For those of us who care deeply about our planet, climate anxiety is becoming an increasing problem. Climate change is happening, faster than most of us predicted, and the frequency of severe weather events means that it is never far from our consciousness. 

Most susceptible to climate anxiety are the people who care deeply about the planet. Naturally, this means that those of us who work in ecology, conservation or environmental management are affected first. We are the ones most in tune with the world around us, and therefore the first to sense changes. However, it’s becoming difficult to ignore droughts, floods, wildfires and violent storms whatever your profession. But for us who work closely monitoring habitats and species populations and fighting hard to improve the environment for wildlife and ourselves, it’s difficult not to feel overwhelmingly frustrated or sad. 

But the problem with anxiety is that it can be crippling. It can put us into a sort of paralysis. This isn’t productive and isn’t likely to make you feel any better. Here, we will look at some of the best things to do if you are suffering with climate anxiety, whatever your profession. 

Acknowledge your feelings

While climate anxiety or eco anxiety isn’t considered a diagnosable condition, it is medically recognised and becoming increasingly prevalent. It is particularly affecting young people. Reports suggest anywhere between 50% and 85% of young people admitting they are seriously concerned about environmental issues. 

It’s ok to feel frustrated, sad, angry, helpless or scared. These feelings are normal and proportionate to the problem. Simply acknowledging these feelings allows you to spend some time with them and prevents them from pervading your subconscious thoughts. Facing your feelings helps reduce secondary stress and helps your body calm down faster.

Talk about climate anxiety

Don’t feel afraid to open up to friends, family or a professional about your concerns. Choose who to speak with carefully. Avoid sharing your feelings with people who are less likely to listen and more likely to catastrophize.

Online forums, and self-help books also exist if that feels more comfortable to you. The important thing is to understand you are not alone and have a method for processing your anxieties. 

Manage your information intake

Be careful about what you read and watch as this can sometimes feed the anxiety. We aren’t suggesting that you switch off from the world around you completely. But, consider pigeonholing time spent reading news into a small portion of your day. Do this when you are feeling most resilient. Or limiting your intake in other ways, like just reading a weekly round-up, or stopping after five minutes.

If you are a social media user, there is a lot of doom and gloom out there, so try and curate your social media feed by following creators such as @sambentley who makes videos on environmental good news and @goodgoodgoodco who present good news stories to restore your faith in humanity. Having a good balance of news helps you to stay positive and not sink into the tidal waves of negative news. 

Focus on small steps

If you are feeling paralysed by anxiety, and feeling helpless, try taking small steps to improve how you live. Whether this is walking to work, reducing your waste or growing some food, small steps are the first step in feeling less powerless. You can turn these small things into habits and add more as you feel able. This will become long-term, sustainable change, that will help alleviate the stress and self-blame associated with climate anxiety. If you work in the environmental sector, it’s likely that you already do a lot of these things, but at the least it’s good to remind yourself of what you are already doing.

Here are some simple ideas to live more sustainably and reduce climate anxiety: 

• Eat less meat and dairy
• Wash clothes on a cold cycle
• Turn off plug sockets and electrical items when not in use
• Buy second hand clothes and household goods
• Turn your thermostat down
• Choose seasonal foods that are locally sourced
• Carry a water bottle, fabric bag and reusable coffee cup to avoid single-use plastics
• Walk, cycle or use public transport when possible
• Compost your food waste
• Plan meals to reduce food waste
• Catch and store rainwater for watering plants
• Pick up rubbish in your local area
• Support environmental charities

Start local

Once you have made some simple steps towards living more sustainably you should be feeling slightly more in control. When you start to look you will find that there are local environment, climate action and wildlife groups near where you live that you can join to become part of a bigger movement. 

Choose something that interests you to start with and channel your passion into something productive. You likely have skills that could be very useful for a community group, whether it be communication, fundraising, ecological knowledge or simply an enthusiasm to get involved, it’s always needed. Taking part in local projects such as environmental monitoring, community outreach, repair cafes, tree planting, litter picking and more can help connect you with local people and improve mental and physical wellbeing. 

Educate yourself to overcome climate anxiety

Learning more about the environment and the world around you can help you become more important in the fight against climate change. Why not start with our online course Climate Chane, Sustainability and Behaviour Change. Other courses you might like to consider our Certificate in Conservation Management which can help you take the first steps towards making a career in ecology and conservation. You may wish to study rewilding as a positive alternative to conventional conservation, or perhaps our online Regenerative Agriculture course to discover a positive solution to an ongoing problem.

Other courses such as Habitat Management, Countryside Management, Woodland Management for Biodiversity and Wetland Creation, Restoration and Management are all great courses to sharpen your skills for doing something positive to protect the environment.

Choosing the right conservation courses or ecology courses can help you become part of the fight to protect our planet and take back control. Connecting with like-minded people through learning also helps to reassure you that there are many other people who feel the same way as you and who are making positive steps towards being part of the solution.