What is my own experience of eco-anxiety?
My own low waste journey started a few years back with the introduction of recycling bins in the UK. At that time we were given one big blue bin from the local council and were told we could only recycle paper, tins, foil and some plastic. This was revolutionary and it certainly made me start to think, probably for the first time about what I was putting in my landfill bin.
Jump forward to 3 years ago when I was packing up my house and getting rid of a lot of “stuff” I’d accumulated from a number of houses, 3 children and a lifetime of keeping stuff “just in case”.
So how easy was it, to get rid of all my stuff? Getting rid of all that stuff wasn’t that easy at all. I recycled towels to the local homeless shelter and thought I could give them my lovely clean bedding. But they weren’t allowed to take that.
I was finding it really difficult to get rid of those broken toys and little things that kids collect and never play with. What on earth was I going to do? I took as much as I could to the local charity collection and I then had to take stuff to the local tip. There they have skips where you can separate the rubbish, but I was quite annoyed and worried seeing how much was going into landfill.
My husband and I lived on Ibiza for a couple of years and spent a lot of time on the beach. It wasn’t unusual for us to pick up lots of rubbish and even whilst out kayaking, it was difficult to escape from the floating bits of mainly plastic. So much so we would take out a fishing net and bucket to pick up stuff as we paddled.
It’s only recently that I have reflected, that over the past few years I have developed worry about the amount of plastic we use, landfill waste and how much people seem to care little about the environment.
It got me thinking and I have started looking into Climate anxiety a bit more.
The Overwhelming View
‘Climate change is here; it’s happening,” seems to be the overwhelming sentiment. After yet another summer of heatwaves and historic wildfires, devastating hurricanes, typhoons, and tsunamis, scientists are reporting rising sea levels. Glaciers are melting at an alarming rate.
On hearing of these natural disasters people are describing ” a sense of loss, sadness and anxiety”
“So far, the results have been positively chilling. When President Taft created Glacier National Park in 1910, it was home to an estimated 150 glaciers. Since then the number has decreased to fewer than 30, and most of those remaining have shrunk in area by two-thirds. Within 30 years most if not all of the park’s namesake glaciers will disappear.” (National Geographic)
Plastic
Much more recently I have been doing my own little survey into just how much plastic we use. We recycle as much as we can and its scary how much plastic there is. We know this, don’t we? I’m using the “we” but actually how much does the average man or woman really care?
Plastic is really useful and we use it every day, but it’s been estimated that more than five trillion pieces of plastic are in the world’s oceans and it can take years for it to break down. Plastic isn’t biodegradable, it doesn’t break down and rot like paper or food. Each year, 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced and 40% of that is single-use – plastic we’ll only use once before it’s binned.
It’s horrific to think that more than eight million tonnes of plastic enter the world’s oceans each year and most of that escape from the land. It can be blown into the sea from ships and beaches, or carried there by the river. People are still flushing plastic down the toilet!
Experts have predicted, that by 2050, the amount of plastic in the ocean will weigh more than the amount of fish in the ocean.
Is Climate anxiety different from other types of anxiety?
Climate change anxiety as a term is relatively new. It is described as an anxiety about the future and a trauma we haven’t yet experienced but we know is coming at some point.
Both in the US and UK, there has been a big increase in people accessing therapy and reporting climate change anxiety as the main problem.
This is not a fear of now my body looks or am I popular enough. This a fear about our survival.
The term Eco-Anxiety is sometimes used and can be described as a “chronic fear of environmental doom”. (American Psychological Society ) .
Today we know more than ever about global warming. It is most certainly an overwhelming problem, therefore people will feel intense anxiety and depression. Global warming is a major concern because we’re limited in what we can do on an individual basis.
“We might have given up plastic, gone vegan, and swapped to low-energy bulbs years ago, but if power players are continuing environmentally friendly practices, the planet is still on track for disaster. ” (Metro.co.uk)
Those feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness, combined with the need to do all we can, can spiral us down into anxiety and depression. The constant bombardment of news headlines and social media posts highlighting just how bad the situation is, can and do exacerbate mental health symptoms.
It’s not all doom and gloom
While eco-anxiety is high with millennials, there is a glimmer of hope. Anxiety, while unpleasant, is an effective motivator. Although we do have our work cut out for us, many people are doing something about the negative emotions they are experiencing, with the majority of people addressing climate change in their day-to-day lives.
“The next generation has a high level of awareness of the challenges at hand when it comes to the health of the planet, and it’s heartening to see so many people taking action in their day-to-day lives,” said Dave Fanger, CEO and Founder of Swell Investing. “But there’s more to be done at the company level when it comes to investing. Think about it this way. You can take actions to protect the earth at home. But when you put your investment dollars behind environmentally responsible companies, you’re voting for the future you want to experience.”
References – Swell investing 2018 , BBC 2019, Metro.co.uk 2019
Karen Tate is an English speaking Cognitive Behavioural Therapist in Valencia who works with a range of mental health issues.
contact – www.outofsynctherapy.com
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