From Bangladesh to Britain via Nigeria

An entire generation of young people suffers from climate-related anxiety

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"The climate crisis is a source of stress, shock and a nightmare for him," says Suhanur Rahman, 24.

Since he survived a cyclone more than 10 years ago in his native Bangladesh, he, like many young people of his generation, is considered a victim of "climate anxiety".

From Bangladesh to Britain, passing through Nigeria, a large number of young activists in the front lines of the global battle against climate change are currently facing a new problem, the impact of the crisis on their mental health.

Three of them met with AFP, as thousands of delegates gather at the COP26 summit, the global climate conference, in Glasgow to discuss ways to respond to the environmental emergency.

"It pisses me off from the inside," says Suhanur Rahman, from Barisal in Bangladesh, where he lives frightened and upset by political inaction.

His country, located in Southeast Asia, is ranked seventh among the countries most affected by severe weather events, and he is afraid for his people who live in the town of Natulabad, which was badly affected by the 2007 cyclone.

Disaster

The American Psychological Association defines “climate anxiety” felt by many young people, such as Suhanor, as a “chronic fear of environmental catastrophe.”

Like other types of anxiety, this phenomenon can have a tangible effect on the daily lives of the people who are its victims, and exacerbate other mental disorders they already suffer from.

Researchers have warned of the particularly vulnerable situation of children and youth, as they look to a future characterized by intense heat waves, devastating storms and rising ocean levels.

A recent report, prepared by researchers from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, and including 10,000 young people in 10 countries, revealed that 77% of them consider the future frightening due to climate change.

About half of the people who participated told the researchers that their concerns about climate change affect their daily lives.

helpless

"I look to the future and what lies ahead, and I feel great fear and anxiety, but also anger," said Dominic Palmer, 22, during a climate protest in London.

She asserts that she feels "betrayed" because of the wait-and-see policy pursued by world leaders.

She continues, "I often feel that I am helpless... until I return with those close to me and start the struggle again."

Garrett Barnwell, a psychologist in Johannesburg, South Africa, analyzes the ordeal: “Children face this changing world.

They feel fear, anger, disappointment and powerlessness.”

He explains that the violence of climate change also exacerbates pre-existing social grievances, explaining that when young people talk about their fears to their elders, they often feel incomprehensible.

To treat these disorders, the psychologist recommends psychotherapy, but he considers the best treatment is political measures that allay the fears of young people.

a burden

A large number of activists believe that what is lacking is concrete political action. This week, dozens of countries joined the United States and the European Union in pledging to reduce methane emissions, in an initiative that could have a strong short-term impact on global warming, according to experts.

However, many diplomatic differences, and the absence of leaders of polluted countries, such as China and Russia, from the Glasgow summit, it seems that the extent to which the negotiations are still weak.

"The recent COP25 conference, COP25, really exposed all the climate anxiety I was feeling," says Jenner Ochendo of Lagos, noting that "this feeling dominates young environmental activists in less developed countries."

"We bear the burden of climate change on our shoulders, while we are the least contributing to it," says the young Nigerian.

"It is okay to feel fear, and even to worry, especially in the face of something so large and sweeping," she added.

• About half of the participants told the researchers that their concerns about climate change affect their daily lives.

• A large number of young people active in the front lines of the global battle against climate change are currently facing a new problem, which is the impact of the crisis on their mental health.

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