Eco-anxiety: Coping with Anxiety About the Future Without Giving Up on Taking Action

Here, humor targets the impossible demand, never the gravity of the situation. Climate change is real. Concern can reflect a care for life, a sense of responsibility, and a deep attachment. What becomes painful, however, is sometimes the transformation of that attachment into constant vigilance: not wanting to miss a thing, never allowing oneself to rejoice for too long, and constantly checking to see if the future remains threatening.

I am interested in the transition from information to stagnation. A piece of information can help us make decisions. Repeatedly consulting it can also keep us on alert without opening up any new possibilities. This is not the same use of information, even if the articles being read are identical. Regaining some breathing room requires recognizing the moment when understanding the world turns into an obligation to contain it entirely.

Closing the app doesn’t close the issue. After reading a news story about climate change, you go back to your daily activities, but something still lingers. How can we plan for the future? What should we pass on to our children? What good is an individual action when the changes needed seem so immense?

Eco-anxiety arises from the intersection of a collective threat and a personal life that must go on.

Environmental concern can be an understandable reaction to real issues. The WHO highlights the links between climate change, mental health, and social conditions. WHO, Climate and Mental Health.

Supporting someone with this concern, therefore, does not mean persuading them that everything will be all right. That would be to deny what is troubling them. It involves looking at what this concern still allows them to do and what it now prevents them from doing:

We can take the issue seriously and acknowledge that its constant presence is becoming hard to bear.

Seeking information can lead to understanding. But when the search never ends, each reading leads to the next. The intention to prepare sometimes gives way to a sense of anticipation: finally finding the information that will make the future certain.

However, such information does not exist. The question then becomes one of how we relate to uncertainty and the limits we set forour exposure to the news. It is not a matter of turning a blind eye, but of determining whether our news-consumption habits still support our ability to act.

It is possible to feel concerned without being personally responsible for the entire problem. This distinction is often difficult to make when guilt turns every ordinary decision into a moral judgment.

A therapeutic space can help:

Shared, sustainable action can provide a more livable environment than the demand for perfect consistency.

The responsibility of institutions and organizations does not disappear just because a person learns to cope better with their anxiety.

Epictetus’s *Manual* begins by distinguishing between what depends on us and what does not. I use this philosophical framework with caution: ecology is built on interdependencies, and collective action can, in fact, change what seems beyond the reach of an individual acting alone. This distinction must therefore not become a pretext for abdicating all political responsibility. Epictetus’s *Manual*, translated by Guyau.

It can, however, help distinguish between a possible course of action and an exhausting sense of omnipotence. I can choose to get involved, support an organization, or discuss professional practices. I cannot, on my own, guarantee the future state of the world. Between denial and omnipotence, there is a space for imperfect—but real— action. This space deserves to be inhabited alongside others.

My journal entry would read: “ Joy is not a betrayal of clarity.” Enjoying a forest does not mean ignoring its fragility. Loving a shared meal does not mean approving of all the conditions under which it was produced.

We need meaningful connections with the world in order to continue caring about it. If every pleasant moment becomes suspect, our commitment loses its foundation.Support can help us rediscover this balance: seeing what causes anxiety, recognizing what is beyond a person’s control, and then choosing a sustainable way to participate. It does not promise a future free of uncertainty; it seeks a presence that is less overwhelmed by that future.

Someone concerned about climate change may feel that limiting their exposure to the news is a form of giving up. Closing an article almost becomes a moral act: “If I look away, I’m not taking the issue seriously.” This rule is worth discussing. It’s possible to stay informed without receiving every alert the moment it appears, and to build one’s commitment in ways other than through constant exposure toworry.

The challenge is to understand the purpose of your search. These intentions can overlap. Distinguishing between them helps you make more conscious use of the information, rather than simply being swept along by the flow of information.

You can create your own personal framework based on the times and sources you find useful. This is not a one-size-fits-all guideline for screen time. Employers must respect these differences in circumstances and responsibilities.

Eco-anxiety isn’t just about fear. It can involve sadness at the transformation of a landscape, anger at certain decisions, or a sense of loneliness when those around you don’t share the same concerns. If all these experiences are lumped together under the single term “anxiety,” we risk simply trying to calm them down without listening to what they’re expressing.

Relationships with others can also be fraught with difficult demands. You want to be understood, but conversations quickly turn into a clash over each person’s point of view. We can explore what you expect from these conversations and the relationships you wish to maintain. Accepting that a loved one doesn’t respond exactly as you do doesn’t mean giving up your convictions. It can help you decide where and how to put them into practice.

Major decisions take on special significance when the future seems uncertain. Changing careers, having a child, moving, or investing in a project can feel like impossible choices. Each option seems to require justification across every possible future scenario. Yet no human decision comes with such a guarantee. This work explores the possibility of making choices based on information and values, while acknowledging a degree of uncertainty.

This does not mean treating real risks as thoughts to be suppressed. It is legitimate to take them into account. The question is: at what point does considering them still help in decision-making, and at what point does it prevent any progress? We can distinguish between what you know, what you consider likely, and what remains unknown, and then focus on the existing margins of uncertainty rather than seeking absolute certainty.

Sustainable leadership also makes room for relationships, enjoyment, and rest. These aspects are not rewards that you should have to “earn” by doing “enough” before allowing yourself to enjoy them. They can be part of the life you wish to preserve.Coaching seeks to support this sense of coherence in your life: staying engaged, being able to participate, and not lettinganxiety alone dominate your entire future.

TheEMDR is not an established treatment foreco-anxiety as a whole. It may be considered when a traumatic event, such as a firsthand experience of a disaster, contributes to the distress. In other situations, the focus will be more onuncertainty, values, habits, and support systems.

The video call can provide this time for reflection without having to travel. The first session is designed to understand the nature of the anxiety, its impact, and the appropriate approaches.

The goal isn't to make you indifferent. It's to be able to stay connected to what matters without letting the threat take over your whole life.