Skip to content
Monday, June 05, 2023
healthy life style

healthy life style

Lifestyle for healthy

  • Health Benefits
  • Health Food
  • Health Insurance
  • Health Anxiety
  • Health
  • Medicare
  • About Us
    • Advertise Here
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap
You are Here
  • Home
  • Climate change also affects mental health. Call it eco-anxiety
Health

Climate change also affects mental health. Call it eco-anxiety

May 10, 20227 min read Angie K. Claar

Anna Lynn Heine has thought about dropping out of Eckerd College more times than she cares to admit.

Or she’ll work on an essay and wonder what is even the point.

Anxiety about the planet’s future has also kept the 21-year-old from enjoying dinner with family or drinks with friends. A plastic cup can send her into an existential spiral.

“Where did this food come from? Where’s this plastic going to go and how many fossil fuels were burned for it to arrive at my table?” she’ll ask herself. “And is this going to go to a landfill if I don’t finish it?”

Mental health professionals have a term for the stress and grief many feel about the planet’s future: eco-anxiety. The American Psychiatric Association defines it as “chronic fear of environmental doom.” It can lead to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

A Nature study published in September surveyed 10,000 young people in 10 countries and found that most respondents are “very worried” or “extremely worried” about climate change. Nearly half of them said climate anxiety impacts their daily lives.

Heine is an environmental studies major in Jo Huxster’s climate change communications class at Eckerd College. The assistant environmental studies professor said almost every student in her class has eco-anxiety.

Huxster’s course examines the psychology of climate change denial and the ways different sectors — the media, government, corporations — discuss climate change. Students learn how to run an organizing campaign to address climate policy and ways to talk about it with climate denialists and the apathetic.

Heine, who grew up mostly in Miami and Key West, said she’s most anxious about the rising threat of natural disasters due to climate change and the suffering that will occur along class and racial lines.

 Anna Lynn Heine, a student at Eckerd College, poses for a portrait on April 19 on the St. Petersburg campus.

Arielle Bader

/

Special to the Times

Anna Lynn Heine, a student at Eckerd College, said she’s most anxious about the rising threat of natural disasters due to climate change and the suffering that will occur along class and racial lines.

She mourns for her hometown of Miami, where scientists predict sea level rise will displace nearly a third of the current population by the end of the century.

“It’s going to be a painful ending,” Heine said, “and it’s going to happen in an unjust way.”

Anxiety about the planet’s future increasingly comes up in Orlando therapist Kaley Sinclair’s sessions with clients.

Sinclair, a licensed mental health counselor and trauma specialist, said her adolescent and young adult clients discuss feeling a sense of doom about the environment. Those with young children, or thoughts of having kids, contend with the guilt of forcing the next generation to inherit a hotter, less inhabitable world.

Many, she said, are childhood trauma survivors, who struggle with a pervasive feeling of being unsafe.

Sinclair didn’t learn to treat climate anxiety or grief in graduate school, but realized that the number of clients needing professional help will only grow. In February, she registered with the Climate Psychiatry Alliance, a professional group that offers resources and training.

 Joanna Huxster, an assistant professor of environmental studies at Eckerd College, listens to a student during an outdoor class session on April 19 at the St. Petersburg campus. She teaches an environmental communications course and dedicates the last week of class to teaching her students how to deal with eco-anxiety and grief. Eco-anxiety, or the “chronic fear of environmental doom,” is affecting the mental health of more and more people as they grapple with the realities of climate change. 

Arielle Bader

/

Special to the Times

Joanna Huxster, an assistant professor of environmental studies at Eckerd College, listens to a student during an outdoor class session on April 19 at the St. Petersburg campus. She teaches an environmental communications course and dedicates the last week of class to teaching her students how to deal with eco-anxiety and grief.

The Alliance created the Climate-Aware Therapist Directory, a resource to help people find therapists who have pledged to recognize the climate crisis is a threat to physical and mental health. There are about 100 therapists in the directory, but Sinclair is one of just two in Florida.

About a third of her clients have shared anxiety or grief about the environment. Her response is tailored to each client, but she encourages them to stay grounded in the present and think about constructive ways to improve their feelings.

“OK, what do you have control over?” Sinclair tells them. “What can you do to try to make an impact while validating that a lot of things are outside of your control?”

Huxster tells her students the best thing any individual can do is to talk about the climate crisis. About 70 percent of the U.S. population knows climate change is real, she said, but only 30 percent talk about it. She hopes to direct attention toward effective climate action: transitioning away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy and electrifying transportation.

“Your own carbon footprint is very small,” Huxster said. “What’s most important about your actions is how they affect the actions of the people around you.”

 Anya Cervantes, a student at Eckerd College, poses for a portrait on April 19 on the St. Petersburg campus.

Arielle Bader

/

Special to the Times

Anya Cervantes, a student at Eckerd College, hopes to see Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, which is already 60 percent bleached due to heat stress.



Love for the ocean brought one of Huxster’s Eckerd students, Anya Cervantes, from suburban Massachusetts to Florida to study the environment. Fear for the oceans fuels her eco-anxiety.

The 22-year-old is a licensed scuba diver. She finds peace underwater, among swaying coral, a vibrant ecosystem that supports a quarter of all marine life.

“It’s a spiritual experience for me,” she said.

Her dream is to see Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, which is already 60 percent bleached due to heat stress. She hopes she’ll make it in time to see what remains, but she also feels guilty for wanting to go at all. (The United Nations predicts that airplane emissions of carbon dioxide will triple by 2050.)

Huxster’s class has helped Cervantes think about ways she can combine her passion for environmental justice and her second major, visual arts, into a career that could help address the problems the world faces.

While the 22-year-old can’t imagine not dedicating herself to alleviating the climate crisis, she’s also frustrated about the pressures placed on her generation to solve it.

“The younger generation is almost put on a pedestal to save the planet,” she said. “It’s like, we didn’t create this problem.”

For Huxster, researching climate change — contending with the dire data on a near daily basis — creates a source of anxiety. She has a 2½-year-old son and worries about what the future will look like for him and the people he will know.

But her work also makes her feel good. This semester, she said three students decided to pursue careers in translating climate science to different audiences. Every year, more students sign up for her 25-person course than it has space for.

The professor dedicates the last week of her class to discussing eco-anxiety and grief.

Joanna Huxster, an assistant professor of environmental studies at Eckerd College, leads a discussion in her environmental communications class on April 19 on the St. Petersburg campus.

Arielle Bader

/

Special to the Times

Joanna Huxster, an assistant professor of environmental studies at Eckerd College, leads a discussion in her environmental communications class on April 19 on the St. Petersburg campus.

Students share how they feel and read a chapter of Per Espen Stoknes’ book What We Think About When We’re Trying Not To Think About Global Warming.

Heine admits that she needs to find a way to care about the climate that’s sustainable for her mental health. And so that she can continue to wake up every day and do the work.

She knows she won’t drop out. She will finish the essay. And she plans to have kids.

“I wouldn’t prevent new life that could build things to be better just because of fear. I would rather try to continue to build the future.”

Times photojournalist Arielle Bader contributed to this report.

This story was produced in partnership with the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a multi-newsroom initiative formed to cover the impacts of climate change in the state.  

Copyright 2022 WUSF Public Media – WUSF 89.7

Better Health Solutions Miami, Bills Teachers Mental Health Trainig, Birchbox Women'S Health, Comcap Family Health Services, Comunity Health Cenree, Coupon Code Gi Pro Health, Epa Health Risk Pollutants, Essentia Health Brainerd Address, Essentia Health Electronic Time Cards, Evolv Health Login.In.Issues, Exercise Related To Mental Health, Family Health Fort Collins, Halyard Health Cafepharma, Hayes Morris Mental Health Hospital, Health, Health And Bipolar Disorder, Health Benefit Strategy, Health Benefits Brown Seaweek, Health Benefits Of Acacia Seeds, Health Benefits Of Exercise Squats, Health Booklets For Kids, Health Care Crisis Communication, Health Centers That Offer Swimming, Health Dept Franklin Tn, Health Grove Littleton Assisted Care, Health Hazaed Waterbourne Coatings, Health Information Technology Across Departments, Health Insurance Costs Unaffordable By, Health Insurance Premium Deductible, Health Insurance School Forms, Health Issues Caused By Cavities, Health Mart Grovecity Pa, Health Of Parriots Gronkowski, Hill County Texas Health Inspector, Hilton Employee Health Program, Hippocrates Health Institute Staff, Hopewell Wv Health Care, Jefferson Health System Psychiatry, Julia Roberts, Mj Health Kardashian, Moda Health Referral Form, Monstruck Health Rating, Mufg Union Bank Employee Health, Pe Health Banner, Ri Health Care Proxy, Robert Osborne 2016 Health, San Diego Public Health Vaccinations, Savannah Memorial Behavioral Health Policy, Tampa Mobile Health Clinic Volunteer, Tan De Health Herbs, Ted Deutch Health
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Linkedin

Post navigation

Health Insurance With Customized Coverage And Lower Costs? Burnham Benefits Shapes Innovative Plans For Like-Minded Businesses
Three Hamden food establishments failed health inspections

Related Posts

  • Ezine Affiliate Marketing

    June 3, 2023December 8, 2022
  • Why Sugar Hacked Science (And Your Health!)

    May 25, 2023December 8, 2022
  • Anti-Aging Antioxidants – How to Stay Young and Healthy

    May 25, 2023December 8, 2022
June 2023
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930  
« May    

Archives

  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • January 2017

Recent Posts

  • Health Benefits of a Jack LaLanne Juicer
  • Ezine Affiliate Marketing
  • Digital Medicine Platform for Treatment of Cognitive Disorder
  • Learning A Few Healthy Eating Tips For Kids From Health Experts
  • Health Benefits of Bicycle Riding

BL

Tags

Apostrophe Health Brian Cobb Douglas Public Health Department Cpap Health Market Cvs Affordable Health Insurance Delegation In Public Health Envoy Health Denton Autumn Lake Fairview Health Services Yelp Greenville Rancheria Tribal Health Center Health Health And Safety Conferences 2019 Health Benefit Exchange Coi Health Benefits Feta Olive Oil Health Benefits Pawpaw Health Canada Processed Food Health Insurance Cheaper Single Health Net Login 2018 Health Net Therapist Los Angeles Health Problems From Uranium Health Professional Licensing Board Healthy Recipes For Brain Health Hi Health Hearing Aids Reviews Horton Valley Behavioral Health Hospital Sisters Health System Number How Intergrity Investigate Health Care Iggy Azalea Mental Health Jay Williamson United Health Kernersville Health Care Center Jobs La Canada Health Care Lee Health New Ceo Lsd Health Effects Edu Mental Health Dissertation Pdf Mental Health Retraints Mental Health Utilization Racial Groups Most Common Crime Health New Health Market Job Reviews Nys Health Insurance License Physician Assistant Health Professional Organizations Plant And Health Quotes Prestige Women'S Health Care Rex Health Care Login Richmond Times Dispatch Health Reporters Smokeless Tobacco Health Risks Definition Soliant Health Houston Stress Test S Health Sunrise Health Care Moultrie Ga

klinik kecantikan sukabumi
klinik kecantikan di sukabumi
dokter kulit sukabumi
skincare sukabumi
dokter kecantikan sukabumi
drmetzskincare.co.id

contentplacement.id

getlinko

Related Article

Health Insurance

Navigating Through Tough American Economic and National Health Care, Health Insurance Reform Issues

May 27, 2023December 8, 202214 min read
Health Insurance

Affordable Health Insurance in the U.S.

May 24, 2023December 8, 20222 min read
Health Insurance

The Lost Costs With Administrative-Related Tasks With Group Health Plans

May 22, 2023December 8, 202213 min read
Health Insurance

Health Insurance: The Race Against the Clock

May 15, 2023December 8, 20223 min read
healthylifesylee.com
Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Engage News by Candid Themes.

WhatsApp us