Eco-Anxiety

Anxiety pops up in our lives for many reasons. Uncertainty, problems, disaster, feeling out of or lacking control are all reasons people feel anxious in life. Since the climate crisis brings many of these feelings and issues into our lives, it makes sense that eco-anxiety is a reality right now. The climate crisis brings feelings of uncertainty, fear, guilt, annoyance, lack of control, all because humans have been fueling the climate changes going on without any thoughts to the consequences. Eco-anxiety is then the feelings of anxiety caused by our understanding and interactions with the climate crisis. 

While the term is fairly new in human language, people have been anxious about the climate and drastic changes in the climate for millennia. Even in the Bible there is evidence of human-caused climate change, climate crises, and people's response of anxiety towards them. Any time humans blamed God for a shift in the normal climate cycle or there was a big drought, famine, or terrible flood, it is doubtless that some of the reasons behind those events were human caused. In the Bible that is named by the event being caused by God because of human misbehavior. Many times those misbehaviors probably caused their own bad consequences. 

If you experience eco-anxiety when thinking about the climate crisis, you are not alone! While the whole scope of the crisis may be too overwhelming, there are always small personal things you can do to make a difference to the environment. First, don't run from eco-anxiety. Acknowledge it and feel it. Take some time to care for yourself in that space. Then, take a personal action step towards healing creation. Take a pledge or challenge, change a habit, write a representative. The list of easy and useful actions is miles long. Don't overwhelm your eco-anxiety by trying them all at once. Start with one step in the eco-friendly direction.