{"id":537344,"date":"2021-05-22T15:20:38","date_gmt":"2021-05-22T19:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=537344"},"modified":"2021-05-22T15:20:41","modified_gmt":"2021-05-22T19:20:41","slug":"eco-anxiety-is-the-medias-coverage-of-climate-change-giving-viewers-psychological-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eco-anxiety-is-the-medias-coverage-of-climate-change-giving-viewers-psychological-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Eco-anxiety\u2019: Is The Media\u2019s Coverage Of Climate Change Giving Viewers Psychological Issues?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Feco-anxiety-is-the-medias-coverage-of-climate-change-giving-viewers-psychological-issues%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=537344&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1135955958.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>An increasing number of Americans feel such panic over climate change that they are streaming into psychiatrists\u2019 offices to deal with the stress, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nowthisnews\/status\/1395628674674798595\">viral video<\/a> posted by NowThis News on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Psychologists say that \u201ceco-anxiety\u201d is creating \u201cexistential concerns about our future, and the future of our children, and their children.\u201d Mitch Prinstein, chief science officer at the American Psychological Association, told the left-of-center news outlet that, for some people, concern over the environment is \u201cimpairing our ability to function every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"10.587121212121\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Is the climate crisis making you anxious? If so, you\u2019re not alone. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MrAlexAlba?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MrAlexAlba<\/a> speaks to Mitch Prinstein, chief science officer at the American Psychological Association, to find out what can help <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mRVy02M6xL\">pic.twitter.com\/mRVy02M6xL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NowThis (@nowthisnews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nowthisnews\/status\/1395628674674798595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 21, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The video, which focuses on how to cope with stress over global warming, gives no statistics on the phenomenon of \u201ceco-anxiety\u201d and merely <em>assumes<\/em> that it exists. Is this psychological phenomenon real? If so, what is behind it?<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the claim?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An identifiable group of Americans suffer from \u201ceco-anxiety,\u201d a fear of climate change so severe that it creates an impactful amount of stress and mental harm.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are the facts about \u201ceco-anxiety\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s growing recognition in the field of psychology that people are experiencing distress over climate change,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/therapists-are-reckoning-with-eco-anxiety\/\">reported<\/a> the Scientific American in April. The American Psychological Association has identified \u201ceco-anxiety\u201d as \u201ca chronic fear of environmental doom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Surveys show that \u201ceco-anxiety\u201d is real and deepening the harm to young people\u2019s well-being. Yale <a href=\"https:\/\/climatecommunication.yale.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Climate-Change-American-Mind-December-2018.pdf\">warned<\/a> in 2018 that 29% of Americans were \u201cvery worried\u201d about the environment, \u201cthe highest level since our surveys began in 2008.\u201d By November 2019, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Washington Post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/report-section\/the-kaiser-family-foundation-washington-post-climate-change-survey-main-findings\/\">found<\/a> that the problem had exploded, particularly among \u201cyoung adults ages 18-29.\u201d In all, 68% of young people said they felt \u201cafraid,\u201d 66% felt \u201chelpless,\u201d and 54% felt \u201cguilty\u201d about the future of the global climate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome teenagers today are more concerned about the environment than going to school or taking care of themselves, which is incredibly damaging to a child\u2019s development,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texaspolicy.com\/the-rise-of-eco-anxiety-in-our-nations-youth\/\">reported<\/a> the Texas Public Policy Foundation last month.<\/p>\n<p>That fear may come, in part, from politicians\u2019 overheated rhetoric, designed to sell a left-wing agenda on climate change. \u201cThe world is going to end in 12 years if we don\u2019t address climate change,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/ocasio-snaps-world-could-end-12-years-algorithms-ryan-saavedra\">said<\/a> Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in January 2019. (She later claimed that she was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/ocasio-cortez-i-was-joking-about-world-ending-12-amanda-prestigiacomo\">joking<\/a>, although she delivered the line in heartfelt earnest; her comments came days before she released her sweeping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/mandatory-train-travel-and-regulated-cow-farts-emily-zanotti\">Green New Deal<\/a>.) In April 2019, presidential candidate Beto O\u2019Rourke <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2019\/04\/30\/beto-ten-years-left-climate-change\/\">said<\/a> the nation had to act \u201cin the 10 years we have left to us, as the scientists tell us.\u201d&nbsp;In January 2020, teenage activist Greta Thunberg <a href=\"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2020\/01\/21\/thunberg-says-eight-years-left-avert-1-5c-warming\/\">said<\/a> that the world has \u201cless than eight years\u201d to act.<\/p>\n<p>Within one year, climate activists reduced the amount of time the world had left before the impending climate apocalypse by more than four years.<\/p>\n<p>The Associated Press set the record straight in March 2019, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/climate-business-amy-berman-jackson-beto-orourke-science-fe7c9d4a9f8f458c827677d31230f594\">reporting<\/a>, \u201cThere is no scientific consensus, much less unanimity, that the planet only has 12 years to fix the problem\u201d or perish.<\/p>\n<p>Still, politicians have inflated the way they refer to the problem from \u201cclimate change,\u201d to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/environment\/with-climate-clock-ticking-activists-push-biden-act-faster-2021-04-19\/\">climate emergency<\/a>\u201d (or, in Gavin Newsom\u2019s phrase, \u201cclimate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/watch-cnns-jake-tapper-ends-interview-after-wh-official-blasts-network-for-not-being-honest\">damn emergency<\/a>\u201d) to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/uk\/world-must-act-now-avoid-climate-catastrophe-uks-cop26-chief-says-2021-05-14\/\">climate catastrophe<\/a>,\u201d frequently with \u201cexistential\u201d thrown in.<\/p>\n<p>The resultant stress is so bad that Prinstein encouraged viewers to \u201ctalk with others about whether our anxieties are starting to feel a little bit disproportionate to the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also encouraged people to become more discerning consumers of news and opinion. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of misinformation out there about climate change and the science behind it, but we really have to be very careful about what information we\u2019re reading,\u201d said Prinstein in the video. \u201cWhat\u2019s the source of that information? And are we talking about science, or is it a piece that might be trying to be more alarmist and trying to get us emotionally to respond?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For instance, teenage global climate activist and media darling Greta Thunberg (who <a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/greta-thunberg-stopped-talking-and-eating-aged-11-her-mother-reveals-11941467\">suffered<\/a>&nbsp;from eco-anxiety herself) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/bbcthree\/article\/b2e7ee32-ad28-4ec4-89aa-a8b8c98f95a5\">told<\/a> her young followers:&nbsp;\u201cAdults keep saying, we owe it to the young people to give them hope. But I don\u2019t want your hope. I don\u2019t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Prinstein might look at his own organization. The American Psychological Association posted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apa.org\/news\/press\/releases\/2017\/03\/mental-health-climate.pdf\">70-page<\/a> guidance addressing in March 2017 which claimed \u201cthe implications of climate change\u201d will \u201cinduce stress, depression, and anxiety; strain social and community relationships;\u201d and induce \u201cincreases in aggression, violence, and crime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone has a role to play in saving young people from sacrificing their future in endless worry over emotionally evocative rhetoric. \u201cAs a society, we have the ability to reduce eco-anxiety cases in children and teenagers by reporting facts about climate change rather than doomsday scenarios,\u201d said the Texas Public Policy Foundation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the bottom line?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cEco-anxiety\u201d is real, deepening, harmful, and preventable. The media could help improve the mental health of millions of young people around the world by debunking overstated claims about the environment, reporting accurate scientific claims about the state of our climate, and noting the environmentalist movement\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cei.org\/blog\/wrong-again-50-years-of-failed-eco-pocalyptic-predictions\/\">50-year history<\/a> of failed apocalyptic predictions.<\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An increasing number of Americans feel such panic over climate change that they are streaming into psychiatrists\u2019 offices to deal with the stress, according to a viral video posted by &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2312706,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1135955958.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018Eco-anxiety\u2019: Is The Media\u2019s Coverage Of Climate Change Giving Viewers Psychological Issues?","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-537344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1135955958.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018Eco-anxiety\u2019: Is The Media\u2019s Coverage Of Climate Change Giving Viewers Psychological Issues?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2312706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}