If you’re deeply concerned about the state of the planet — to the point that your anxieties are affecting your life or relationships — you have plenty of company.
Caroline Hickman, PhD, a lecturer and eco-anxiety researcher at the University of Bath in England, notes that eco-anxiety can be mild or more severe.
In her experience, mild eco-anxiety involves feelings of distress that come and go. People in this state are still able to experience optimism about the future or in humankind’s ability to respond to the crisis. On the other end of the spectrum, people with severe eco-anxiety are nearly inconsolable and feel certain that the planet or the human species (or both) are headed for an unavoidable catastrophe. Their distress is so great that they struggle at times to function in day-to-day life, and they may even be suicidal.
Hickman has experience helping people cope with all forms of eco-anxiety. She and others say there are several helpful ways to lessen the burden of climate-related distress so that people can move forward with their lives and contribute in a positive way to the fight against climate change.
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