Climate anxiety: how to help young people cope – 84 per cent are worried about global warming and need adults’ support
- ‘Climate science brings up big emotions. Young people need adults to listen to and accompany [them in] their distress,’ a psychotherapist says
- A Hong Kong teen notes that adults can make things happen in a way children can’t – and says the solution lies in teamwork, not denial
Fifteen-year-old Faith Hui is spending the summer in Hong Kong thinking about the future. Not her future career, but the future of the planet. And she’s concerned.
“I’m worried about climate change because I feel whatever we do right now, our actions will impact whatever is going to happen in the future. The situation is already bad; if we don’t stop it, or lessen the impact, then I fear for future generations,” she says.
Faith’s concerns are echoed by young people around the world. The first large-scale investigation of climate anxiety in children and young people globally found that 84 per cent were worried about the impact of climate change.
In a report of the research published in The Lancet in December, 45 per cent said climate anxiety and distress is affecting their daily lives and functioning, and almost half of those who said they talked with others about climate change felt ignored or dismissed. That is how Faith feels too.
“I definitely feel some people ignore what I’m saying; they can’t see what is actually happening. Climate change happens little by little, so they say, ‘It’s OK, I don’t see anything happening now’,” she says.