This essay has previously been published in the newspaper Syre: Young people’s climate anxiety is not a disease
A group of women, mothers of various ages, sit in a circle in a bare city square and sing. The singing keeps them warm and at the same time helps channel their emotions. Some women passing by stop and look tearfully at the women who are sitting there. It is Saturday, November 18, and all over the world the rebel mothers have gathered ahead of the UN Children’s Day to draw attention to the future of all children and the importance of a livable planet.
In a 2022 research article, Climate anxiety, pro-environmental action and wellbeing: antecedents and outcomes of negative emotional responses to climate change, based on a survey conducted among young people aged 18–23 in 28 countries, it was found that eight out of ten young people had some form of climate anxiety.
Sweden was not among the countries included in the survey, but the study still became major news here. A few weeks ago, the healthcare website 1177 in Skåne published a description of climate anxiety under the heading of mental illness and anxiety. Now the only question left is how we can best support our young people. In this opinion piece, I want to challenge society to adopt a different mentality, a different way of relating to the world—one that benefits our children and our striving for the living, instead of our current pursuit of dead values.
We classify anxiety as mental illness if it disrupts our daily lives, if we find it hard to think of anything else, and if the anxiety is excessive. The climate crisis is a real threat—at least if we are to believe science. Science is extraordinary in our world because its very task is to search for truth—not for money, not for more votes, not for power, but only truth. So if we are to believe in something, let us believe in science.
Thus, climate anxiety—anxiety about a very likely negative development—is not at all strange for our children. What is strange, however, is when it falls under the heading “mental illness.” Anxiety in the face of an existing threat, such as anxiety about our own death or the death of loved ones, is existential anxiety—not a mental disorder. It is about life’s challenges. An uncertain future for young people is an existential crisis.
The American social psychologist Roy Baumeister has conducted extensive research on existential crises and has identified four aspects of meaning for dealing with such a crisis, in his book Meaning of Life, published in 1992. The four aspects are: a need for self-esteem, values, purpose, and efficacy. Having a sense of who you are and being confident is very important. As is being aware of your own values in life and having one or more goals you want to achieve.
The last aspect, efficacy, is a little harder to translate and explain. It is mostly about a sense of control, feeling that you have the possibility and space to change things in life. Identifying the possibility of efficacy is usually the most complicated part—something I have experienced in my daily work as an existential counselor. Self-esteem is about both self-knowledge and validation. When it comes to young people with climate anxiety, it is important to take their concerns seriously and show that we adults truly care. The values of young people often revolve around a living planet. The goal is a good future for the planet and all living beings on it.
This leads to the question: How can one gain a sense of efficacy—a sense of being able to change things? There are things we humans can control, but also things that are difficult or even impossible to change. It is a real challenge to understand the boundary between these. This is made clear in the Serenity Prayer: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” For every young person, the task is to understand this difference and take on the possibilities for action that do exist.
And time is running out! Many researchers emphasize the fact that it is no longer five minutes to midnight, but rather ten past twelve. Many animal and plant species will never return. Even humans—children—are already dying today because of a changing climate and environmental pollution. We also need to create time and space to mourn all who have died.
Our children should not have to struggle alone with their climate anxiety and existential questions. Nor is it their responsibility to counter the climate crisis. It is society’s responsibility to leave a living planet to future generations and therefore to offer young people both opportunities for action and space for their grief.
