Eco-anxiety: fear, anger, guilt over ethical choices, damage to Earth
Published 5:00 am Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Four decades into the environmental movement, eco-chic is everywhere, from green weddings to mutual funds, corporate headquarters and thrift shops.
And the endless flow of choices for green living, driven by environmental fears about everything from oil depletion to climate change, is giving people a whole new way to worry.
Experts call it eco-anxiety.
“That’s what eco-psychologists call that underlying feeling of fear and anger about the state of the Earth,” said Margaret Emerson, who received a master’s in eco-psychology from Naropa University. “If you pick just one thing, it would be overwhelming, but with all this stuff coming at you, it’s psychologically numbing.”
New fields like eco-therapy and eco-psychology have sprouted alongside such things as the “six levels of awareness,” similar to the stages of grief, that eco-anxiety sufferers share. The stages range from denial and fear to acceptance and action.
A study released last week by Ogilvy Earth, a sustainability consultant, said 82 percent of Americans have good intentions for green living, but only 16 percent are dedicated to living that way.
Nearly 50 percent of Americans said they feel guiltier the more they know about how to live a sustainable lifestyle.