Eco-anxiety: bane or jewel?

July 3, 2020July 4, 2020

When a crisis situation arises, it creates a feeling of discomfort in us. It is not a problem in itself to experience a certain level of stress, even anxiety on such occasions. This is a completely normal mechanism, not only that, it is even necessary. What you feel at such times is fear.

But this fear, what is she really, if not a deep impulse, which shows us that we are indeed alive, and that, In the face of danger, pushes us to react in order to remain so? Owen Gaffney, emeritus author published in numerous scientific journals, rightly declared that "eco-anxiety is the right answer to the size of the challenge" (1). We must manage to channel all this energy under high tension that lives in us, in order to use it as a powerful tool. This fear can be a formidable driver of change that must be put to good use..

I’d kind of wonder why somebody wasn’t feeling anxious.”
-Caroline Hickman (Psychotherapist, therapist and researcher in climatic psychology)

Stress can initially lead to two types of reactions, flight or fight. The current stressor cannot be saved, because of its omnipresence. It becomes all the more crucial not to let yourself be paralyzed by the build-up of excess tension. Rather, it is necessary to engage in an active process, in order to face the threat and let out this painful internal pressure. Susan M Koger, who teaches psychology at Willamette University in Oregon explains that you have to avoid being frozen with fear and transform that feeling of guilt into a feeling of responsibility that, his, is a source of motivation (2). Elise Amel, specialist in eco-psychology, states that "People who take action feel in control and acting with others helps ease the emotional burden." (3).

And psychology, the concept of "empowerment" is frequently mentioned to denote this state of control over oneself and one's environment. This term refers to the development of an individual's power to act through concrete actions. A sense of personal capacity is essential for a person's well-being. It is imperative to restore a sense of power to those who feel helpless in the face of the immensity of the task we have to accomplish to preserve life as we know it.. This challenge must be taken up collectively.

Gone are the days when simple individual actions could still save the world. Far be it from me to condemn any gesture of this kind, because these are undeniably part of the solution. We must, however, put an end to this self-inflicted perpetual self-inflection and remove from our shoulders this moral burden which prevents us from demanding the major changes that are required.. Much of the responsibility for the environmental crisis lies with a small elite whose prosperity depends on the existing economic system., and who no longer dreams of anything except the status quo. Among 1988 and 2016, 100 companies were at the origin of more than 70% of all GHG emissions on the planet. On their side, 25 fossil fuel companies generated, by themselves, more than half of global emissions between 1988 and 2015 (4). It is through collective action that we will be able to make real progress, and by the force of numbers that we can counterbalance these destructive and moralizing lords.

It should not be ex-asperate, we should hope. Exasperation is denial of hope. She is understandable, I would almost say it's natural, but for all that it is not acceptable. Because it does not achieve the results that hope can eventually produce.”
-Stephane Hessel

It is essential to stop stigmatizing people who have eco-anxiety in order to fight together against the climate crisis and the collapse of biodiversity. We are at the heart of a defining decade for life on Earth. While there are many who deny and turn a blind eye to the mountain of evidence regarding the seriousness of the environmental emergency, so-called "eco-anxious" people simply react to the stressful situation that arises in front of their wide open eyes. It's time to act.

Alexis Legault