Climate anxiety: what helps against it
The climate crisis is a psychological challenge for us all. People who deal with climate-related issues day in, day out can become particularly worried and anxious. This phenomenon has a name: Climate anxiety. We explain the term and scientific studies in a separate article. In this article, we will examine what this fear does to us and what can help combat it.
Fear has many functions, such as warning us of danger. It also serves as an incentive to change our own behavior. You could say that, seen positively, this feeling can lead to improved climate awareness because we humans try to react appropriately to the threat, even to complex threats that are not immediately visible. Fear serves as a signal and motivator. In a social context, it also takes on the role of a powerful political motive.
Trying to educate people with worrying to apocalyptic information about climate change can also lead to so-called "avoidance strategies" such as trivialization, suppression and denial. Furthermore, there is a risk that the focus on the personal level will not be perceived as an incentive, but will lead to a strong feeling of powerlessness.
"It is precisely the constant reference to individual responsibility that can pose a threat to successfully tackling the climate crisis if the political framework conditions are not changed accordingly."
Psychologists for Future
They therefore see an obligation for society as a whole to tackle the crisis together at all levels. This is exactly how we at pro.earth see it. We all have room for maneuver that we can use, perhaps driven by climate anxiety. However, we can only solve this crisis as a whole society and only globally.
But what can help against the individual feeling of powerlessness, worry and fear in the face of this overwhelming crisis? Psychotherapist van Bronswjik has a clear answer to this question.
Self-efficacy as the best remedy for anxiety
In cognitive psychology, self-efficacy refers to a person's conviction that they can cope with a difficult problem, complex situations and challenges on their own.
The concept of self-efficacy was originally developed by psychologist Albert Bandura. For him, there are four ways to convince yourself of your own power:
- You increase your own sense of achievement
- By observing the success of model people
- The influence of social groups strengthens and weakens one's own convictions
- Learning to interpret sensations differently through exercises
In the case of climate anxiety, Van Bronswjik speaks of collective self-efficacy. "It's about the feeling of 'Together we can do it'," says the psychotherapist. In addition to a climate-friendly lifestyle, this also includes commitment beyond this: helping your own company on the way to climate neutrality, getting involved in the community or associations, or demonstrating for more climate protection. Ultimately, politicians have an important responsibility to enable and promote climate-friendly lifestyles, says the psychotherapist.
'Together we can do it' is also our pro.earth.motto. We firmly believe in collective self-efficacy and therefore call again and again for joint #actioninsteadofspeech. Together we want to paint the picture of a future worth living!
https://news.pro.earth/2023/01/28/perspektivwechsel-in-eine-bluehende-zukunft/
