Eco-Anxiety. Are we green with panic?

Do you dig into other people’s trash to recycle their cans? Do you recycle bath water for the next person? Are you fighting with your husband over what light bulbs to use? Do you not see the beauty anymore in a view of city lights?

If it seems we’re a society out of balance with the eco-friendly world frenzy these days, we are. So much so that eco-therapists now that exist. Depression, anxiety, panic and feelings of hopelessness are very much alive, particularly post An Inconvenient Truth. And the largest group of eco-worriers is Moms. We pack the lunches, we do the shopping and we focus immense energy on keeping our kids healthy and their futures well. But are we making ourselves, and our families, unhappy in the process?

It’s something to think about. In “Green with Worry,” an article in San Francisco magazine, they tried to put eco-worry into perspective. And they did a great job of it; I’d highly recommend the reading. They talked about Moms pulling chocolate because cocoa bean farming is environmentally destructive, and air drying t-shirts while family members complained of wearing scratchy hairy-like shirts, and kicking their couches to the curb because of carcinogenic petrochemicals. No candy, no comfort, no couch? This can’t be good.

The article summed up the scene well by saying, “We have to put our own mood in balance before we can get the earth in balance.” Well said. Obsessing never seems healthy no matter the good intentions. Obsessing about all you must do and aren’t doing brings stress, sadness and paralyzing fear. It’s true, the sadness of polar bears drowning is real, we all have anxiety as we drive just about anywhere these days, and we worry about the future for our kids. And while that anxiety can bring awareness, it also brings with it unproductive negativity that won’t help ourselves, our families or the planet. So let’s stand back, do what we can, and remember to breathe. “If we aren’t living with joy in our lives, then we aren’t going to maintain the energy to make changes in the world,” as so well said by a therapist in the article. Ironically, it seems science’s environmentalists are the least panic stricken by what they see. They’re relieved that people are paying attention and know they can’t change the world single-handedly. Let’s follow their lead and remember that with the history of the earth and all the catastrophes, the world continues and new life is always born. A global perspective may help lessen the panic.

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Thought you might enjoy this article on PLM! http://debbieintheoc.com/green_living_fullstory/eco-anxiety/