2019-12-02_Time

(Ben Green) #1
56 Time December 2–9, 2019

Under The brighT whiTe lighTs of a london exhibiTion space,
an instructor asks those who identify as extremely anxious about cli-
mate change to go to the far side of the room. Those who don’t should stay
closer to her. Soon, she is mostly alone; 30 ft. away, a few dozen strangers
cram together, signaling that they suffer “eco-anxiety.”
This workshop, hosted by King’s College London, is one of sev-
eral events organized in the British capital this fall to help people work
through the feelings that arise when confronting the fact that, according
to the U.N., we now have less than 11 years to prevent catastrophic cli-
mate change. “I try not to be hard on myself, because I know I’m doing as
much as I can,” says Leyla Kaya, a 29-year-old IT consultant. She is vegan,
avoids flying and has reduced her nonrecyclable waste to less than a liter a
month, but she’s worried by how little governments and others are doing.
“It’s really scary,” she says. “It does get me down.”
The American Psychological Association first defined eco-anxiety in
2017 as “a chronic fear of environmental doom.” In 2019, as protests, heat
waves and natural disasters pushed climate up the news agenda, eco-anxiety
has exploded across the Western world—even as developing countries suf-
fer most from climate change. Mental-health studies reveal a surge in people
reporting stress or depression about the climate. Interest in the Good Grief
Network, a U.S. organization coordinating eco-anxiety support groups, has

grown in the past six months, with new
branches popping up in half a dozen states.
Eco-anxiety is not the same as a clini-
cal anxiety disorder, though physicians
say fears about the climate can worsen
or trigger pre-existing mental-health
problems. In fact, in most cases anxiety
is actually a healthy response to the cli-
mate crisis, says psychotherapist Caroline
Hickman, a member of the Climate Psy-
chology Alliance, a U.K. working group
for psychology professionals.
For those in wealthy northern-
hemisphere countries, eco-anxiety does not stem
from an existential threat, but from uncertainty over
the future, says Aimee Lewis-Reau, who in 2016 co-
founded Good Grief and began developing a 10-step
program in the mold of AA. “In the past, we’ve had
the belief that if we just follow certain rules, things
will be predictable and safe. The climate predica-
ment is challenging that,” Lewis-Reau says.
Hickman agrees that loss of control can be intoler-
able. To cope, “we project into the future, sometimes
into apocalyptic thinking.” That’s why some British
children think they will die in a few years as a result
of climate change and parents worry about societal
collapse within a couple of decades—a time frame
most scientists say is unlikely in Western Europe.
Experts say taking action can restore a sense of
agency. But before hitting the streets, “you need to talk
about your feelings,” Hickman says, stressing that we
need to accept our vulnerability. “It doesn’t have to be
a therapy group, but I wouldn’t advise doing it all alone.
Because this is pretty scary stuff.” □

As the destabilization of our planet becomes clear,
many are experiencing eco-anxiety By Ciara Nugent

^


A fire near the Jacundá National
Forest in Brazil’s Amazon in August

CLIMATE


OF FEAR


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