Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6E 2A1, Canada.
J Anxiety Disord. 2020 Dec;76:102313. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102313. Epub 2020 Sep 22.
Climate change involves (1) increases in the prevalence of extreme weather events (e.g., wildfires, floods, hurricanes), (2) more gradual climatic changes (e.g., rising sea levels, desertification), and (3) increased risks of pandemics and other widespread disease outbreaks. Anxiety evoked by the threat of climate change can be either adaptive or maladaptive. Adaptive anxiety can motivate climate activism, such as efforts to reduce one's carbon footprint. Maladaptive anxiety can take the form of anxious passivity, where the person feels anxious but incapable of addressing the problem of climate change, and may take the form of an anxiety disorder triggered or exacerbated by climatic stressors. Such stressors may involve exposure to extreme weather events or may involve exposure to other stressors such as forced migration due to rising sea levels or desertification. Three types of interventions are needed to address the various types of climate-related anxiety: (1) programs that motivate people to overcome anxious passivity and thereby take action to mitigate the effects of climate change, (2) treatment programs that address anxiety associated with exposure to climatic stressors, and (3) programs that build resilience at an individual and community level, to help people better cope with the challenges ahead.
（1）极端天气事件（如野火、洪水、飓风）的出现频率增加；（2）更渐进的气候变化（如海平面上升、荒漠化）；以及（3）大流行病和其他广泛疾病爆发的风险增加。气候变化带来的威胁引发的焦虑可能是适应性的，也可能是不适应的。适应性焦虑可以激励气候行动主义，例如努力减少个人的碳足迹。不适应的焦虑可能表现为焦虑的被动性，即一个人感到焦虑，但却无法解决气候变化问题，也可能表现为焦虑障碍，这种障碍可能是由气候压力源引发或加剧的。这些压力源可能涉及到极端天气事件的暴露，也可能涉及到因海平面上升或荒漠化而被迫迁移等其他压力源。为了解决与气候相关的各种焦虑问题，需要采取三种类型的干预措施：（1）激励人们克服焦虑的被动性并采取行动来减轻气候变化影响的方案；（2）解决与气候压力源暴露相关的焦虑的治疗方案；（3）在个人和社区层面建立弹性的方案，以帮助人们更好地应对未来的挑战。
