Eco anxiety, climate anxiety, a general sense of impending doom… Sometimes it all just gets a bit heavy, right? It can feel like the weight of the world is literally on your shoulders, and that you’re not doing a great job of carrying it. Maybe you wake up one morning to news of plans for more oil drilling and stare in scorn at your oat milk – because what is the point? Maybe you’re fed up with reminding your friends that yes, their new top is cheap and pretty… But at what cost for the planet? It’s the simultaneous awareness that we know what we need to do to fix the polycrisis facing our planet, but we’re not doing it fast enough, and you can’t solve it alone.
It comes in many different shapes and forms and can catch you off guard when you least expect it, but eco anxiety is becoming increasingly common. In fact, 60% of young people have experienced it. It’s a very natural response to a very real threat.
Here’s the thing: we know it’s not fun or pretty, but eco anxiety goes hand in hand with something pretty cool… Caring. It literally means you have empathy for nature and other people – which is a good thing! Even the biggest and baddest environmental activists have to deal with it, they’re just pretty good at using it as a fuel for their fight. In a way, it’s their very own internal renewable energy source.
Another Way knows that not all days are saving the world days though, and sometimes taking a break and switching off from it all can be just as beneficial for you and our planet as a hard day of fighting the system. So, we’d like to introduce you to Staying Grounded, a monthly series focused on helping you deal with climate and nature anxiety with tips from psychologists, activists, and our wonderful team. Think coping practices, thought pattern breakdowns and general musings on the state of the world. Today though, we’re focusing on doomscrolling – or rather, not doomscrolling, as the case may be.
Knowledge is power, of course. But it’s a pretty double-edged sword, especially when you consider the sheer amount of content we consume without even realising it. Scrolling might seem like an easy, mindless pastime – and often an immediate instinct when you feel the need to take your mind off the news. However, your brain is (consciously or not) hanging on to every bit of Terrible Doom and Gloom that you pass. Research shows that our brains are wired to hang onto negative information for longer than positive information. It’s a trait that evolved to help us to survive by paying attention to danger (think a warning about a hungry predator spotted further down the trail) – but now it’s fueling our eco anxiety, by making sure we’re acutely aware of existential threats that we can’t immediately fix.
So, like many things in life, it’s important to set boundaries. You want your brain to be educated and empowered, not fried and despairing, like the tofu scramble you tried to make last weekend. Which is why we would like to introduce you to an egg timer. Kind of. Not really, actually… What we’re trying to say is, limit the amount of time you spend scrolling and watching. Fifteen minutes a day is the perfect amount of time to make sure you’re up to date, but not overwhelmed.
Of course, it’s a lot easier said than done: social media is designed to be addictive after all. But there are a number of apps that can help with that:
Space will literally stop you from accessing social media after your designated time is up.
Forest will grow a virtual tree that starts to wither when you open social media. When you meet your goals, you earn coins which can be used to plant a real tree.
One Sec introduces a pause when you open social media apps, giving you time to decide if you really need to use the app, or if your thumbs automatically clicked on the Instagram icon.
And hey – you might even prefer to opt out of social media and its sensationalism altogether, and sign up to a succinct and friendly newsletter. You can sign up to ours here, but we also recommend…
Inkcap for journalism on nature and landscapes in Britain.
Happy Eco News for stories of successful climate and conservation action around the world.
We also recognise that many jobs mean that you have to consume as much climate-focused media as possible (ahem, us) which does make the whole boundaries thing slightly more difficult. If limiting yourself to 15 minutes of consuming a day might not be possible for you, the most important thing you can do is A) take breaks throughout the day (hello nature walks to remind you not all is lost!), B) make sure to follow accounts focusing on climate and nature action and solutions and C) turn that phone OFF at the end of the working day.
In summary: while climate anxiety is a fuel that can be used to help us with our fight, sometimes we just need to turn everything off (phones and brains) and think about… Literally anything else. Boundaries can be an incredibly important tool for helping us avoid long term burnout, and taking a day away from it all can still be progress.
Written by Eva Lantos.
Helpful resources for mental wellbeing:
The Resilience Project – youth-led organisation providing support to prevent burnout and protect mental health in campaigners and changemakers.
Climate Psychology Alliance – a community providing support and open discussion about the mental impact of environmental crises.
