CLIMATE CHANGE ANXIETY

Climate Change Anxiety

In a world that labels every behavior, emotion, and thought as some sort of disease or disorder, we are now facing Climate Change Anxiety. With the media continuously preaching a doomsday scenario, it’s no wonder that many young people don’t see a bright future ahead. In his 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore presented scenarios and potential impacts of climate change that could lead to severe environmental and societal disruptions if not addressed. Today, most videos of Mr. Gore’s predictions have been deleted or censored on social media platforms. Many environmental advocates drive this message at an alarming pace, but they don’t target countries that contribute significantly to environmental crises through devastating pollution practices, such as China, Russia, and India. It is peculiar that advocates like Greta Thunberg, a Swedish environmental activist, said in one of her most notable speeches at the United Nations Climate Action Summit on September 23, 2019:

"My message is that we'll be watching you. This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you! For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here."

Bill Gates, in his TED Talk in 2010, said:

"The world today has 6.8 billion people. That's headed up to about 9 billion. Now, if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by, perhaps, 10 or 15 percent."

With advocates like these, it’s no wonder our young people are literally scared to death and no longer want to live on this planet. Would you?

So, what is Climate Change Anxiety?

According to the University of Cambridge, The Handbook of Climate Psychology defines climate anxiety as "heightened emotional, mental, or somatic distress in response to dangerous changes in the climate system," but suggests that "paying heed to what is happening…is a healthier response than turning away in denial or disavowal." Climate anxiety can lead to symptoms such as panic attacks, loss of appetite, irritability, weakness, and sleeplessness. Given the increasing evidence about the impact of climate change on health, psychological professionals might question whether their patients feel too much anxiety or whether they themselves feel too little. Climate anxiety is felt more powerfully among the young, first responders to climate-related natural disasters, and climate scientists and activists who are exposed to information about the threat more than most and therefore may need psychological support (BJPsych Bull. 2021 Aug; 45(4): 222–226. doi: 10.1192/bjb.2021.18, Joseph Dodds).

It is estimated that suicide rates among teenagers skyrocketed (75% higher) during the lockdown and restrictions from 2020 to 2022, according to many funeral directors across Canada and the USA. These numbers differ from the CDC and NIH, which report an increase of 2.6% in suicides during the lockdown years. As conflicting as these reports are, there’s no denying that suicide rates rose significantly higher during and post-COVID, and so did mental health disorders. The combination of isolation and continuous fears of the world coming to an end surely weighed heavily on our young population.

In conclusion, we live in a world that lacks hope and a light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, messages of a climate change doomsday are not helping people's mental health and are draining the vitality from our young population worldwide. Sadly, it gives young people a forecast that looks bleak and dismal. Do you blame them for not wanting to stick around?

"Thankfully, the Bible provides clarity regarding what 'anxiety' actually is. It is not merely an emotion, but rather a 'demonic spirit' that induces feelings of intense fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV):

'For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.'

And we combat this spirit of anxiety by reading and remembering what the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians in chapter 4, verses 4-9 from the King James Version (KJV):

4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Finally, the Bible also gives us hope in John 3:16 (King James Version):

'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'

Keep looking up, my friends.

Warmly your friend,

Bill Vassilopoulos