For many, the uncertainty surrounding climate change can be summed up with the looming questions of 鈥淗ow bad? How soon?鈥 It鈥檚 easy to feel overwhelmed in the face of such daunting issues, especially when it feels like individual actions won鈥檛 have much impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale. Anxiety can manifest when faced with uncertainty in the context of elevated stress. The key is not to let anxiety become so pervasive that it gets in the way of daily living.
鈥淓motions help us navigate the demands of life,鈥 says Karin Coifman, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences. 鈥淓motions have very clear functions: fear when we encounter something threatening; sadness when there鈥檚 a loss; joy in moments we share with others. Emotion processing refers to our ability to flexibly change our emotions depending on the circumstances and our needs.鈥
Emotion-related disorders such as depression and anxiety commonly feature a tendency toward rigidity or an inability to regulate emotions relative to circumstances. A person with an anxiety disorder might exhibit a fear response even when there isn鈥檛 an explicit threat. When a threat is ambiguous, a fear response can be very costly and have negative physiological and psychological consequences.
鈥淔ear responses trigger changes to the cardiovascular system that increase your heart rate, changing blood flow,鈥 Coifman says. 鈥淔ear also shifts your focus, narrowing your attention to improve your ability to respond. Your body and mind are poised and ready. This is very functional in the short-term, in response to a real threat. But if you remain at this level of constant activation it starts to wear on your system. Your body is not designed to be in that state of readiness all the time.鈥
Physiological symptoms of anxiety include muscle tension, headaches, difficulty sleeping and digestive issues. A sustained state of readiness makes it difficult to concentrate and focus on anything other than all-consuming worry. The American Psychology Association defines eco-anxiety as 鈥渢he chronic fear of environmental cataclysm that comes from observing the seemingly irrevocable impact of climate change and the associated concern for one's future and that of next generations.鈥
鈥淲orry on some level is appropriate when faced with a real threat. It鈥檚 better to actively manage that worry than try to deny it or suppress it.鈥
Younger generations are more prone to experience eco-anxiety, partly because they鈥檝e been raised within the context of environmental concerns. There is also a demonstrated psychological phenomenon that as people age and gain greater perspective, they tend to be less reactionary to negative circumstances. Regardless of whether people are worried about experiencing the effects of climate change during their lifetime or have concerns about what future generations will face, ongoing anxiety over the unknown can be distressing.
鈥淲hen it comes to climate change, that is a legitimate worry,鈥 Coifman says. 鈥淭he threat to humanity is explicit. The ambiguous part is not knowing how quickly it will impact our lives. Worry on some level is appropriate when faced with a real threat. It鈥檚 better to actively manage that worry than try to deny it or suppress it because that often leads to backlash.鈥
When faced with an enormous problem that feels out of control, finding little things we can control can help manage anxiety. Activities such as composting, growing your own produce, planting native species or installing rain barrels may offer comfort and reassurance that you are doing your part to mitigate climate change.
鈥淪ometimes you can feel overwhelmed by negative information or a feeling that things aren鈥檛 changing fast enough,鈥 Coifman says. 鈥淚t may help to pivot toward focusing on your own behavior and your own actions, the things you can control, because you can鈥檛 control the bigger picture.鈥
Learn more about the Department of Psychological Sciences.
Students鈥 advice on how to cope with climate anxiety:
Recognize your feelings. It鈥檚 OK to feel bad about climate change.
Write down your anxieties in a list. Cross off any you can't control.
Find things that calm you down when you are distressed. It could be a song, exercise or meditation.
Try to find something鈥攕mall or big鈥攖hat you can do. Commit yourself to it.
鈥擡xcerpted from BBC News Climate & Science