How to use your climate change anxiety to take action

“An increasing number of my students are concerned about the climate,” says psychologist Dr Audrey Tang. “They are, after all, the ones who will need to make the planet work for them. I hear a lot about students asking parents to recycle only to be told in response, ‘When I was your age, we used to only use one piece of toilet paper each time we went.’

“What can sometimes add to mental health issues when it comes to, well, issues, is that those more greatly affected will advocate for change but those who advocated in the past – especially if they are feeling under-appreciated or unrecognised for their efforts – will struggle to listen.”

Climate anxiety is defined not just as panic, but also describes other emotional responses we experience in relation to climate crisis, including anger and grief. While the symptoms might feel severe, ranging from difficulty sleeping up to panic attacks, it’s important to understand that climate anxiety is a very natural and understandable emotional response to what’s happening in the world. Greta Thunberg’s furious response at UN leaders in 2019 was completely proportional to the situation.

“Feeling this distress or anxiety is the price we pay for being aware, awake and caring about the future of humanity and the world – it is a healthy and caring response,” says Caroline Hickman, of University of Bath and Climate Psychology Alliance. She explains that, although these emotions are difficult, they are crucial. “The important thing is not to judge yourself for having these feelings, but to make sure there is some balance between the anxiety, sadness and taking action,” she says. “It is only by feeling this distress that we will take the situation seriously, and be moved to act.”

Around a decade ago, when climate psychologist Tree Staunton discovered the irreparable damage humanity has inflicted on the planet, she fell into a depression. “I found myself constantly initiating conversations about environmental and social collapse, where I would simultaneously bemoan the horror of the situation whilst secretly hoping somehow for a response that might suggest things were not as bad as they seemed,” she tells us. “Managing those who refuse to accept climate change as an issue is probably less important than managing ourselves and our own feelings.” It’s a point worth remembering as many of us struggle to deal with loved ones who might not have yet accepted the realities of climate change.

So, what can we do to ease any anxiety, anger or despair that we might be experiencing right now? Hickman advises starting with the basics – treat yourself with kindness and compassion. Avoid a superhero mindset to prevent burnout; this is an emergency, but a long-term one that will need sustained energy. “Try not to get overwhelmed, find group support for yourself and balance the internal emotional feelings with external practical actions,” says Hickman. “There is hope, but we need ‘radical hope’ not naïve hope.”

The idea of radical hope is a philosophy supported by the Climate Psychology Alliance, which it defines as leaning into our feelings of helplessness, anguish, grief and destructive entitlement to create a resilience to a crisis and a capacity to deal with it. In other words, if we accept the difficult reality, we can start to imagine a new future. “Things are bad, but there is also a lot we can do if we take action now,” says Hickman.