Climate anxiety: how can we deal with it?
The consequences of the climate crisis are scaring many of us. Psychologists and psychotherapists expect these fears to increase. What psychological stress can this cause? And how can we learn to deal with "climate anxiety" in a meaningful way?
In this article you will find out:
- Fear of climate catastrophe on the rise
- "Climate Anxiety" is not a mental illness
- Environmental pollution has a direct impact on the psyche
- Study: 80 percent of all young people are worried
- "You get burnout if you don't experience effectiveness"
- Fight. Flight. Freeze: 3 emotional reactions to the ecological crisis
- Five tips: How to find a good way to deal with your anxiety (by family therapist Jutta Dreyer)
- Good news: We have collected some good news
Record temperatures in the Mediterranean, over 50 degrees in Morocco, dying coral reefs in Florida, flood disasters in Australia, Taiwan, the USA, South Korea and India: we can see the consequences of the climate crisis in the news every day. But we also feel and see climate change everywhere on our doorstep: drought and heat are affecting forests, blue-green algae are colonizing the Baltic Sea and ski resorts that were once white have no snow.
Many people are worried about this. And many develop fears that everything will get even worse. People who are intensively involved with climate change in particular run the risk of suffering severe psychological stress. A prominent example: Joko Winterscheidt. In the documentary series "Joko Winterscheidt Presents - The World's Dangerous Show", the TV presenter and actor deals with the climate crisis. For six episodes, he explores the effects of climate change and meets people who are fighting for a better and more sustainable world. On the one hand, this gives hope. In the end, however, Joko Winterscheidt is on the therapy chair: "When I see all these pictures, I feel incredibly overwhelmed. I am helpless. I am powerless. To be honest, who probably doesn't feel that way?".
Fear of climate catastrophe on the rise
Many people feel this way. The ever faster staccato of disasters, the terrible images and at the same time the feeling that we can do nothing about it - all of this can be stressful. "Climate anxiety" is the term used to describe the fear of climate change and its consequences.
These fears have been on the rise for years. Scientists expect extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall or periods of drought to increase - and with them mental stress. "The psychiatric care system must adapt to increasing demand," states the position paper "Climate change and mental illness" (2023) from the German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.
"Climate Anxiety" is not a mental illness
Climate anxiety" is not a mental illness. The term does not appear in the ICD disease catalogs, not even as a subcategory of an anxiety disorder. However, in the report "MENTAL HEALTH AND OUR CHANGING CLIMATE" published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 2017, "eco-anxiety" is described as a "chronic fear of ecological doom".
Scientists Lea Dohm, Fabian Chmielewski, Felix Peter and Mareike Schulze from Psy4F (Psychologists/Psychotherapists for Future) point out in the journal "Ärztliche Psychotherapie" that the word "climate anxiety" is incorrect. It would be more accurate to speak of "anxiety in connection with ecological crises". Why does "climate anxiety" not count as an anxiety disorder? Jutta Dreyer, family therapist and social worker at pme Familienservice, explains the difference: "Anxiety, like the fear of spiders, can be treated with behavioral therapy. Spiders are generally not dangerous, at least in Germany. In contrast, the fear of climate change is a real danger that threatens our biosphere and our future."
Environmental pollution and heat have a direct impact on the psyche
It's not just fear of the effects of climate change that has a negative impact on our psyche; environmental pollution and rising temperatures also have a direct impact on our mental health. "A meta-analysis published in 2021 shows that for every 1 degree Celsius increase in temperature, there is a 0.9% higher risk of mental illness," according to the IPCC report (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
For example, people with depression often have trouble sleeping. Some patients also become tired and lethargic due to the heat, so they lie down during the day. This can make the depression worse. Sleep deprivation helps with depression and is offered as a treatment in many clinics.
80 percent of all young people are concerned
What will our world look like in 20 years? Will we still have enough clean water? Does it still make sense to have children? These are just a few of the thoughts that are likely to be running through many - especially young - people's minds.
A study published in the journal "The Lancet" in 2021 shows what climate forecasts trigger in young people around the world. A scientific team from the University of Bath surveyed 10,000 people aged 16 to 25 in ten countries on all continents about their thoughts and feelings regarding the climate crisis. 75 percent agreed with the statement "The future is scary". 56% of respondents believe that humanity is "doomed". Over half (59%) said they were very or extremely worried and reported feelings of sadness, anxiety, anger, powerlessness, helplessness and guilt.
A survey recently published by the Bertelsmann Foundation in Germany came to similarly worrying conclusions. 80 percent of young people aged 12 to 18 surveyed were concerned about climate change, 42 percent were even very concerned.
"You get burnout if you don't experience effectiveness"
"Young people in particular want to change the world, and quickly, and have underestimated that this is not a sprint, but a marathon. That's how you get burnout, if you want too much too quickly and don't experience any effectiveness," says Barbara Meerwein in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung. The Berliner specializes in depth psychology-based psychotherapy and psychoanalysis and is also a member of the Psy4F group. In total, more than 1,200 psychologists and psychotherapists are involved in the association on a voluntary basis and offer psychotherapeutic counseling to activists, among others.
In addition, according to family therapist Jutta Dreyer, teenagers and young adults are growing up as "digital natives" and are using the internet and social networks in their own territory: "Young people are better connected and better informed and see the dangers of climate change more clearly. In addition, the time of growing up is often accompanied by feelings of uncertainty. The great uncertainty about what our future will look like, combined with all the information available, naturally has an even greater impact on the young psyche".
Fight. Flight. Freeze: 3 emotional reactions to the ecological crisis
Researchers are now discussing a whole range of different reactions to the psychological processing of ecological threats. These include feelings such as fear and helplessness, sadness and grief, but also anger and rage.
The Psy4F scientists present three possible responses to the threats posed by the climate crisis: "In addition to active intervention ('fight') and (cognitive or emotional, but also behavioral) flight, paralyzing fear ('freeze') represents a third possible response to threats". In the worst case - and fortunately in rare cases - the symptoms of such anxiety can lead to burnout or depression. We have therefore put together some tips on how to deal with fear of the climate crisis in a healthy way.
How to find a good way to deal with your anxiety
5 tips from Jutta Dreyer, family therapist and coach, pme Familienservice
1. accept your fear
In itself, fear is a good thing. Fear has the function of informing us about what could be dangerous for us so that we can react to it in good time. It comes, and usually doesn't stay for long, and the feeling disappears again. In this respect, it wants to protect you. So accept fear as just that: a protective function.
Observe your fear next time. Knowing that it will come and won't stay for long helps us not to feel so helplessly at its mercy. This is also the principle of mindfulness: consciously experiencing moments, listening to your inner impulses without judging them.
Fear can even motivate you and lead to you taking action - for example, getting involved in environmental protection. And that in turn takes away the paralyzing effect of fear. You become capable of taking action and your fear may become less.
Mindfulness exercises, podcasts and more: reducing anxiety and stress
Mindfulness exercises can help you to reduce your stress and anxiety. They help you to change your focus and redirect it towards the 'good'. Especially if you do the exercises regularly, mindfulness can lead to a positive change in your thinking
You can easily integrate the exercises into your everyday life:
2 simple exercises for more resilience
Podcast: How does mindfulness work?
Cheerful to stormy: living mindfulness
2. become active - and increase your self-efficacy
What makes the climate crisis even more difficult is the feeling of powerlessness. Of course, you have no influence over many things. Nevertheless, it can be helpful to see yourself as part of the solution and act accordingly.
Look around your sphere of influence: What can you do at your workplace or in your club? Do you want to be part of the solution? Then an environmental project might be just the thing to get you out of your (perceived) inability to act.
You can find projects for environmental protection here: www.betterplace.org/de
You can find support for your sustainability project here: institut-klimapsychologie.de
The Institute for Climate Psychology provides step-by-step support to help you find a way to achieve your goals and make your sustainability project a success.
Podcast recommendation: What to do against the feeling of powerlessness?
3. talk to friends or a therapist
If you notice that your anxiety is getting worse and worse, even paralyzing you or causing you to panic, then take it seriously and talk to others about it. It's important to do something if your fears won't go away.
You can talk about it with good friends. Alternatively, you can also talk to other people about your worries in group coaching sessions . During the corona period, we at pme Familienservice have noticed that it helps to talk not only in individual counseling sessions, but also in groups to support each other.
If talking to friends doesn't help, don't be afraid to seek counseling. Don't wait too long and seek support early on.
24/7 life situation hotline for customers of pme Familienservice:
0800 80100 7080
Group coaching "Resilience": Our group coaching sessions can help you to better deal with your fears and emotions regarding the climate crisis.
4. self-care - take time for yourself (plus exercises)
Good sleep, a healthy diet, time for exercise, spending time with friends, personal development: these are all needs that you can take good care of yourself with when they are in balance.
If our needs are satisfied, we are happy. If we neglect a need over a longer period of time, negative feelings and tension can arise. For example, if our need for attachment is frustrated because we have not had any social contact for a long time, we will probably soon suffer from feelings of loneliness.
You can use the 10-finger method to find out whether all your needs are covered:
Recognizing needs with the 10-finger method
5. social media abstinence: give yourself a break from news
Scrolling through negative news for hours in bed at night is known as doomscrolling. It is our human nature to want to understand uncontrollable situations and close gaps in our knowledge. This provides security. That's why we look for explanations, but in doing so we come across more and more negative news. And this in turn feeds our fears.
Give yourself a break. Also realize that news agencies and magazines deliberately work with negative headlines. Our brain responds to this. Negative news is clicked on more often.
We are also naturally subject to a negativity bias. This means that negative thoughts and experiences have a stronger impact on our psyche than positive experiences.
To avoid scrolling uncontrollably through feeds, we recommend that you:
- Only check social media feeds once a day.
- Avoid forums or groups that report a lot and sensationalistically about disasters.
- Instead, join forums and groups that are committed to climate protection.
Good news: We also have some good news for you
Speed enzymes break down PET plastic in record time
Climate activists win against US state
mdr on EarthDay: Good news from the planet
Climate reporter: Magazine with good environmental news
Note: This article was reviewed and written in collaboration with Jutta Dreyer, family therapist, social worker and product manager for life coaching at pme Familienservice.
Sources:
Position paper of a task force of the DGPPN (German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Neurology)
Report of the American Psychiatric Association (retrieved 12.01.22) Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance
https://www.barmer.de/gesundheit-verstehen/mensch/gesundheit-2030/nachhaltigkeit/klima-angst-1072176
https://elibrary.klett-cotta.de/content/pdf/10.21706/aep-18-1-5.pdf
https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/de/publikationen/publikation/did/was-bewegt-die-jugend-in-deutschland
https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metropole/psychische-folgen-der-klimakrise-aktivisten-geraten-haeufig-in-ein-burnout-li.294884
https://www.zeit.de/campus/2019-12/klima-aktivisten-angst-depressionen-klimawandel
https://www.psy4f.org/ (Psychologist for Future)
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00278-3/fulltext
https://psychotherapie-wissenschaft.info/article/view/1664-9583-2022-2-45/html
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