Okay, here's the deal. When did people become "that" instead of "who?" I hear this on the radio on the TV ( and shouldn't news reporters know better )? and unless my memory is wrong, have even read it in places. Why? How hard is it to remember that people require a "who"? And here's another--myself instead of me. My boss did this all this time and it drove me crazy. Are we so afraid to be in the spotlight that we have to say, "So-and-so and myself did such-and-so?"
We see headlines like these every day:
"One million species threatened with extinction because of humans"
"250,000 deaths a year from climate change is a 'conservative estimate,' research says"
"CO2 levels at highest for 3 million years"
Unsurprisingly, such reports cause anxiety, sometimes called “eco-anxiety” or “climate-anxiety.” Technically called Solastalgia, it is defined as “chronic fear of environmental doom.” While not yet listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual,) the Bible of mental disorders used by psychologists, it is never the less a real thing.
In a 2017 report by the American Psychological Association, the source of the stress is defined as “watching the slow and seemingly irrevocable impacts of climate change…and worrying about the future for oneself, children, and later generations.” It adds that some people “are deeply affected by feelings of loss, helplessness and frustration.”
According to a Yale survey conducted in December 2018, 70% of Americans are "worried" about climate change, 29% are "very worried" and 51% feel "helpless."
Solastalgia is especially prominent in young adults. Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager, is a well-known example. Mary Jane Rust, a British eco-psychologist states “that (as some of my younger clients have said), ‘We’re completely screwed’. I suspect it might be part of the reason for binge-drinking epidemics, and other addictions, for example. There is a general feeling that the future is so uncertain and it’s extremely hard to live with.”
Symptoms of Solastalgia include panic attacks, deep depression, lack of sleep, palpitations and the triggering of underlying mental illnesses. One survey in the U.K. showed that half of children between the ages of seven and 11 worry about climate change. Other reports suggest kids are more worried about climate change than their own homework.
In other words, children nowadays are feeling deep hopelessness and frustration. This is exhibited in beliefs like “we are all going to die,” “what’s the point of living,” and the rise of anti-natalism—the refusal to have children. Some children even question their parents: “Why did you have me?”
It is hard for adults to understand the stress that this unremitting stream of apocalyptic narratives have on children’s health. Before climate change, most children dealt with fears which had solutions. The fear of total extinction was never on the horizon. Today, this anxiety pervades their lives.
Sources:
Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy, and "Karma Nation," a literary
romance, published by Books We Love.. Check him out at www.mohanashtakala.com and at
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