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DO YOU HAVE CLIMATE ANXIETY?


How worrying about the environment can aff ect your health—and what to do about it instead. By Wayne Kalyn


W


hen I meet with friends these days, we don’t just talk about our jobs or the crazy stock market. We also trade news stories about the drought in Somalia, the


w Àià oÕÌ 7iÃÌ] hÕÀÀiV>niÃ] y oo`à >n` Ìhi V>ÌÌli >n` Üil`livi dying in pastures and forests from oppressive heat. I don’t sleep so well these days as my worries pile up— Am I running the air conditioner in the car too much? What will happen to the stranded polar bears? Should I get an electric car? Flood insurance? Should I stop eating meat? And I especially worry about the future my daughter faces. "nVi] Ü>à Vonw `inÌ Ìh>Ì ÜoÀl` li>`iÀà ÜoÕl`n½Ì liÌ Ìhi earth burn up or be washed away. Now I have serious eco- anxiety—a feeling of grief and loss for our planet as climate change reshapes our lives and future—and I’m more likely to feel despondent and hopeless. And I’m not alone. The unsettling, depressive feeling might not (yet!) be found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders— the handbook of mental disorders used by mental health ex- perts—but it is a real condition experienced by many of us. “More and more patients are coming in worried about the


environment,” says Susan Albers-Bowling, Psy.D., a psy- chologist at the Women’s Health Center at Cleveland Clinic. “Many mothers-to-be are especially worried. They ask, ‘Do I want to bring a child into this world when climate threatens our planet and very lives?’” “Is climate anxiety a real condition? You bet it is,” says Lisa


Van Susteren, M.D., a clinical associate professor of psychia- try and behavioral change at George Washington University and co-founder of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance. “Common


27 | NOVEMBER 13, 2022 © PARADE Publications 2022. All rights reserved.


sense tells us that when your house is burning down around ÞoÕ vÀom voÀiÃÌ w Àià oÀ ÞoÕ loÃi ÞoÕÀ V>À >n` «iÌà Ìo > y oo` or a storm surge, you will feel anxious, threatened, traumatized.” Research supports the psychological impact of climate change on our lives. A recent study, pub- lished in The Lancet in December of last year, showed that nearly 60 percent of the 10,000 teens and young people surveyed were “very” or “extremely” worried about climate change.


oÀÌÞ-w Ûi «iÀVinÌ Ã>i` ÌhiiÀ feelings about climate challenges negatively affected their lives and 75 percent said the future was frightening to them.


So how do we manage all that worry and helplessness, and, more important, channel those feelings into constructive action? Here are four tips from therapists.


1. Don’t let anyone minimize your feelings—whether it is anger over humankind not acting swiftly enough, sadness over los- ing animal species to extinction or guilt for buying that gas lawn mower instead of an electric one. “If you feel it, don’t discount or ignore it,” says Albers-Bowling. “I compare it to the stages of grief you move through when you lose someone you love. Knowing which stage you’re at is helpful in developing healthy responses to your emotions.”


2. Embrace the three P’s—the personal, professional, and po- litical—to advocate for climate. Chart your carbon footprint with a carbon calculator. “I use Cool- California [coolcalifornia.org],” says Van Susteren, “which measures


your carbon footprint as you engage in everyday activities and offers easy, climate-friendly alternatives to reduce it.” At the workplace, ask your company Ìo hiÀi > ÃÕÃÌ>in>LiliÌÞ ovw ViÀ oÀ w n` oÕÌ hoÜ Ìo im«ÀoÛi ÞoÕÀ company’s recycling practices. º*oliÌiV>llÞ] w n` > V>n`i`>Ìi Üho makes climate a priority and support her—make phone calls, knoVk on `ooÀð "À ÀÕn voÀ ovw Vi yourself,” says Van Susteren.


3. Take news fasts. “The media highlights climate tragedies around the world almost every day, almost every hour,” says Marilyn Mendoza, Ph.D., a clini- cal instructor in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology at Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans. “Watching all those tragedies is very stressful, even if it isn’t happening in your own backyard.” Too much bad news about climate makes you feel helpless and powerless to change things locally.


Says Albers-Bowling: “Make a list of what you can control in your home and town, and what you can’t control, and take small steps—even one thing— you can do each and every day to help.”


4. Don’t worry alone. Join a group—in-person or online—that shares your feelings and values. “Thinking you’re alone in your climate anxiety paralyzes you,” says Albers-Bowling. “You might think, How can one person make


a difference in the planet’s future? V>n½Ì w Ý >ll Ìhið Discussing your feelings with others empowers you and enables you to take constructive action.”


And, she says, it makes you feel better. “When you articulate your feelings, you are better able to regulate them.”


Visit Parade.com/climate for 44 more tips for dealing with anxiety.


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