Eco-anxiety: How does the human mind deal with existential threats? - BBC Science Focus Magazine

• We are increasingly faced with global issues related to politics, climate change, war, and other existential threats.
• The normal tendency is to worry endlessly and repeatedly think about things that have happened, which can lead to depression.
• The troubling fact is that if the threat is massive, we feel helpless and end up thinking more about the same.

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines Eco-Anxiety as a mental health issue due to climate change. This and other existential threats are processed in the anterior cingulate cortex(ACC), a region of our brain that is also responsible for our behaviour.

Eco-Anxiety cannot be treated as it is not a specific mental health problem (yet), and we need to calm our mind by taking affirmative action. We need to concentrate on what can be controlled, taking step-by-step action, no matter how small it is, like recycling or buying second-hand, to minimize our environmental impact on the planet.