How to help students who are anxious about climate change

In 2019, before the pandemic irrevocably changed the world, some of the largest protests in Australian history took place across the nation. The leaders and most of the participants were students.

The School Strike 4 Climate protests have since continued, with thousands of students across the globe attending. ‘Eco-anxiety’ is not just a woke term or an excuse to ditch school for a day, but a growing issue for young people.

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Headspace, which provides mental health support for young people, says ‘eco-anxiety’ or ‘climate anxiety’ is a concern about climate change and its effect on the planet and what it might mean for the future.

The anxiety can be significant enough to interfere with children’s daily lives and impact on their general health and wellbeing.

There are three things we can do to help students who are worried about climate change: ensure they have access to accurate information, give them the skills to build emotional resilience, and empower them to take action.

1. Provide access to appropriate information

It’s important that information is age-appropriate and sourced from reputable sites. Headspace recommends sites such as the David Suzuki Foundation, Climate for Change and the Australian Conservation Foundation.

For any age group, it’s important not to overwhelm children with too much information at once. This is not to suggest you should minimise or avoid certain topics, but talking about solutions and positive actions – no matter how small – rather than focussing on fears can be a way to reduce anxiety.

Try to find environmental groups in your local area to show children that people are exploring solutions and working hard to make a difference.

2. Build resilience

Helping students to build their repertoire of coping skills is important to help them overcome any type of anxiety. Some students might benefit from learning about mindfulness techniques or meditation while others might need to talk through their anxiety with family and friends or journal their thoughts.

Teaching kids about unhelpful strategies (such as alcohol, drugs or social withdrawal) is also important.

Everyone is different, and coping strategies can change as you get older. Headspace recommends getting students to reflect on how they respond when things are tough, and whether that response is helpful or healthy.

Teach students that they can take a few moments to choose how to respond in a bad situation.

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3. Empower Students to Act

Encouraging students to take a practical, hands-on approach can reduce their anxiety, which is often borne out of a feeling of helplessness. It’s also vital that educators and adults listen to students and not dismiss their very real fears.

While the School Strikes are a very visual and public way of raising awareness, being engaged in school, community or national projects out of the spotlight is more often an effective way to reduce anxiety through the act of acting.

Students need to be reminded that while the effects of climate change seem to be getting more extreme every year, fixing the problem means playing the long game. While this can be frustrating and cause more anxiety, there are already many young people making big differences – by going to law school, writing petitions, leading rallies and more.

But positive actions can also be small – such as monitoring and conserving water and energy in their homes, recycling, using public transport or riding bikes, planting trees, using less plastic and actively supporting sustainable businesses.

Anxiety is worse when you believe you are the only one experiencing it, and schools can help by encouraging students to create or join clubs where like-minded students can work together to raise awareness and make positive changes.

Supporting children through their worries about climate change is about balancing honest conversations with reassurance and action, helping them feel both informed and empowered.