Climate Anxiety

“It isn’t possible to convince people that these are not legitimate concerns.” Photograph/Elín Edda Þorsteinsdóttir

Translation: Þórhildur Elínardóttir Magnúsdóttir

Climate anxiety has become more prevalent over the past year. The phenomenon is new and has therefore not been researched to the fullest extent. Kristín Hulda Gísladóttir, a second-year graduate student in adult clinical psychology at the University of Iceland and the president of Hugrún - a mental health education organization - knows quite a lot about the topic. Hugrún, in collaboration with Ungir Umhverfissinnar (e. Young Environmentalists), has talked about the connection between climate change and mental health. 

“Climate anxiety seems to appear both as an isolated thing when people who usually do not deal with anxiety worry a great deal about environmental issues. It’s also likely that people who deal with anxiety, which manifests in worries about all kinds of things, also worry about the climate,” says Kristín. “Worrying about climate issues is normal considering the circumstances, and it can help people to act in response. But the anxiety can become too much and have a limiting effect, like if people lay awake at night because they worry so much about the environment, or if their anxiety has a big effect on people’s decision making, like whether to have children.” Kristín says climate anxiety also affects children: “Many of those cases are probably children who have a general anxiety disorder, because they latch on to things happening around them and worry about them. Maybe these are children who would have been worrying about nuclear war 50 years ago, but worry about climate change now.”

An Independent Problem

Kristín says that climate anxiety often appears in people who do not usually deal with anxiety. “I, for example, am not generally an anxious person, but I worry a great deal about the climate crisis, and I can feel that there are a lot of people around me in the same position. But this is certainly not a diagnosis; nobody has been officially diagnosed with climate anxiety. That’s also because this is so new.”

Climate Anxiety Is Different than General Anxiety

Climate anxiety is similar to anxiety disorders such as general anxiety disorder in the sense that they are both characterized by considerable, burdensome worries. But there is one important element that differentiates the two. “What makes anxiety a disorder is that there is nothing backing it. Climate issues, however, are a real problem. To some extent, that’s the difference between an anxiety disorder and climate anxiety. It isn’t possible to approach it like we would with an anxiety disorder and say that people shouldn’t have these worries, or not worry nearly as much, because there really is great reason to worry about the climate,” says Kristín.

Legitimate Concerns

Climate anxiety can have a negative and restrictive effect on people's lives. “The restrictions are embodied in the fact that this has a negative effect on people's health and behaviour. This can have a very restrictive effect on life itself if the worries are so immense that they take over other cognitive processes. The most extreme form of this would be if people had a hard time holding a conversation or thinking about other things, if the mind was always leaning towards worrying about the climate,” says Kristín, who adds that she has never heard of such a serious case of climate anxiety. She does know that Kvíðameðferðarstöðin (an anxiety treatment clinic) has started to see a huge increase in patients with climate anxiety and therefore had to especially consider how to treat it, because it cannot be handled like anxiety disorders. “It isn’t possible to convince people that these are not legitimate concerns. That’s kind of what anxiety treatment is built on: Showing people that they don’t need to worry so much. That’s impossible to do when the problem is so big and legitimate.”

The Stress of Humankind and Earth

Kristín cares a lot about climate issues and sees a connection between worsening mental health and climate disasters. As she explains: “We are used to the state of mind that it is completely normal to wear yourself out, be under pressure, do a million things, and I think we’ve demanded that from the earth as well. We’re wearing ourselves out beyond all limits and we’re doing the same to the earth. It has been calculated that we would need eight earths to sustain the consumption pattern of Icelanders, and we kind of act like we have eight times the energy reserves and we are eight people - we can have a million hobbies, be super hard-working at the gym, go to school, have a full-time job and another part-time job as well - and that it’s just fine, we’re doing great. People wear themselves out and burn out. We’re burning out and the planet is heating up. “

Connecting Issues

Kristín has fixed on her mind the connection between various issues and emphasises the cooperation of non-governmental organizations here in Iceland. “The war against consumerism is one of the biggest issues for both feminists and environmentalists because consumerism has very negative effects through its promotion of stereotypes, especially female stereotypes. There are endless demands to be a certain something and buy consumer products to become that thing. Women need to be beautiful, own the right things, for example shampoo and make-up products, which are supposed to bring women closer to the stereotype - and the same goes for men. This is especially relevant due to the rise of social media and lifestyle bloggers. Consumerism also matters a great deal in environmental protection. Excessive consumption causes climate change. We are wearing out the planet and using more than she can handle. Even though these forces don’t always work together, they have a common goal: to reduce consumerism in order to have a positive effect on women's self-image, increase equality, and reduce the value of material and unimportant things. This is where mental health comes in; consumer products don’t give us real happiness, they only make us feel good for a short time. We often convince ourselves that material things will increase life satisfaction.” 

It could be said, then, that climate anxiety is the product of multiple societal problems that manifest in climate change. Kristín believes that the biggest improvements will be reached through the cooperation of activists advocating for a better society. “Nobody has the energy to focus on everything that can be improved in society. It’s important to acknowledge the things that need fixing, but nobody can be active in all areas of life. Then we would wear ourselves out. I think it’s important that those who are fighting for a change in society are aware of the connections and work together when possible. For example, feminists and environmentalists should be fighting consumerism together in the big picture.”

*The Student Paper recommends Kristín Hulda Gísladóttir’s episode “Umhverfisvernd. Femínismi. Geðheilsa.” of the radio show series Fólk og fræði.