5 Steps To Supporting Your Student’s Eco-anxiety — Plus 3 Things Not To Do

What is eco-anxiety, and how to talk about it

Authors: Sacha Wright
Editors: Alejandra Arias, Sophie Palmer

WHAT IS ECO-ANXIETY?

It is impossible to ignore the physical impacts of climate change. Yet there is another, less obvious but just as insidious, repercussion: the strain on mental wellbeing, especially in younger people.  This growing phenomenon takes many names, but it is increasingly called “climate anxiety” or “eco-anxiety”.

Research conducted here at Force of Nature  shows that over 70% of young people feel hopeless about the climate crisis: powerless to create change, and only 26% feel they know how to contribute to solving the climate crisis.

This stems from two core beliefs: “I am too small to make a difference,”  and “The system is too broken to create meaningful change.”  In order to meaningfully tackle the climate crisis, and move forward together, we need to change the way we talk, act and feel about it.

We would never trivialise people’s legitimate fears about the climate crisis - in fact, for many people on the frontlines of climate change, there is no choice. What we can do is invite people to hold their strong feelings without judgment, and then learn how to relate those emotions to their mindset, behaviour, attitudes and actions.

SUPPORT IS IMPORTANT, BUT WHERE DO YOU LEARN IT?

Force of Nature is a youth non-profit mobilising mindsets for climate action.

Through our programmes, we cultivate individual agency; the tools in how to create change; and communities at scale. We support leaders across business, education and policy to centre young people in delivering intergenerational climate solutions.

Educators are witnessing this silent epidemic first-hand, reporting the rise in grief, fear, anxiety, anger, and nihilism toward climate and ecological collapse. This has become a safeguarding issue; yet there is a lack of resources and knowledge on how to respond thoughtfully and effectively.

FORCE OF NATURE CAN HELP WITH THAT

At Force of Nature, we know that the crisis transcends borders, geography, class, gender… but everyone is affected differently. That is why we want to bring this conversation to a global audience.

The actions we choose to take have many wide-ranging impacts - we share this planet with billions of neighbours, both human and otherwise. This is why we’ve built and established our student network in over 52 countries, co-creating our content with other young activists determined to be changemakers. We need feet on the ground all over the world: grounding tangible action in local contexts and communities.

We are on the pulse of young people’s views, emotions and experiences around the climate crisis, helping others like us shift out of anger, anxiety and despair, toward feelings of agency, community and vision. We support students to shift from Anxiety to Agency through our workshops, and support educators through curriculum training and resources.

WHY YOU SHOULD BE TEACHING THIS AT SCHOOLS:

Teachers are faced with the task of educating young people about the reality of the future that they have inherited; but you are also faced with the task of equipping students with the tools to re-claim this future. As the centre of communities, and a natural gathering place for eager young minds, schools present a unique opportunity to:

a) encourage action on climate change and offer young people the foundations to build a better future.

b) ensure that we are supporting young people in dealing with the strong emotions that come with acknowledging the magnitude of the crisis.

As more ramifications of the climate crisis unfold every day,  it is essential that schools seize the opportunity to invite young people to feel, think and act vulnerably (but safely!) about climate change. Otherwise, we may be facing a generation of young people who are burned out and uncertain.

Three things NOT to do:

1. Treat eco-anxiety as an illness

We often get asked if eco-anxiety is an illness. We want to emphasize that it is not a clinical condition - at least not in the capacity that we interact with it in. 

Feeling anxious in response to the sixth mass extinction, pervasive plastic pollution, and climate tipping points is a perfectly human, natural response. It shows that you care. These feelings occur on a spectrum, and eco-anxiety often serves as a catchall phrase to explain feelings of dread, despair, fear, grief, rage, and other heavy emotions that arise when people confront the reality of ecological loss and destruction. However, when experienced acutely, it is important to signpost to professional help in order to get appropriate support and care.

Anxiety can be a critical catalyst for action when navigated and facilitated skilfully, with the right mix of community support and empowering stories. When we allow ourselves to experience the depth of our feelings, and see them as a pivotal part of resilience, we are in a better position to step up, rather than shut down.

2. Centre privileged voices

There is a common misconception that eco-anxiety is a new phenomenon. However, it is just a new name. Just as existential fear is nothing new, neither is climate change.  While it has shifted from the periphery of our collective vision to taking front and centre stage, much of climate anxiety today stems not only from alarming science, but also:

a) greater awareness of deeply entrenched global inequality, 

b) people in elected positions of power failing to act with the urgency required, 

c) guilt at our personal, individual responsibility, and 

d) an uncertain future.

Both from the perspective of mental health, and from the perspective of global equality, it is important to acknowledge that although we may be living on the same planet, or in the same spaces, we are not all equipped with the same tools.

Climate change is a largely nebulous, multi-faceted issue with no clear solution - and no clear call to action. There is an enormous diversity in the urgency with which humanity is responding to the crisis. Increased media coverage, mixed political messages and firsthand experience have all contributed to the rise in awareness - and the concurrent rise in anxiety - in response to the climate crisis. While it might seem like a "surge", it is important to emphasise that in many parts of the world, the effects of climate change are already being felt profoundly.

It is essential to centre the stories of resilience from front-line communities - such as activists in the Global South - in order to learn how to navigate the difficult emotions that come with the climate crisis.

3. Neglect the resilience of young people

Often, young people struggle with the climate crisis because it is easy to feel like the weight of the world is on their shoulders to solve the problems. It is important to help young people understand that it is not up to them to solve the problem, even if taking action Is the right thing to do. When given the opportunity, young people exhibit incredible resilience, hope and agency; it is up to us to provide them with the appropriate conduits for their action.

We need the best team possible in tackling the climate crisis. We must not reduce young people to a set of averages; instead, we have to find ways to encourage community, collaboration, and connection. Each person will have something unique to bring to the table, and encouraging young people to find forms of activism and action that fit their individual skills and aptitudes will ensure sustainable engagement with the climate crisis.

5 STEP INTRO - how you can support young people grappling with the magnitude of the climate crisis.

STEP 1: Ask, don't tell.

It is easy to fall into the trap of wanting to "fix" the difficult feelings that young people may be experiencing in the face of the crisis; but it is not up to anyone else to tell a young person how to feel, and these feelings should be acknowledged without judgment. Instead of telling them how they feel, invite them to share the range of emotions - often contradictory - that they experience when thinking about the climate crisis.

A great way to do this is to sit down and ask them to write out all of the thoughts that bubble to the surface when discussing the climate crisis, and then identify the emotion behind each one.

Hot Tip: these emotions are not always negative! They can be hopeful, empowering, courageous, loving, etc. Take from the below list for inspiration.

Interested, Helpless, Afraid, Outraged, Angry, Hopeful, Ashamed, Guilty,

Courageous, Frustrated, Disappointed, Concerned, Anxious, Sad, Disconnected/apathetic, Engaged, Isolated/lonely Betrayed, Exhausted, Cynical

STEP 2: Share your own feelings.

It is natural to want to shield students and young people from the reality of the situation, especially when it feels like they might be at a tipping point towards apathy or hopelessness. However, sharing your own fears, concerns and hopes is a powerful way to break down the shame and stigma around emotional engagement in the issue.

A great why to do this is to share what you are worried about, but focus more on why you are worried about it - anchor your anxiety or fear in the love or appreciation that you feel for something the planet holds.

Example: "I'm worried about the level of the sea rising, because the livelihoods of the people in the small coastal town where I grew up will be compromised. I care about that place deeply, so it hurts to see them at risk."

Hot Tip: When using meaning-focused tools like identifying your “why”, you draw on their beliefs, values, and existential goals to sustain well-being. This is important in situations where you can’t deny or solve the stressors, such as in the case of climate change.

STEP 3: Language is Important.

What we say is almost equally as important as how we say it. When talking about large, systemic issues such as the climate crisis, it is easy to get bogged down in doomsday science and blunt, shocking data points. For young people, it can often feel like we're being told to play "audience" to the stories we're told about the climate and our role in it, with little recognition of our own lived experience.

It is essential to identify the stories that serve us versus the stories that hinder us. This does not mean using naive optimism, or ignoring difficult information; rather, it is about the stories that we tell ourselves when facing the problem. This is easily triggered by the language we use.

Be conscious of how you communicate facts. Simple word choices can change the tone of the message!

Example 1: Practice active headline-reading

"Human-wildlife conflict..." → "Human-wildlife interaction..."

"Planet faces disaster due to human influence..." → "Planet shows consequences of human's current unsustainable ways of living..."

Example 2: Avoid self-limiting beliefs and stories

"There is nothing we can do." → "We haven't yet figured out how to tackle the problem."

"The system is too broken to make change." → "We are the system, and we demand better."

"I'm too small to make a difference." → "I want to find other like-minded people to build a difference-making community."

STEP 4: Invite Diverse Skillets.

The last thing we need is to encourage our young people to become a set of averages; each is a unique agent of change in their own way. Young people must be encouraged to use their distinctive forms of intelligence, skills and areas of influence to foster sustainable and nourishing engagement. Environmental activism doesn't have one particular look; we need everyone, from sculptors, to occupational therapists, to concrete layers, to small business owners.

When facing an enormous problem like climate change, it's difficult to know where to start - but figuring out where you can contribute can help break down the massive job of tackling the climate crisis into manageable, bite-sized pieces. It makes us realize that we don't have to do everything, all at once.

Ask young people the following questions to prompt them to think about where their unique skills and capabilities lie:

What gives you energy? Comes easily? What are you doing when you feel most capable?

Follow up by connecting young people with a diversity of forms of climate action; draw examples from multiple types of intelligences. You can use this climate archetype quiz as an example, but feel free to make your own.

STEP 5: Choose DO.

The most important thing that we can do, to break the cycle of climate anxiety, is to take action. Every time we take action, we make changes both external and internal that disrupt the self-fulfilling prophecy of powerlessness. If we believe we are powerless, why would we act? But if we believe we have power, why wouldn't we act?

Agency is like a muscle; it must be practiced, each day. Encourage young people to focus on what is within their control, and then take small actions in the right direction. Often, motivation can follow action, rather than the other way around; the more you do, the more you see that you can do.

For many front-line communities, climate action is not a choice - it is a matter of survival. Share stories of resilience from activists and innovators tackling the climate crisis, especially in the global south, which is a leader in climate resilience. There are solutions and mitigation strategies used everyday that are not represented in the mainstream media.

Encourage young people to fill out a list, with 1 small action, 1 medium-sized action and 1 large-scale action that they would like to engage in. This can help them see that small actions, although they can appear tokenistic or superficial, are an important starting point in building agency and confidence.

Are you an educator or a parent looking to learn more about eco-anxiety and how to talk about it?

Join Force of Nature for a free 1 hour webinar with Q&A to talk about how you can mobilise the mindsets of young people at school and at home, to move from climate anxiety to agency.

• Learn from youth experts on climate psychology including the rise of eco-anxiety;

• Connect with a community of like minded educators and parents;

• Get access to an eco-anxiety crash course in climate change and mental health to help you safeguard and support the young people in your life.

Register for the webinar here to attend live on the September 23rd at 5pm UK time.

Disclaimer:

This 5-step list may make it sound like a linear journey; but at Force of Nature, we know that everyday is a little bit different, and instead of seeing hope as a destination, we see it like a muscle that you exercise. Some days you may be able to spring into action, while others, it is important to take care of yourself and tap into your community of support. One of the stories we hear most often is one of powerlessness; "the system is too broken", "I am too small to make a difference", the narratives are endless. Taking action is the most powerful tool we have to re-write our climate stories; it is how we choose to exercise hope, in the face of crises like climate change.