Environment: I want to admit that I am struggling with Climate Anxiety

Sometimes it makes me feel very down and can be quite overwhelming, a bit like grieving for a loved one, but I am grieving for the loss of a stable climate and the conditions on earth that make life thrive.

But what is Climate Anxiety? Mental Health UK defines it as “a sense of fear, worry or tension linked to climate change.“ Scientists and campaigners have warned about the catastrophic effects of rising global temperatures for decades and heatwaves, droughts, and floods are now more common. ‘Climate anxiety’ refers to how climate change affects our mental health.

Although painful and distressing, climate anxiety is rational and does not imply mental illness.

It is more common in young people, but older people are not immune to it, especially those of us who are parents and grandparents.

It's important to understand that climate anxiety is significantly related to inadequate government response and associated feelings of betrayal as highlighted in research in the Lancet.

Jem is one of scores of young people who shared their distress over the climate emergency with the Guardian. In a survey by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), 73% of 16- to 24-year-olds reported that the climate crisis was having a negative effect on their mental health, compared with 61% of all people in the UK. The figures were up from 61% and 55% respectively in 2020.”

I chatted with a friend who is a fellow sufferer. His anxiety used to be all-encompassing, with physical symptoms including tingling in the fingers. He felt fatalistic and often considered what would happen if civilisation broke down. He was filled with doom and became obsessive.

Now he is much better. He says the most important thing is to do something about it. Use your talents and what you enjoy to help bring about change.

He was helped by the book Active Hope by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone who also have a free online course. Caroline Hickman's talks have also been very helpful.

I asked my friends on social media to complete this sentence. “When I consider the condition of our world I think things are getting….” The responses show high levels of alarm about the future we’re facing.

Such anxiety is well-founded. Scientists predict we are on the verge of tipping points that will speed up the irreversible heating of our planet.

Big businesses continue to invest in new oil and gas and Governments are failing to start to act as if this is an emergency.

So people are experiencing a profound loss of confidence in the future. We no longer take it for granted that the resources we depend on, food, fuel and drinkable water, will be available, that our civilization will survive or that the conditions on our small planet will remain hospitable for complex forms of life.

Macy and Johnstone say that “This uncertainty is a pivotal psychological reality of our time. Yet, because it is usually considered too depressing to talk about, it tends to remain an unspoken presence in the back of our minds. Sometimes we are aware of it. We just don’t mention it.

This blocked communication generates a peril even more deadly, for the greatest danger of our times is the deadening of our response.”

I often hear comments like “Don’t go there, it’s too depressing” and "Don’t dwell on the negatives”. The problem with this approach is that it closes down our conversations and our thinking. How can we begin to tackle the mess we’re in if it is too depressing to think about?

When we face news of multiple emergencies in our world, it feels overwhelming. We may wonder if we can do anything about it anyway.

We need an approach that sees this as a starting point of an amazing journey that strengthens us and deepens our resolve. Johnstone and Macy call this “Active Hope”.

It’s important for us not to feel guilty. We can’t do everything. In order to help others we need to first look after ourselves.

My friend stressed how important it was to him that he had started reading about things other than the climate and nature emergencies, learning to relax and enjoy himself again. It's not about pretending it's not happening- it’s about embracing climate change.

Alistair McIntosh points out in his book, Riders on the Storm, “Alarmism can be callous. “Those that pump it out in the absence of reassurance…don’t see the consequences that teachers and parents have to catch.”

So we have to be very careful to stick to the science. However, the peer-reviewed science is worrying enough. We don’t need to exaggerate it to induce climate anxiety in many people.

We can’t do it on our own. If you are experiencing climate anxiety, reach out to groups that will understand and support you. In Sheffield, Extinction Rebellion is starting listening groups to support each other. (email [email protected] for details).

Next week we will think about why climate anxiety is particularly difficult for parents and teachers.