What is 'climate anxiety'? Emotional effects on humans are real, expert says
That was the topic discussed by a panel of experts at the Society for Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe on April 26.
Climate anxiety can affect life goals, motivations, and morals, according to Rebecca Weston, psychotherapist and co-executive director of Climate Psychology Alliance of North America.
Weston described a situation with a White woman and her Bangladeshi partner deciding if they wanted to have a baby. The woman believed it was immoral to bring a child into a world in its current state, while her husband did not want to surrender what he loved about living ― despite having grown up experiencing countless climate disasters.
'It really challenged my own assumptions again about how people take in and respond to these crises and how they make meaning out of it.' Weston said.
Rachel Ramirez, a freelance journalist who covers climate, was born and raised in Saipan, the capital of the U.S territory, Northern Mariana Islands. Super Typhoon Yutu hit her island in 2018 and the trauma caused by it influences her journalism today.
'As journalists we were kind of trained to separate our emotions and, you know, not let by these get in the way of our reporting,' Ramirez said. 'And so I think as times have changed, given our political climate and things that are going on right now, I … think it's kind of hard not to. I mean, it doesn't hurt to just let your emotions in and let yourself cry.'
Climate anxiety is an emotional response, but it has other implications.
Climate anxiety 'creates a distance between real things that are happening to real people, perhaps even people who are anxious about some potential future outcome when there actually might be things that are very directly in their lives today,' said Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at Time.
Reporting on the effects of climate change has its challenges, too, Weston said.
'What I want reporters to do is look for the emotions that are not narratively accepted,' Weston said. 'And so I think especially in this context, yes, I am profoundly for resilience, although look at who gets labeled resilient, right? Resilience is a wonderful thing as long as you stay oppressed.'
Eleri Mosier is a senior at Arizona State University, and is part of a student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
Coverage of the Society of Environmental Journalists conference is supported by Arizona State University's Cronkite School of Journalism, the University of Arizona. the Arizona Media Association and the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
These stories are published open-source for other news outlets and organizations to share and republish, with credit and links to azcentral.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How 'climate anxiety' takes an emotional toll on humans
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