FOCUS ON CLIMATE ANXIETY
TASMANIAN researchers are studying the phenomenon of “climate anxiety” among young people who suffer depression at the thought of inheriting a dying planet.
Known to the internet as “doomers”, many young people are reporting mental health problems in response to the increasingly grim news about climate change.
University of Tasmania researcher Charlotte Jones has studied young people who exhibit climate anxiety and next month will launch a national survey into the subject. On top of the doom and gloom surrounding climate change, many youths reported an added mental strain of trying to communicate their feelings with older generations.
Ms Jones said older people often viewed climate change less seriously than their young counterparts, heightening their feeling of alienation.
“It was a common theme when you interview young people about climate change: emotions of betrayal, confusion, anger, disappointment and fear of not being looked after,” she said.
“I’ve heard many people who say it’s changed their relationships with parents, teachers, politicians and community leaders.
“There have been points of friction, but it’s through those points of friction that we grow, we change, and we learn from each other.”
Climate activist Chloe McCann, 20, has first-hand experience with climate anxiety, which is what spurred her into activism in the first place.
She has rallied young people through groups such as the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and Climate Justice Initiative in an attempt to turn climate anxiety into climate action.
Ms McCann also hit back at comments made by Liberal MPs that it was “climate change alarmism” that was the real culprit behind young people’s mental health problems.
“If they are trying to combat ‘climate alarmism’ then they need to have professionals to do that,” she said.