to the future. Additionally, 45% expressed that their worry affected their daily functioning such as concentrating, working, socializing, eating, and spending time in nature. The study also reveals respondents' fear for their future, with 75% indicating that the “future is frightening” and 56% feeling “humanity is doomed”.[12]
These pessimistic views are understandable, as Generation Z and those after will bear the harsh burden of climate change. A 2021 review by Hickman et al., found Gen-Z and future generations will face extremely high disease risk due to environmental changes. Hickman’s study also examined young people’s view on government response to climate change, and found respondents felt “frustrated by unequal power, betrayed and angry, and disillusioned with authority, drawing battle lines”.[13] The ecological crisis has gotten to the heart of younger populations, with one 16-year-old noting, “I think it’s different for young people. For us the destruction of the planet is personal.”[14]
Young people have even turned to legal action in the hope of pushing the government to take action on the climate crisis. The case of Juliana v. United States was filed in 2015 after 21 children and young adults (8-19 y/o) asserted the government’s inaction on climate change was violating their right to life, liberty, and property. Additionally, the youth plaintiffs argued it was the government’s duty to protect public groups, which they failed to do as they permitted and encouraged fossil fuel usage.[15] However, in 2020 the case was thrown out stating the issue needed to be raised with the executive and legislative branches of government versus the courts.[16]
Many factors play into why this generation feels more strongly about climate change - the most prominent is media exposure. Younger generations are becoming more exposed to news, images, and reports of environmental disasters due to constant access to the internet and social media from their smartphones, and thus frequently witness the consequences of global warming.[17] Moreover, repeated exposure to negative news on climate change increases their awareness of the threat and increases their anticipation of the consequences. This then leads to additional information-seeking as a reactive behavior to the uncertainty of the future.[18] Finally, the social norms around climate change within younger generations are more pro-environmental, thus giving them a sense of security in their feelings. Ogunbode et al., (2022) add that when people around an individual react to the consequences in a similar way, they feel justified in their behaviors.[19]
Mitigating Climate Anxiety
While the threat from climate change is a grave concern for many people, there are steps individuals can take to lower their anxiety as well as combat the crisis. Individuals can also decrease their climate anxiety as well as make a difference by supporting pro-environmental behaviors (e.g., saving energy at home, avoiding food waste, and using public transportation) and promoting policies and organizations that push to help the environment.[20] Taking pauses or meditating can also calm certain anxieties people may have about the climate crisis. Mindfulness can allow people to focus on the present moment and learn compassion for themselves and nature. Further, individuals can use contemplative time to reflect on the complexity of climate change, understand change cannot come overnight and can allow them to reflect on the power they hold to enact change and help make a difference. Psychotherapy, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), can be useful for people to employ and work through their concerns with a mental health professional.[21] Particular components of CBT that can be useful in combating climate anxiety include:[22]
Using problem-solving skills to cope with difficult situations
Learning to develop a greater sense of confidence in one’s own abilities
Facing one’s fears instead of avoiding them
Learning to calm one’s mind and relax one’s body
Additionally, individuals can seek clinicians who practice ecotherapy, or nature therapy, as these practitioners may have a greater awareness of current climate concerns. This is especially useful as ecotherapy focuses on reconnecting with nature and exploring how people’s lives are part of a greater system. If conducted in a group format, ecotherapy allows people to explore their personal relationships with nature as well as share with others their emotions and worries,[23] which can further validate their feelings and help someone feel less alone.
Future Steps
Although climate anxiety is a relatively new concept, more emphasis needs to be placed on investigating the impacts of climate anxiety on non-WEIRD populations. Additionally, focusing on how different international factors such as education, religion, and region affects people’s feelings towards global warming will allow a better way to educate and create more effective strategies to help slow climate change.[24,25] Moving forward, it is imperative for mental health professionals to continue to develop strategies that allow clients to feel their concerns are being heard, as this phenomenon will only worsen as the consequences of climate change continue to rise.
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, hopelessness and/or anxiety regarding climate concerns, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional (e.g., a psychotherapist, psychologist or psychiatrist) for guidance and support.
Contributed by: Ryann Thomson
Editor: Jennifer (Ghahari) Smith, Ph.D.
references
1 United Nations. (n.d.). What is climate change? | United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change
2 Nadarajah, K., David, J., Brun, L., Bordel, S., Moyon, L., Foll, D. L., Delouvée, S., & Somat, A. (2022b). “We Are Running Out of Time”: Temporal Orientation and Information Seeking as Explanatory Factors of Climate Anxiety among Young People. Psych, 4(3), 560–573. https://doi.org/10.3390/psych4030043
3 Nadarajah et al., (2022)
4 Clayton, S. (2020). Climate anxiety: Psychological responses to climate change. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102263
5 Nadarajah et al., (2022)
6 Reyes, M. E. S., Carmen, B. P. B., Luminarias, M. E. P., Mangulabnan, S. a. N. B., & Ogunbode, C. A. (2021). An investigation into the relationship between climate change anxiety and mental health among Gen Z Filipinos. Current Psychology, 42(9), 7448–7456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02099-3
7 Tam, K., Chan, H., & Clayton, S. (2023b). Climate change anxiety in China, India, Japan, and the United States. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 87, 101991. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.101991
8 Hickman, C., Marks, E., Pihkala, P. P., Clayton, S., Lewandowski, R. J., Mayall, E. E., Wray, B., Mellor, C., & Van Susteren, L. (2021). Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(12), e863–e873. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2542-5196(21)00278-3
9 Litvinova, D. (2023, May 24). The cyber gulag: How Russia tracks, censors and controls its citizens | AP News. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/russia-crackdown-surveillance-censorship-war-ukraine-internet-dab3663774feb666d6d0025bcd082fba
10 Ogunbode, C. A., Doran, R., Hanss, D., Ojala, M., Salmela-Aro, K., Van Den Broek, K. L., Bhullar, N., De Aquino, S. D., Marot, T. A., Schermer, J. A., Wlodarczyk, A., Lu, S. L., Jiang, F., Maran, D. A., Yadav, R., Ardi, R., Chegeni, R., Ghanbarian, E., Z and, S., . . . Karasu, M. (2022). Climate anxiety, wellbeing and pro-environmental action: correlates of negative emotional responses to climate change in 32 countries. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 84, 101887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101887
11 Hickman et al., (2021)
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.
15 Salas, R. N., Jacobs, W., & Perera, F. P. (2019). The Case of Juliana v. U.S. — Children and the Health Burdens of Climate Change. The New England Journal of Medicine, 380(22), 2085–2087. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp1905504
16 Youth climate lawsuit against federal government headed for trial. (2023). Yale E360. https://e360.yale.edu/digest/juliana-youth-climate-lawsuit-trial
17 Nadarajah et al., (2022)
18 Ibid.
19 Ogunbode et al., (2022)
20 Ibid.
21 Reyes et al., (2021)
22 What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? (2017, July 31). https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral
23 GoodTherapy Editor Team. (2018, August 15). Ecotherapy/nature therapy. https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/econature-therapy
24 Tam et al., (2023)
25 Reyes et al., (2021)