Eco-Anxiety: Exploring Existential Threats and Ontological Security among University Students

Abstract

The physical and mental health consequences of climate change are, and will be, an extremely important issue in the anthropology of climate change. Already, we are seeing countless examples of the effects of climate change in Canada, and around the world. Although the physical consequences have been theorized for quite some time, scholars have only recently started to study its mental health effects, an emerging component of which is eco-anxiety. Studies on eco-anxiety thus far have predominantly been studied using quantitative methods. Qualitative and mixed-methods approaches have yet to be explored in a similar way. The purpose of this honours thesis was to contribute to the overall understanding of eco-anxiety using in-depth, qualitative, semi-structured interviews. The study consisted of nine Dalhousie University students who were enrolled in programs that pertained to environmental studies i.e., Biology, Sustainability, and Environmental Science. The overall findings were fourfold. Firstly, eco-anxiety is derived from existential anxiety, which is ultimately derived from existential environmental threats. Secondly, eco-anxiety is not pathological but rather, a rational response to the climate crisis. Thirdly, the mental health effects observed usually correlated with pre existing mental health conditions, such as general anxiety. Eco-anxiety does not typically create new mental illnesses, rather it exacerbates pre-existing ones. Lastly, there are various strategies the participants used for mitigating the mental health effects of eco-anxiety.