Negative thought patterns, especially if kept under wraps, foster negative emotions and behaviors. Here’s an example.
What Stella thinks
“I’m scared. It took my parents a long time to notice it.
“I never had anxiety or depression in grade school, but last summer at the beach, looking at the waves, I started to get really anxious about climate change. Except for school assignments, I couldn’t stand reading the news, especially anything environmental. I started wondering if everything coming my way - sea level rise, flooding, drought, species extinction, the other predictions - were going to make my life sad and hard.
“And what’s going to happen to my friends? Brad has asthma? Marion’s home is losing value because of the flooding? Kit’s parents get angry when he even uses the words ‘climate change.’ And then there’s Beth saying she won’t be having kids because she couldn’t bring anyone into the world as it’s gonna be.
“The worst part: I’d become convinced there’s nothing I or anyone could really do to protect us from global warming. Recycling and low-flow shower heads? What a cop-out! I felt helpless. My inner self-talk was getting more and more negative. My grades were down, my daily activities were filled with worry.
“A basket case, almost. My folks were on me about it. But, hey, they weren’t doing anything meaningful to stop climate change, to stop my worries! My teachers weren’t talking about it. Nobody in our town was shouting about it.
I kept trying to tell myself something. But what?
“Well, in December I started finding things to tell myself. That’s when Mrs. Brown helped me write down my specific negative thoughts on stickies and put them around my desk. Then we started to challenge those downers. We searched for successful environmental initiatives, scientific advancements in sustainability, individual and collective actions that seem to be making a difference, other hopeful stuff. At first I couldn’t see much, but now that I’m on the lookout, it’s easier to find them.
“I’m consciously working to reframe my thoughts now, make them more balanced, more empowering. Yes, I still have moments when I’m overwhelmed by hopelessness, but I’ve begun to tell myself the challenges may be huge, but there are still opportunities for positive change. I’m even believing that my actions, no matter how small, can boost a collective effort to protect my hometown.
“Now that I’m looking for positive news, I’ve been gradually exposing myself again to information about climate change. Instead of avoiding news articles or documentaries about environmental issues, I engage with them mindfully (that’s one of Mrs. Brown’s phrases). acknowledging my emotions while searching for constructive responses, potential solutions.
“And I’ve been experimenting with my behaviors too. For example, I’m reducing my carbon footprint by biking and using public transportation whenever I can, and me and my friends are supporting four eco-friendly businesses in town. My old frame of mind poo-pooed these actions as drops in a bucket, but I’m actively working to change those thoughts.
“I started incorporating relaxation techniques into my routine to manage the stress and anxiety. Things like meditation, spending more time in nature, talking to Jimmy - he’s my dog - and other activities that bring me a sense of calm and perspective.
“And perhaps most useful, I’ve been finding ways to do some activism and advocacy stuff. More drops in the bucket? Yeah, but when I’m at protest events, volunteering with environmentalists, or when I actually talked to the mayor, I find that, even if it helps the planet only a little, it helps me a lot!”
That’s CBT!
Recognize those elements? Identifying automatic thoughts. Challenging them. Remaking. Exposing. Relaxing. Experimenting with behavior. They’re the building blocks for Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
CBT is an extremely common psychotherapy that’s based on the idea that healthy thoughts lead to healthy feelings and behavior. Stella’s therapist Mrs. Brown is one of more than 100,000 therapists across the US who are finding that CBT can be really useful for treating climate anxiety or depression in young adults.
In addition, there are now online CBT do-it-yourself apps designed for those who can’t or won’t arrange regular sessions with a therapist.
Most kids aren’t telling us how they feel, but when asked they reveal that eight of ten of them are moderately or extremely worried about climate change and the authorities’ response to it. Five say they feel sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless or guilty about it.
CBT may be a treatment that we want to alert our friends to.
Read about how kids feel.
Learn about CBT for kids.
Other suggestions for helping kids with eco-anxiety from National Geographic.