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The Rise of Environmental Anxiety
How indigenous communities are suffering from mental health illnesses
Eco-anxiety, although not currently considered a medical condition, is defined by the American Psychological Association as a “chronic fear of environmental doom.”
The difficulty in categorising such a condition comes from the many ways in which it can be expressed. Some people have everyday episodes of grief and despair, others exhibit sudden panic attacks while some have even made the big decision to not have children because they believe it may be unethical due to future quality of life.
Regardless of its expression, eco-anxiety is having sustained effects on emotional wellbeing and prevalence has increased since the eye-opening Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report was released in October of 2018, highlighting the severity of our current situation.
The Yale Program on Climate Change Communications found that 70 per cent of Americans are “worried” about climate change, with 59 per cent feeling “helpless.”
These numbers reflect psychologists’ concerns about a dramatic rise in the number of patients displaying such symptoms, with many of them calling for a greater focus on understanding the links between climate change and mental health.
