Ecoanxiety:Are a psychologist and pill enough or is the real cure politics?

The editorial by director Nico Perrone

ROME – A growing phenomenon, which affects every age group but especially the young generations. Let's talk about ecoanxiety, which most often manifests itself as an obsession with weather conditions, fear of destructive and uncontrollable events, a sense of apathy. Even in Italy, climate change is now taking its toll, a heavy toll not only for the damage caused by the devastation but also for the many deaths. Psychologists across much of the world are already dealing with it and have been reporting growing cases for some time. Young people seem to be the most affected, many times they are the ones most aware and updated on what is happening to our planet. Many times they give rise to forms of heavy protests, I am thinking of blocking traffic in the city or acts of vandalism inside museums and historic buildings.They do it to raise the alarm, to create widespread awareness.It is clear that someone, as always happens, is also trying to make money perhaps by resorting to the usual trouble-free pill.But the problem, as mentioned, no longer concerns individuals but a mass of individuals. We must therefore oppose those who try to make this malaise a mere pathology which, on the contrary, signals a strong need for politics and concrete responses on the part of our leaders.

Even if ecoanxiety causes suffering and psychological pain, which should not be underestimated, the political issue at its origin must not be ignored. The authoritative Lancet magazine has also taken an interest in this problem, reporting that half of young people between 16 and 25 are suffering from the climate crisis, and therefore we cannot treat it as a sort of personal neurosis. We need to analyze and reflect on this growing collective malaise, the solution to which, as mentioned, cannot be the psychologist's couch or the pill.Because we are faced with a very rational reaction, as numerous analysts and psychologists say, considering the gravity of the crisis.Because of this mental distress must never shift attention from the social response necessary to address ongoing climate change.Focusing on the political causes, on the decisions that in recent decades have focused on the exploitation and plunder of resources, on the unbridled and unregulated growth that the increasingly rich are making the increasingly poor pay. It is our productive, economic and social model that must be questioned finding different forms of more sustainable, more equitable and supportive development.The most diverse data and research tell us this, they once again point out that the progress of a minimal part has been achieved thanks to the exploitation of a large part of the world.From here we need to move into action because it is not at all true that young people are passive or paralyzed by fear of dangers against which nothing can be done.On the contrary, it is a political problem that requires radical and innovative choices. Perhaps this is precisely what worries you gentlemen, and which they try in every way to avoid: the fear that eco-anxiety will transform into eco-anger, then yes there will be pain.