Also called solastalgia, eco-anxiety is a real mental illness that affects almost half of teenagers. The stress linked to global warming and the destruction of biodiversity would have terrible consequences on their daily lives.
In the early 2000s, Glenn Albrecht, Australian environmental philosopher, collected testimonies from the inhabitants of the Hunter Valley, in deep distress at the imposed spectacle of the transformation of their environment by extremely polluting mining. This feeling of dispossession and powerlessness in the face of the degradation of their place of life challenges Glenn Albrecht. To describe it, he forged the concept of “Solastalgia” found today in many academic reports and publications under the name of eco-anxiety. This overwhelming sensation leads to various symptoms: sadness, anxiety, insomnia, anorexia or even depression.
Receiving terrible information every day on natural disasters, fires, irreversible disappearances of flora and fauna or quite simply the global pandemic are nests of stress for adults but also the youngest. An American study published in 2021 and carried out on 1,700 children who survived 4 major hurricanes concludes that half of them suffer from post-traumatic stress. For 10% of those questioned, it has become a chronic stress.
UK, 40% of 16-24 year olds feel “overwhelmed” by climate change according to a 2019 study. This explains why so many young people are getting involved in the fight against global warming and responded to Greta Thunberg’s call in 2018 when she launched her first global school strike for the climate. Fear and eco-anxiety therefore seem to be engines of action for this youth born in a world which is already experiencing the consequences of global warming for which it is not responsible.
Eco-anxiety from 6 years old
“I was shocked at how early awareness and anxiety start. My own daughter was only 6 when she said to me ‘Daddy, have we won the war against global warming? ‘. I was confused by this question, “ says clinical psychologist Patrick Kennedy Williams. For this professional, the eco-anxiety remedy it is the remedy for climate change, ie collective action. “You have to realize that you cannot fix everything alone. It is also impossible to work to solve climate change 24 hours a day” he emphasizes.
Clover Hogan, 20, would wake up at night in panic and burst into tears during the day, thinking of the fires that ravaged her country, Australia, in 2020. When she learned that half a billion animals had perished in the flames, his heart broke in two. “I felt devastated” explains the young girl to the Guardian.
At just 19, Rhiannon sees a therapist to treat his eco-anxiety. When she got on a plane one day, she was afraid that she would be one of the too many that would destroy the atmosphere, which caused her anxiety levels to take off. “It was really bad. Climate change has increased that sense of distress even more.” Like Greta Thunberg, the young girl now turns that stress into action by joining groups of young people who want to make a difference. “I now know that I can’t do everything on my own and that our future also depends on our policies and the environment. Instead of making me anxious, it’s more anger I feel when I see politicians .nnes who do not listen to young people. If politicians.nne had a more horizontal approach, we would be less anxious. “
Act to suffer less
For the former Minister of the Environment and current candidate for the primary of the ecological parties for the presidential election Delphine Batho, there is only one answer to give to these young people: “They are told that we have only duties towards them. I share their revolt and their traumas and they must be transformed into action.”
Among the remedies for eco-anxiety recommended by several clinical psychologists, joining groups of people who share the same fears and want to take action is at the top of the list. “Taking action doesn’t get rid of your eco-anxiety, but it turns it into action to change things” confirms MP Delphine Batho to Feminine. “Even if the magnitude of the challenges is of an important dimension, there is no helplessness. The impotence today to act and to transform things, it is the discourse of the system to discourage people from do something and commit. “
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