Love in the Time of Eco-Anxiety

It all started with trying to save money on paper towels.  My husband and I noticed how many paper towels we were using every week and thought it would be an interesting experiment to see if we could go without.  We cut up old t-shirts for rags and increased the amount of cloth towels hanging in our kitchen. It only took a week or so to realize that it wasn’t nearly as difficult as we'd thought it would be and, in addition to saving us money, it was way better for the environment.  That was the start…

Over the next couple of years I slowly started recognizing more ways in which we were overconsuming and began swapping in the more eco-friendly solution.  I realized that it wasn’t enough to just recycle, that we needed to reduce...a lot!  I found myself reading articles and watching documentaries about the climate crisis.  As I continued to look for ways to reduce our carbon footprint I became acutely aware of my community’s over consumption.  It bothered me. What I found to be even more troublesome was the complete lack of awareness and concern that so many people had.  There seemed to be no sense of urgency for most people to change their habits.

For a short while I tried to recruit my friends to get just as passionate about the climate crisis as I was.  Unfortunately, as a therapist I know all too well that change has to come from within and ultimately my efforts had minimal effect.  

Every car I saw zoom by, every burger I saw cooked or ordered and every forecast that predicted an even greater natural disaster than last year would make my stomach stir.  I was anxious about the fate of our world. For a while it was all I could think about. My husband and I had many talks about our fears, our anger, and at times hopelessness about this situation.  These talks were sometimes cathartic, allowing me to get everything out. 

This is eco-anxiety, a term used to describe the chronic fear of climate change and the sense of doom one may feel as a result.  It is a source of stress that an increasing number of people are feeling as they see day after day the damaging effects humans have on this planet.  Stress is often caused by our longing to want to control a situation when our reality dictates that we actually don’t have the amount of control that we desire.  Often a sense of loss and helplessness accompanies this stress and fear.

I’ve worked in the mental health field for over 10 years and I've never seen as many clients coming in with anxiety about the environment as I have within the last 2 years.  Much of the time, clients with General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) struggle to manage persistent worry which is not backed up by facts. Treatment of GAD can include challenging the validity of the worry.  Unfortunately, eco-anxiety is backed up by the facts, making it particularly difficult to reduce the symptoms.

I’ve seen eco-anxiety weigh heavy on major life decisions for my clients: whether or not to have children, quitting jobs in industries that perpetuate the problem, deciding where to live, and even considering if they can maintain relationships with family members who reject climate change.  The work has largely been about sitting in the uncertainty and loss my clients are experiencing. It has been about doing as much as they can and also knowing when they need to take breaks.

What I've found to be helpful when people experience fear and loss, however, is connecting with people who are going through the same thing.  When we come together as a community to process grief, share, and relate, it provides a certain support that can be empowering.  

The Good Grief Network has been building a 10-step support program for eco-anxiety where they seek to “find the delicate balance between unrealistic optimism and angry nihilism.”  They are bringing people together to help combat the effects of eco-anxiety, knowing that these groups will not reverse what has already happened, but provide support for those who are acutely aware and unnerved by the future.

I was able to get in touch with the women at the Good Grief Network and plan to start an Eco-anxiety Support and Process Group based on their work thus far.  This will be a chance to unite those who are struggling in isolation to deconstruct their feelings and gain a sense of community in this difficult time.  

As for me, I’ve found that finding my own people has helped.  People who are like-minded make me feel like there's hope. I continue to look for ways to help the environment and continue to intentionally expose myself to the devastation.  When meeting with clients I do not minimize the impact of eco-anxiety, but instead empathize and sit alongside them.  

I’m not sure how this will all end, but I’m willing to keep showing up.  I’m willing to keep confronting this global crisis through coming to terms with how I’ve contributed and also how I can be a catalyst for change.  I’m willing to show up for my community and provide a space for people to connect.

If you’d like more information about the Eco-Anxiety Support & Process group email admin@elevatedlifecounseling.com