Eco-anxiety addressing your concerns

As an English student starting the module ‘Writing Environments’ this semester, I became interested in exploring how eco-anxiety (also known as climate anxiety) affects the daily lives of students. By interviewing University of Leeds’ students from a range of degree programmes and listening to their individual concerns, I hoped to gain a better understanding of their experiences with eco-anxiety and highlight some of their key concerns.

What is eco-anxiety?

Eco-anxiety, or climate anxiety, refers to a feeling of hopelessness towards climate change. The fear of environmental ruin can lead to emotions such as despondency, sadness, anger, and many other overwhelming feelings that may take their toll on your mental health and day-to-day life.

Hearing your thoughts

I was hesitant when choosing which questions to ask; how can you tackle a topic as complex and important as climate change in a five-minute informal interview? This doubt led me to consider my own experiences of eco-anxiety, and once working through my thoughts, I simplified the questions and began those conversations. 

Eco-anxiety may not affect everyone, so I started by asking: Do you know what it is?

Two students hadn’t heard the term prior to the interview, but were able to deduce the meaning from its name. The other two knew what it was, and mentioned that they felt frequently affected by it, particularly due to its relevance in their degrees (zoology and ecology).

To determine whether or not climate anxiety is intermingled with other feelings of anxiety, I asked where this anxiety is placed. Some students viewed it as a separate issue completely, and understandably so. This feeling of individual hopelessness in the current global, humanity-induced climate crisis is a common symptom of eco-anxiety and can feel all-consuming as the wider impacts of your efforts may feel minimal. 

Your concerns:

The primary, most notable concerns were lack of government action, social collapse, and the effect of the climate crisis on individual communities. Others included: an increase in natural disasters such as mass floods, landslides, and general pandemonium. Some felt their eco-anxiety was partly induced by the media, believing it sensationalises the climate crisis through mediums such as the doomsday clock. There was also a sense of insufficient education regarding what individuals can do to make a difference or how to gain a genuine and deeper understanding of the issue. 

Finding ways to cope – learning as you go

Finding ways to manage your eco-anxiety is essential not only for your mental health, but also for your ability to learn more about the issues our world faces. 

How I cope:

Writing: I explore my thoughts through writing or journaling. Writing helps me break down complex problems and through this practise they become less overwhelming

Reading: Educating yourself on key issues is crucial. Oftentimes a greater awareness on a topic can help you feel both useful and more in control. Understanding an issue is the first step towards thinking about solutions. 

Focusing on what can be controlled: Even simple changes like shopping second hand, reducing your red-meat intake, walking to university, and recycling can help you feel more at ease about your own carbon footprint.

Talking: Communicating with your peers is essential for your mental health. Sharing concerns and releasing pent-up feelings may lighten the burden, and others could be experiencing similar problems.

While these don’t solve the problem of global warming, implementing some of them in your daily life may help you manage any feelings of hopelessness.

Educating yourself and taking action as an individual:

Some useful links and organisations to educate yourself on the climate crisis:

Getting involved in local and global conservation organisations: 

Local: Friends of the Earth Leeds, Extinction Rebellion Leeds, Friends of the Earth Leeds https://www.climateactionleeds.org.uk/leeds-climate-groups

Global: RSPB, WWF, Cool Earth, The Woodland Trust

Marching and demonstrating (recent State of Nature report)

State of Nature Report 2023: https://nbn.org.uk/news/state-of-nature-2023/

Nonviolent direct action (e.g. XR, Just Stop Oil)

More reading:

Margaret Klein Salamon, Facing the Climate Emergency (New Society, 2020)

Greta Thunberg, No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference (Penguin, 2021)

University: Priestley Centre for Climate Futures: https://climate.leeds.ac.uk/