It seems as though every time a new report about the severity of the climate crisis the US launches into panic mode for a day. Then everything goes back to normal. While there are many factors that contribute to this, I believe climate anxiety plays a major role. It is incredibly important that we learn to manage climate anxiety so we can take action. The release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report proved just this. I saw plenty of “code red for humanity” headlines, “we are doomed” tweets, and borderline hysteria from this report. While climate science has been clear for quite some time about the dire situation we have put our planet in, the information continues to come as a shock to some people.

What is climate anxiety?

Climate anxiety, also known as eco-anxiety, is a fear of the climate crisis or environmental doom. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the climate crisis keeps me up at night, but I do often reflect on the fact that this planet may not be livable for humans in the near future. Though it’s becoming increasingly normal to feel some sense of climate anxiety, especially as a young person, that doesn’t mean we should be paralyzed by it. Over the past few years I’ve been working on managing my climate anxiety and I finally feel like I have a better grip on it.

Tips For Managing Climate Anxiety

First and foremost, it’s important to affirm how you feel. The idea of catastrophic floods, earthquakes, fires, droughts, etc. is scary. Very scary. Any emotion that you experience is valid – fear, frustration, anger, sadness, hopelessness. Try to ground yourself and stay in the present moment. Go on a walk outside (if it’s safe to do so), notice the nature around you, and try to bring yourself back to the present.

Next, try to find community within the environmental movement. Join a club on your college campus (or start one!) to make your campus more sustainable. Join an organization in your neighborhood to pick up trash around your block or push for local climate policy. You can even follow environmentalists on social media or just have a close circle of environmentally conscious friends. Being around people who also understand the severity of the climate crisis is important, and so is being around people who are solutions focused.

And next, commit to learning about the climate crisis and its solutions. Learning about climate science has helped me understand what the scary news headlines actually mean. There’s less of a shock value when you understand the science behind statistics and warnings. It’s easy to overdo the learning part, though. Make sure you commit a good portion of your “learning” time to climate solutions. There are so many solutions out there already, we just have to bring them to life or bring them to scale. Here are some helpful (and hopeful) resources:

• How To Save A Planet podcast
• Hopefully Sustainable podcast
• Give A Shit book
• All We Can Save book
• 10 must read books about sustainability & the climate crisis that I *guarantee* will leave you feeling inspired
• sustainability resources on Netflix

Taking Action To Manage Climate Anxiety

My last tip is to take action – big or small. It’s so easy to feel helpless as just one person on a big planet, but we can accomplish as lot as individuals – especially when we work together. Here are some resources for taking action:

Hear more from me about how I manage climate anxiety here ↓