Eco-anxiety can help urge climate action, but excessive of it may hinder the progress

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

General anxiety intensifies climate or «eco»-anxiety. This can spur some people to climate action, while for others it can lead to a state of paralysis and inactivity. Our recent Canadian study looked at how values and action around climate change vary with an individual's personality traits.

We found that the higher a person's general anxiety trait and the more they valued nature, the more likely they would engage in climate action. Last year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change delivered a «final warning»; we must take action on climate change while there is still time. Around the world, countries have declared climate emergencies to help motivate individuals and governments to act.

Personal lifestyle changes such as switching to a vehicle that is not reliant on fossil fuels and reducing red meat consumption can have a large impact on greenhouse gas emissions if enacted on a global scale. But not enough people are making these changes, and this could be in part because of the level of anxiety they are experiencing. Understanding climate anxiety General anxiety is the tendency to worry about future events.

An increase in anxiety can keep you alert and primed to perform your best, but once it exceeds a threshold, performance begins to deteriorate. This can be a good thing, motivating us to prepare for an event, like studying before an exam or getting supplies before a storm hits. But when worry becomes excessive or difficult to control, it can affect mental health and lead to generalised anxiety disorder, causing feelings of fatigue, restlessness and irritability, and reducing our ability to prepare.