RESEARCH
Anxiety and the Ecological Crisis: An Analysis of Eco-Anxiety and Climate Anxiety
Summary
This article analyzes various views of eco-anxiety from a wide range of disciplines and uses insights from anxiety theories to discuss empirical studies about forms of eco-anxiety. It points out that uncertainty, unpredictability, and uncontrollability are important factors in eco-anxiety. Most forms of eco-anxiety appear to be non-clinical, but cases of “pathological” eco-anxiety are also discussed.
The analysis also scrutinizes terms like ecological grief, solastalgia, and ecological trauma, and probes the relationship between studies on eco-anxiety and research about ecological emotions and affect. Eco-anxiety is closely connected to fear and worry and often manifests as existential anxiety, while psychosocial and sociological perspectives show that social dynamics shape forms of eco-anxiety in profound ways. While paralyzing forms of eco-anxiety emerge as a problem, it also manifests itself as “practical anxiety,” which leads to gathering new information and reassessing behavior options. This variety of forms of eco-anxiety should be considered in healthcare and public discussion.
