Is called eco-anxiety the new syndrome that is affecting young people. Overwhelmed by the obvious climate change and environmental disasters of which we are now all witnesses, the young people of the new millennium are afraid of the future. Not a generic fear, but a state of mind that makes them feel in a sort of countdown towards the end of the planet and that can lead malaise, pain, unhappiness, asthenia. A real emotional pathology, therefore, well present to the psychiatrists who have been dealing with it for some time now.
According to a global research conducted by 10 major universities around the world, they declare “very worried”6 Millennials out of 10, to the point that 40 percent say they have no intention of giving birth to a child to leave him on a planet so badly reduced. And 60% feel “betrayed by the institutions”Who“ don’t do enough ”to reverse course before the point of no return. The reaction is not the same for everyone: there are those who take refuge in their comfort zone (and it is no coincidence that the phenomenon of “retired” at home is increasing visibly), those who compulsively inquire online about the environmental disasters present and expected, those who transform anxiety and anger into some form of social or political activism (see the Friday For Future movements). Also the dizzying increase of vegetarians among the boys – almost always motivated as ethical choice – it is a form of activism, albeit more intimate and individual. “I stopped eating meat because cattle produce the powerful greenhouse gas methane,” says Giovanni, a 20-year-old interviewed boy who is very busy on the climate front. He increasingly uses public transport, participates in climate demonstrations and school strikes, and is considering adopting a child rather than having one of his own.
Matteo Innocenti, psychiatrist, author of “Ecoansia. Climate change between activism and fear “(Erickson, 2022), argues that” eco-anxiety represents climate change anxiety and manifests itself with the same symptoms as anxiety tout cour, such as cognitive impairment, that is, failing to think well about things “. But compared to other forms of anxiety, such as agoraphobia or claustrophobia, where the fear is irrational, here the arguments are more than rational. And they do not console the typical things said by parents to children such as “each generation has faced its own challenges”. It is true, wars and hard times have occurred regularly throughout history, and the grandparents of millennials testify to this directly. But replies Dimitri, another Millennials interviewed: “During the war and even after the cold war where there was the terror of the nuclear bomb, people had to act to make things worse, someone had to launch an attack, for example. Today, however, the problem is our inertia“. The talks between parents (or teachers) and children generally ends with the sentence: “You’re right – say the adults – our generation has made a mess and now it’s your turn to fix it”. Leaving them once again soli in their fear and moreover invested by the depressive sense of guilt of the older ones.
The psychiatrist Innocenti even goes so far as to give gods tips to help the youngest. The treatment, simplifying, involves working on emotions “returning to look at the most ancestral component of our existence”. The emotional aspects of our life “are steeped in nature – she explains – and if we choose the path of emotions, we change the structure of many of our choices, triggering a need for contact with the natural environment“. He then advises young people to face anxiety and calm forms of fear and panic by immersing themselves in nature (also for sports activities) and walking alone in the woods. Contact with nature exposes us among other things to phytoncides, substances emitted by some plants that have a beneficial effect on our organism also from a psychological point of view. “However, if the anxiety is excessive – he warns – it is better not to be alone”. Loneliness can, in fact, lead to brooding and exaggerating fears.
The pet therapy: contact with animals can help restore a positive relationship with nature. And again: “Networking, talking to someone who feels the same feelings to share commitments and efforts, engaging in activities that allow us to feel useful while respecting the environment, get informed through TV series and documentaries but in conscious way: it is not necessary to look to impress us, indeed, it can be harmful. “It would be good not to use terrorist tones with children – warns the psychiatrist – who only create anger. It is necessary to accompany them to a more complete, realistic knowledge, and to a mature awareness ”.
An example of mature activism (and of the new sensitivity that is emerging on the horizon) is the letter that a young woman wrote to the mayor of Florence after the anti-waste water ordinances. It is not enough to show the muscles following the emergency of the moment, the boys seem to say, but we want tangible proof that the institutions they are aware of the risks they expose us to in the future by launching new signals, plans and projects for a radical change of direction, a courageous narrative that educates the consciences of citizens. And putting the washing of cars and the watering of a vegetable garden on the same level, which contributes to our survival – the girl says in summary – certainly does not go in this direction.