Eco-anxiety: Is the climate crisis keeping you up at night?

I feel pretty helpless in the face of climate change. I have given up fast-fashion, eat seasonally, avidly recycle, don't own a car and attend demonstrations, but as time ticks forward and global sustainability goals are missed year on year, it's hard not feel entirely fed up at times. Personal responsibility is important, we all need to do our part as we try to improve the current situation, but amid washing out my milk cartons and taking pains to remember my KeepCup whenever I leave the house, there is a pang of anger and fear that my own actions for the positive are microscopic when compared to the continued negatives of polluting industries.

This feeling has been coined into a nifty descriptor in recent years - eco-anxiety. The penny is finally dropping about the ill state of our planet, and while it impacts everyone it is particularly worrying for young people, who will live longer to witness the forecasted demise of the earth's resources. Read more: A beginner’s guide to sustainable homes - that will also save you money A 2020 survey of child psychiatrists in England found that 57% are seeing children and young people who are distressed about the environment, and it’s a tough anxiety to tackle as it is based in a very real fear about what we can already see happening to the world around us.

For kids these days, the news is full of natural disasters, animal extinction warnings and tales of rising sea levels so it’s no wonder they are stressed. Alleviating that tens.