Conceptualising eco-anxiety using an existential framework

Abstract

There is a lack of conceptual clarity regarding the nature of distress caused by confrontations with climate change as a generalised or global phenomenon (distress often labelled ‘eco-anxiety’). However, existing literature has suggested that existential concerns might be central to the experience. This article explores and conceptualises the experience of eco-anxiety through semi-structured interviews with 15 self-selecting adults. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, which utilised an existential framework – consisting of the concerns of death, meaning, isolation, and freedom/responsibility – in a theory-driven analysis of interview transcripts. Participants’ experiences were conceptualised by four themes derived from the existential framework and six subthemes. Climate change was equated with death or loss and associated with guilt, anger, isolation, powerlessness, and chronic uncertainty about what to do as well with challenges to meaning in life. The study indicates that distress about climate change is a diverse and distressing phenomenon that can be appropriately conceptualised through an existential lens. Implications of this are discussed for climate and clinical psychology.

Ecological Sorrow: Types of Grief and Loss in Ecological Grief

“…Because it just feels like grief and trauma." [131], p. 478 As was discussed above in Section 3.2.3., grief research features many explorations about sorrow in life transitions [65,75,235], but there is no commonly used terminology for this. Randall's term, transitional loss [47], is useful, but it should be added that there may also be transitional grief.…”

“…I feel like that sounds really dramatic, but it does feel like, 'What's all this for?' (Izzy)" [131], p. 480 "when you realize how serious, how far-reaching and how fast we need to act in the climate crisis … That's an experience that shakes your entire foundation, in every possible way. It changes your entire view on the world in every aspect."…”

“…There is evidence of such ecological loss and grief which is so powerful that it threatens to shatter people's fundamental beliefs about the world and themselves [131,133,134]. Grief research offers tools for understanding these kind of dynamics, and especially relevant seem to be the frameworks of shattered assumptions and meaning reconstruction.…”

“…Testimonies and studies of ecological loss show that deep processes of meaning reconstruction among shattered assumptions can arise from both particular ecological losses and global ecological grief [131,133,134,146]. The following description of "The assumptive world and loss" by grief scholars Harris and Winokuer seems very fitting to many of these experiences:…”

“…[239], pp. [15][16][17], and there can be complex combinations of "eco-existential crises" and life transition crises [131,133,134,182] [80] Many different aspects of loss have been charted in grief research, but an important and wideranging aspect has been difficult to capture: loss of whole lifeworlds and ways of living. Perhaps this level of inquiry has been more typical for cultural studies and anthropology than for grief research and death studies, but sorrow is definitely included in such dynamics (e.g.…”