Many adults, as well as children, are growing increasingly anxious about the perilous state of our planet. There are constant news broadcasts relating to devastating floods, disappearing lakes, a melting ‘doomsday glacier’, or a forest fire in northern California breaking apart, appearing in your news feed in the middle of an average day!
The stark reminders of climate change are constant, and may cause additional stress to your daily tasks. For example, in surveying your shopping cart filled with wipes, sandwich bags, and packets of baby food, you may question your choices, knowing that the plastic in those items will never break down completely.
What is climate anxiety? How do we define it?
Climate anxiety is a fundamental distress about climate change and its impacts on the landscape and human existence. It can manifest as intrusive thoughts or feelings of distress about future disasters, the long-term future of human existence, including one’s own descendants. There is a physiological component that can include a racing heart, shortness of breath, and a behavioral component such as when climate anxiety gets in the way of one’s social relationships or functioning at work or school.
Climate anxiety disproportionately affects children and youth. Here are some strategies for helping your child keep their climate worries, however legitimate, from becoming unhealthy, while also navigating your own fears.
Validate Concerns
You can express to your child that you hear what they are saying, what they’re expressing makes sense, and that you are worried (or angry) about this issue too. For instance, if a child hears frightening climate news on TV, you might tell them the report on the news was upsetting to you as well, and that you understand why they are scared. You can also ask them exactly what is going through their mind about the topic.
Planning Ahead
Help your child find practical ways to manage their anxiety in daily life. Even young children can learn to identify their feelings and then use simple mindfulness and relaxation techniques when they’re experiencing intense emotions.
If your child has direct experience from the impacts of climate change, and lives in an area that’s prone to flooding or wildfires, making a clear emergency plan can also help. It’s helpful for parents to emphasize that keeping the family safe is the parents’ job, and that you’ll let your kids know if there’s anything they need to do.
Taking Action
A somewhat unique aspect of climate anxiety is that, unlike many kinds of anxiety, there are real steps that kids can take to address the problem. And all around the world, they’re doing exactly that through actions like school climate strikes. Helping kids turn their anxiety into activism is a great way to validate their worries while building up their confidence.
For kids (and adults!) of all ages, taking action to contribute to solving a problem is empowering. Young children might get excited about recycling, composting, trying to use less plastic, planting pollinator gardens, or walking or biking instead of driving. Older kids can organize awareness campaigns, raise money for environmental organizations, or contact their representatives about policy change.
Avoiding Accommodation
Kids with more intense climate anxiety might get obsessive when it comes to taking action. They might try to rigidly control themselves — or the whole family — in an attempt to do everything perfectly.
The trick is taking action without letting anxiety call the shots. When parents give in to kids’ anxious attempts at controlling an upsetting situation, kids don’t have a chance to build tolerance for being uncomfortable, and their anxiety gets stronger over time.
Modeling Resilience
Helping kids with climate anxiety can be especially tough for parents who share those same worries, and kids tend to follow their parents’ lead. Showing that you care about climate change without letting worry overwhelm you helps your children learn to do the same. Be explicit with your kids about your thinking and coping strategies. Being honest with kids about your own feelings will help them learn that anxiety is both normal and manageable.
When to Seek Help – Keep the Conversation Open
If your child is having particularly serious worries about climate change, it could be a sign of a bigger anxiety issue.
When we think about anxiety, we think about, how much is it interfering with their daily life? How persistent and ongoing is it? Kids who worry a lot about climate change often have other major worries as well, and some may be dealing with undiagnosed anxiety disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Here are some key signs that your child could benefit from professional support, and things to try to assist in redirecting their thought process:
- Their anxiety is so intense that it gets in the way of school, friendships, family life, or day-to-day activities like sleeping or eating.
- This intense worry happens more days than not.
- This pattern of anxiety continues consistently for at least two weeks.
- Help direct their efforts to advocacy groups. Spend time together researching organizations that they can get involved with and creating a family climate plan.
- You might also take them to a climate march or rally—and they can even wear their favorite superhero cape or costume.
- Spend time in nature with your family, or consider planting flowers or trees.
Spending a lot of time talking about climate change or taking action against it is only a problem if the child is so anxious that they can’t go about their regular life. For instance, a kid who watches YouTube videos about climate action every day might be doing fine, but skipping school or staying up all night to keep watching them would be signs of trouble.
Effective treatment for kids dealing with intense climate anxiety works much the same way as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can help kids learn how their thoughts and behavior influence their feelings.
You can also view the links below with your child to learn new ways of helping our planet:
- https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ocean/earthday.html
- https://www.amnh.org/research/center-for-biodiversity-conservation/resources-and-publications/what-you-can-do
- https://greatist.com/happiness/ways-help-environment
There’s no question that the realities of climate change are scary, particularly for children. Instead of cultivating worry or stress, aim to help your child to channel their concerns into action. Becoming a part of the solution is a great way to alleviate climate change anxiety. If your child continues to show signs of distress, talk to their pediatrician or call us here at Wellspring. Our therapists are highly skilled in treating anxiety in children, tweens, and adults.