https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/climate-change/article290432059.html
by Claire Grunewald, Miami Herald
Excerpt: Many troubling signs of climate change in South Florida are visible — but one that affects a growing number of people is not. It’s called climate anxiety, a fear of what the future may hold in a warming world. It hit Olivia Collins not long ago, The wave of worry surprised her since she’s immersed in the subject from working at Miami’s CLEO institute, which is dedicated to climate education and advocacy. The unsettling feeling suddenly washed over her after she read “The Light Pirate,” a novel set in near-future Florida about a child born out of a devastating hurricane who has to navigate a world undergoing frightening change. “I’ve been with CLEO for seven years and never felt climate anxiety, but it hit me like a ton of bricks back in the spring,’’ Collins said.
“After I read that book, I was seeking my own personal climate therapist through the climate psychology network. It felt too real. It hit this nerve so deep down, and I can’t undo it.” Some may scoff, perhaps the same skeptics of science showing the environmental already changing, but academic researchers and practicing psychologists have identified climate anxiety as an increasingly common stressor. Experts at Yale University define it this way: distress about climate change and its impacts on the landscape and human existence. It can manifest as intrusive thoughts or troubled feelings about the future of the world. Also called “eco-anxiety,” it can take the form of “eco-guilt,” a feeling of not doing enough personally, or even “eco-rage,” an elevated anger that everybody else isn’t doing enough to deal with looming threats.
Worries about what rising temperatures and seas will do to the world are increasingly common, researchers have found, particularly among younger people. In a 2021 study in The Lancet surveying 10,000 youths in several countries, including America, the majority of respondents said they were worried about climate change, while more than 50% reported feeling sad, anxious or guilty. More than 45% said their feelings about climate change were strong enough to negatively affected their daily lives.
…
Other measures suggest a rise in people struggling to cope with climate concerns. In South Florida — ground zero for the threat of sea rise and smack in the middle of hurricane alley — the website Zencare shows 11 therapists now listing “climate anxiety” treatment as part of their practices. On a global scale, worldwide Google searches for “climate anxiety” or “eco-anxiety” increased by 4,590% from 2018 to 2023, according to a report by Time.
…
Putting a number to clinically serious anxiety cases is difficult. But in a study published in the Yale Climate Change Communication program In 2022, researchers asked a group of Americans aged 18 and older how often they feel nervous, depressed or bothered by global warming over a period of two weeks. Using a widely accepted psychological measure, their findings suggested that 3% of the adult population could be experiencing potentially serious levels of anxiety due to climate change.
The researchers also found out that Hispanic/Latino adults are more likely to experience high levels of climate anxiety, while younger members of Gen Z, Millennial and Gen X generations are experiencing higher rates compared to Baby Boomers and older people. That hardly seems surprising since scientists predict younger generations will likely see more profound changes if current trends continue.
…
Outside of the healthcare field, climate advocacy organizations also are beginning to include mental health resources as a part of outreach efforts. The Climate Mental Health Network, a national organization, is one of them. Elissa Teles Muñoz of Miami is one of its K-12 programming leads. She researches how teachers can acknowledge the emotions that come with discussing the implications of climate change in the classroom. She said young people in South Florida see the effects in real time, in the form of coastal flooding and hurricanes, which can provoke not only questions but an array of responses. “In order to have responsible climate education, you need to be addressing emotions that arise within students in an appropriate way,” Muñoz said.
…
Muñoz, 24, said she began having strong emotions triggered by climate change herself around 2018, when the IPCC Special Report about global warming came out. … She recalled feeling anxious and depressed, unsure of how to handle her emotions.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/climate-change/article290432059.html#storylink=cpy
