With the onset of capitalistic dreams and desires, families have started to get together only at dinners to interact, eat in plastic take-out containers, and watch the news. Sundays are about politicians and Wednesdays are about delinquencies. What gets lost here amongst the news about the human condition? Our environment. In this fast-paced and get-your-groceries-delivered-to-your-doorstep-in-fifteen-minutes, people have forgotten what’s essential- the existence of the world around us. Climate has become a hotly debatable topic with chunks on the polar sides of the argument. People might question its relevance but, its effects are visible to the naked eye and can’t be ignored. Forest fires, cyclones, untimely rains, and rising temperatures are evidence of the impact of easy and lethargic lifestyles people have adopted.
Humans will always be worried about ‘what next?’ Well, the best part about such anxieties is that they have the antidote to them. They know exactly how to save themselves and have done so in the past. In a world with untimely rains, hurricanes and unbelievable temperatures this generation is combating the potential end of the planet. People are scared of the implications of the actions of their ancestors and it is affecting their mental health. The anxiety which is plaguing people most nowadays is – climate anxiety.
WHAT IS CLIMATE ANXIETY?
In the winter of 2016, a thick blanket of smog enveloped Delhi and its neighboring areas. The smog stayed for about a week and then lifted. Concerned whispers were going around in elementary and middle school hallways. Why? What? And How? were the popular questions. High schoolers were busy with their unit tests on the triangular lamina and parallax methods. Adults couldn’t care less about it because they are logically driven humans who know that if factories are churning out pollution then smog is just an incessant possibility. People couldn’t get out of their homes, schools were closed on short notice and the sales of air purifiers increased exponentially overnight.
Human consciousness can point out irregularities only to an extent that the irregularities remain irregular. A plethora of internet information about a forest fire two countries away can give people a migraine. Why? Well, because someday it might reach them. Maybe it already has.
Conventionally, Climate change is a long-term shift in global or regional climate patterns. Often climate change refers specifically to the rise in global temperatures from the mid-20th century to the present. Climate change causes several psychological effects on the earth’s inhabitants, especially the ones who are young and have to live here in the future. These involve emotional states such as eco-anxiety, eco-grief, and eco-anger. While disturbing, these emotions are often not stressful and can be rational responses to the degradation and upheaval of the natural world, motivating strong action.
Waste and pollution affect people’s physical health without their knowledge. The idea of climate change exists in extremes. Either people refuse to believe it or they know so much that they get overwhelmed. A balance needs to be created to reverse this change.
People in the middle of their lives might not worry, but young people might be more likely to experience the haughty repercussions linked with the thought of climate anxiety. They are at an essential point in their physical and psychological development when heightened vulnerability and daily anxiety elevate their risk of developing depression, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders. Moreover, chronic stress during your 20’s might result in permanent changes in the brain structure. As such, the stress of a climate crisis during an imperative developmental phase, combined with an increased eventuality of encountering a pattern of stressors related to climate change throughout life, will increase the occurrence of mental illnesses throughout life.
HOW CAN YOU TACKLE CLIMATE ANXIETY?
Therapists, psychologists, policymakers, researchers, and advocates need to solidify evidence to expose the effects of climate anxiety and stress on the short-term and long-term mental health of our people. There has never been such a huge population of young people globally, nor are we expecting a reversal of the effects of climate change. Eco-therapy is a segment of therapy that is evolving and making space for itself. Many therapists nowadays are trying to include climate change awareness into their practice.
Young people are catalysts of change, future leaders, and most likely to succeed in elevating this planet’s health. Thus, making investments to enhance their mental health and well-being will provide positive results now and in the future. Young people needn’t lose hope, this world still has a long way to go and if on one part of the planet someone is harming the environment, people on the other side are planting trees. The awareness and immediate necessity of action is the only thing that should concern anyone at the moment. Nothing more, nothing less.
Here are three ways to cope with Climate anxiety –
1. Justify feeling anxious about the climate to yourself- Understand that you are worried about a very plausible and real problem. Your anxiety exists because something is going wrong in the world and you are scared about the uncertainties.
2. Remember that you aren’t alone in this fight- This anxiety has a basis and is plaguing millions. You are not alone here. If this ship goes down, all passengers go down with you.
3. Take action to counter your anxiety- your anxiety can probably help you in taking action towards what is right. It might even make you urge others around you to take the right steps.
Many people are choosing to adopt instead of bringing a new life on this earth, others are battling with the physical repercussions of climate change. So the question here is, to live or not to live? And if we are ‘to live’ then ‘how are we to do so?’ Even if this world is ending and people have ignored all of nature’s sirens. Today just might be the day to revert and start anew. If humans could make this world livable and beautiful once, they can do it again.
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Source:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30223-0/fulltext
Written by, Aamna Siddiqui
