Written by Cat N.
As another year rolls by, we see the revisit of holidays and global events, one being Earth day. Earth day started off as a teach-in activity on a college campus run by Senator Gaylord Nelson with the help of Republic Congressman, Pete McCloskey, and young activist, Dennis Hayes, before spreading the knowledge globally into Earth day. Earth day is a global event that celebrates our progress on environmental movement but also brings awareness to how many environmental issues we still have to resolve. We’ve all heard it before-”try to save power”, “recycle more”, “support green products”-but the theme for this year’s Earth day is “eco-anxiety.”
What is eco-anxiety?
Eco-anxiety is a term used to describe the feeling of anxiety for the environment. Although the term isn’t used by professionals, it is meant to be a branch of anxiety; a mix of feelings being nervousness, fear, and possibly guilt. The feeling of eco-anxiety specifically refers to people feeling responsible or helpless about the negative effects on the environment. A national survey conducted in 2018 resulted in 70% of U.S. citizens feeling worried about climate change, along with 51% feeling helpless.
Since eco-anxiety is a type of anxiety, it takes the same toll on your mental health and body as regular anxiety. The negative effects of anxiety, which can lead to depression, insomnia, headaches, chronic pain, and more can impact how you think and what you do. It could demotivate people and mislead most into thinking that they can’t do anything about the situation they’re in. This kind of perspective will affect one’s actions, especially when most people these days have eco-anxiety. It demoralizes some to think they can’t do anything to help the Earth. Due to the pandemic and the excessive amounts of media coverage on negative environmental issues, the recent situation has made people reflect on climate change, making the issue of eco-anxiety more relevant today. It’s disheartening to hear that people are starting to lose hope, and the hype for Earth day is dying down.
Which is why it is important to focus on the issue today, hence the theme for this year’s Earth day. Even if you do have eco-anxiety, there are still ways to counter those negative thoughts. Try doing some positive acts, like picking up garbage or volunteering in environmental groups. Try accurately educating yourself-the news isn’t always 100% right. Be optimistic or surround yourself with people who are. It’s best to not have to get over the anxiety alone. Try building a connection with nature, like how you do with friends and family. It could strengthen your desire to protect it. Know when to disengage and when to stop and take a break so that all the negatives that the media covers doesn’t influence you as easily.
Let it be known that our future isn’t set in stone, that there are still people fighting for the chance of a better world, and we hope you will be too. Continue to do simple actions that help support a greener environment. Most importantly, live as if Earth day is everyday. We shouldn’t need an annual reminder to tell us that we have to save the Earth. How about we try being the force of nature for once?