Eco-anxiety

Solastalgia is the stress caused by lived environmental change. It can lead to feelings of powerlessness and anger. This emotion is common when a new development is built in a previously wooded or farmed area, when floods drastically change a shoreline, river corridor or built infrastructure, or when mining significantly alters the landscape. Landowners, volunteers, and professionals who document environmental degradation caused by invasive species or climate change also experience solastalgia.

Serious leisure is the planned and dedicated pursuit of a hobby, volunteer activity or passion that requires training and education. It is fulfilling, enables specific benefits, engages a community and influences a person’s identity. Serious leisure is common among Extension Master Gardener and Master Naturalist volunteers, as well as woodland stewards and those who volunteer to help control invasive species.

Disenfranchised grief is grief for the loss of something that may be minimized by others or for which there aren’t cultural norms around ritualizing that grief. Disenfranchised grief can be experienced when worried gardeners ask about jumping worm mitigation efforts when buying plants or other gardening materials and get the “crazy lady” look. Until we establish a way to honor the loss of seasons as they were or mourn the former predictability of ice-in and ice-out dates, disenfranchised grief will persist.

Anticipatory grief is grief felt before the loss occurs, such as when the winter is very mild and there is anxiety and concern about what that means to spring or the future growing season. Similarly, if an area has been changed by flood, drought or development, and you experience grief or worry before visiting these beloved locations, anticipatory grief is normal.

Natural disasters, including tornadoes, floods and droughts, are becoming more common as our climate changes and result in PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance abuse and domestic violence. These effects are greatest in those most impacted by the disaster and can be moderated by social support systems and personal and community resilience.

Indirect impacts on physical and social systems, including education and medical infrastructure and economic and transportation networks, can also exaggerate the impacts of natural disasters.

Good news for some in Minnesota: Minneapolis is ranked in the top three for climate readiness, scoring highest for social, economic, and governmental engagement and adaptability to more extreme weather.

Extreme heat is becoming more common as our climate warms. Extreme heat is the leading weather-related killer in the U.S. Extreme heat is also associated with aggression, conflict, and increased rates of suicide and mental illness hospitalizations. 

Poor air quality from increased pollution, including particulates, smoke, ozone and carbon, is increasing with the changing climate. Poor air quality has short- and long-term negative effects on mental health and can result in cognitive impairment in the elderly and impulsivity and attention problems in children. 

Children may be the most impacted by climate change. Over half (57%) of teens report that climate change makes them afraid. When compared to adults, youth have a stronger response to extreme weather, including PTSD, depression, and sleep disorders.

Because children do not have fully developed thermal regulation systems, they are more vulnerable to extreme heat. Also, because they are still developing, trauma can impair their ability to regulate their emotions, resulting in learning and behavior problems.

Because children depend on adults and social support networks, they can be doubly affected. They experience the primary impact of natural disasters, extreme heat and poor air quality and are also affected when those in their networks are adversely affected. 

Empower hope and agency in yourself and others. Learn, engage, explore, explain, and evaluate to foster a sense of belonging, strength, opportunity and growth. Individually and collectively, we can make meaningful change. We are not powerless, and we do not want to let hopelessness or fear take root and grow. 

Smile. Studies suggest that smiling has many health benefits, including making you feel happier, buffering stress, and calming the heart. It may also improve social networks. From personal experience, it also causes others to smile.

Laugh. Laughter boosts the happy hormones, dopamine, endorphin and serotonin, and is good for your cardiovascular, immune and lymph systems. The Ohio State University has a great resource that covers four features of laughter: Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type (FITT). The more you laugh and the harder you laugh, the greater the health benefits. Laughter is contagious; hearing laughter can cause others to laugh even if they don’t know what’s funny. Before infants can communicate, they both smile and laugh.

Box breath. Deep breathing creates calm, increases attention and reduces stress. Box breathing is an easy method to relax and recenter quickly. Extension has a great short video about how to box breathe to live and lead with intention. 

Talk about your feelings and actions. Normalizing feelings of eco-anxiety and resilient actions will help grow a more resilient community. Connect with community when you’re feeling down because of anticipatory or disenfranchised grief. Tell people why you’re taking action to help the environment by driving the speed limit; walking, biking or taking public transition; reducing waste; or eating mostly plant-based or local.

Create rituals to process feelings. Create a memento or display a photo of the tree you’ve lost, the garden that is no more, or the forest that was damaged. Honor that memory, talk about and share what made these places special.

Reframe. Remember, memories will live on in our hearts, minds and lives. We have the power to reframe them so they are happy. You can remember and retell how horrible the standing dead trees in the lake were because of long-term flooding, or you can remember and retell how much fun it was to paddle between the trees and explore the new lake. Strive to reframe positively to evoke laughter and to smile.

Give yourself grace. As you work through these feelings and discover decisions that you now regret or worry are not ideal, remember Maya Angelou’s wise words: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” No one is perfect; we’re all on a journey.

Remember, resilience grows in tough times. For every hard event, activity or experience we endure, we are more resilient and prepared for the future. Wisdom grows as we learn from our experiences.

Enjoy nature; it’s good for the mind and body. Time in nature, whether gardening, practicing photography, walking, or managing invasives, can reduce stress, improve concentration, promote relaxation, increase your ability to adapt, and improve attention and memory. Time in nature can also improve cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure and reduce pain. It can also increase social connections and establish a sense of place. Learn more about forest bathing with this 5-minute video by UMN Extension.

Create or enjoy art. Art is good for the mind and soul. Art therapy can alleviate pain, reduce stress and anxiety, stimulate brain function and reduce depression. Nature journaling, food art and a positive (or funny) book or movie can all be powerfully beneficial. Mayo Clinic research revealed that just looking at images of nature and water produces feelings of calm. To learn more, visit the Benefits of Art Therapy by Michigan State University Extension.

Make meaning of loss. Processing change communally can be important to manage solastalgia because conversation allows for increased reflection, growth and resilience.

Inspire. Your actions and words can inspire hope and agency in others. We can each normalize positive change. In the book Propagating Collective Hope in the Midst of Environmental Doom and Gloom, author Elin Kelsey reports that “21 of the 22 individuals I interviewed chose specific things other people had done as their source of hope.”

Join. Social connections create feelings of love, belonging, value, and being protected. Connections with others offer protection from serious illness and disease. People with strong social bonds live longer and healthier lives. Consider joining these nature-focused communities: Master Gardeners, Minnesota Master Naturalists, Aquatic Invasive Species Detectors, and Woodland Stewards.

Climate Factor Risk. Use this free online tool to assess your property’s flood, fire, wind, air and heat risks to help you know where and how you can reduce your risk factors. 

Firewise. Minnesota landowners can take many actions to reduce their risk of property damage from wildfires. 

Eco-anxiety in action: Tick vectored disease prevention. Turn eco-anxiety into disease prevention by tucking in your socks and checking carefully for ticks. Learn more specific ways you can adjust your behavior to reduce your tick risk from a great series of webinars from the University of Illinois Extension. 

Minnesota is becoming more livable. Grief and anxiety may cause troubles as Minnesota’s climate changes, but according to the paper Future of the human climate niche, Minnesota is generally becoming more habitable. Before Minnesota was on the northern edge of the human survival zone (winters really were cold!). Now, as winters get warmer and the temperatures become milder, Minnesota is poised to have longer growing seasons and more temperate days.