This is like what they did to kids during the Cold War, when they were constantly telling them they were going to get nuked by the Russians.
The Russians weren’t ever going to nuke anyone. Well, not back then. They might now. But now, no one is even talking about it. Instead they’re telling kids the weather is going to kill them.
The lesson is: it is never normal to fill children with fear about things they have no control over. This should be obvious to everyone, but it has somehow been acceptable for decades.
Ruby Bron feels “helpless” and “anxiety-ridden” when she thinks about the future and the irreversible damage occurring because of the climate crisis.
The 17-year-old Sydney student says without drastic action to cut emissions, her generation will be left to deal with the climate crisis in an increasingly damaged and volatile world.
“That is a massive responsibility placed on us,” Bron said. “Anxiety builds up.”
Ruby Bron
She said the climate crisis was such a big issue and causing so much harm that sometimes she felt like it was impossible to fight it.
“There is a constant occurrence of disasters,” she said. “Fires, floods, droughts and cyclones.
“These disasters affect people’s livelihoods, their homes, the way their communities run. In that world, there would be a lot of disappointment and regret that nothing was done sooner.”
The youth mental health organisation, Orygen, and Mission Australia on Thursday released the findings of a survey of nearly 19,000 young Australians aged 15-19.
More than a quarter (26%) said they were “very concerned” or “extremely concerned” about the climate crisis, and 38% said they experienced high psychological distress, the survey found.
Those who reported being very or extremely concerned were more likely to report higher levels of distress, lower wellbeing and more negative feelings about the future.
Dr Caroline Gao, a biostatistician and epidemiologist at youth mental health organisation Orygen, and co-author of the report, said the impact of the climate crisis on mental health was “an emerging but significant issue” that would probably grow as global heating becomes more severe.
…
Dr Catriona Davis-McCabe, president of the Australian Psychological Society, said it was an “understatement” to say young Australians were anxious about the climate crisis.
“They are despairing,” she said. “Psychologists are seeing an increase in people of all ages presenting with psychological distress they attribute to concern for the climate.”
Davis-McCabe said many young people were telling their psychologists that they felt as though they will not have a world to live in.
“Where climate anxiety used to be something only a small group of patients were worried about, it is now one of the most common issues psychologists are discussing with young people,” she said.
“Some young patients are reconsidering what their future should look like, including whether they should have children of their own. To make things worse, it has never been more difficult for young people to access psychological services.”
I just don’t… I don’t…
Worst case. Worst case. Why would it matter if it was a little bit hotter outside?
Are these people that worried about swamp ass?
Humanity is moving further and further into unchartered territory for us. This in itself is unprecedented, but what is even more unprecedented is the speed at which it’s happening. And we keep accelerating.
In other words; join the climate justice movement. https://t.co/uBM1jIL9sY
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) April 19, 2023