In a 2017 report, the American Psychological Association (APA) defined climate change as “a chronic fear of environmental doom”. Because eco anxiety, or climate anxiety, as its referred to is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5), mental health practitioners do not consider it a mental health disorder. Although this is the case, the impacts of environmental change do cause a lot of trauma and distress such as damage to communities, food shortage, and limited access to medical care.
Some of the common climate anxiety symptoms that can help practitioners to identify and treat people are as follows:
Feeling Overwhelmed or Powerless
Thinking about the impacts of humans on the environment, it’s easy to feel overpowered or helpless by thinking about the impending climate crisis. It’s normal for people to feel like this and to think what changes they can make or do so as to stop or delay this phenomenon.
Struggling with Depression
Feeling overwhelmed by the sheer impact of human induced climate change from wildfires, to air and water pollution, plastic waste pollution, these can trigger feeling of significant discomfort and lead to clinical depression and if for a prolong period then to suicidal tendencies.
Physical Symptoms
Anxiety often brings intense fear and nervousness but most people don’t realise how anxiety manifests into physical pain. People with anxiety disorders, PTSD or related nerve diseases can lead to various physical health issues such as insomnia or restlessness, intense diarrhoea, digestive issues like nausea, excessive sweating, uncontrollable and unexplainable muscle pains, heart diseases, vomiting and stomach ache, and headaches, limbs trembling or shaking etc.
Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
If people are stressed out or are fearstruck, they either take professional help or develop directly unhealthy coping behaviours like intense drug usage, alcohol intake, or substance use that can trigger a lot of health issues if not treated or stopped immediately.
Experiencing Panic Attacks
Getting panic attacks after knowing climate change issues and environment destruction, and what can be the after effects for eg, natural disasters like earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis of high intensities can be normal for every human being. The fear of death and irreparable damage at any time can lead to intense panic attacks, fear and anxiety issues over a period of time.
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