“I have eco-anxiety, too. Hearing chunks of ice break off the mountains makes you think there’s nowhere left to hide.”

 Stefano Accorsi, one of the best-known figures in contemporary Italian cinema, recently acknowledged that climate change is more than a nagging concern for him. Speaking at the Planetaria Festival in Bologna, which this year focused on technological and environmental changes, Accorsi described a feeling that is increasingly shared around the world: growing anguish over climate change and the future of the planet.

Definition and Conceptual Framework

Eco-anxiety is a state of chronic worry and psychological distress linked to the climate crisis and the perception of political and institutional inaction. It is not a marginal phenomenon but an emerging global public health priority. It can be an adaptive response that, when channeled constructively, encourages environmentally responsible behavior. But without adequate coping mechanisms and effective social and political responses, it can develop into what has been described as eco-paralysis.

Scientific research in recent years has reshaped our understanding of mental health in the context of the global changes of the Anthropocene. In the past, psychiatry focused largely on the direct traumatic effects of natural disasters — such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following floods or wildfires. Contemporary psychological research has instead identified eco-anxiety, or climate-change anxiety, as a widespread psychosocial state characterized by apprehension and distress about the ecological future of the planet.

Eco-anxiety is not classified as a psychiatric disorder. The scientific community generally views it as an emotionally adaptive response to an objective, large-scale threat. But when exposure to climate-related stressors becomes chronic, it can develop into dysfunctional forms that seriously impair daily functioning and quality of life.

Epidemiological Data and Clinical Correlates

Recent large-scale meta-analyses and cross-national studies have begun to quantify the phenomenon globally. A systematic review published in late 2025 examined more than 65,000 participants and found moderate levels of eco-anxiety in the general population, with significantly higher levels in certain geographic areas.

Longitudinal studies have found moderate but significant associations between high levels of eco-anxiety and symptoms of depression, generalized anxiety, chronic stress and sleep disorders. In some population samples, changes in individuals’ levels of eco-anxiety over time have been shown to predict worsening anxiety symptoms.

A large Italian study of more than 1,000 participants using the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS-13) found strong correlations between climate-change distress and overall psychological distress, along with a significant decline in perceived well-being.

Risk Factors and Demographic Profiles

Research has identified several factors associated with higher levels of eco-anxiety, broadly divided into three categories.

The first involves social and demographic factors, with women and young adults ages 18 to 29 particularly affected. The second involves political and cognitive factors, especially distrust in institutions and the perception that governments and policymakers are failing to respond adequately to the climate crisis. The third involves geographic and experiential factors, affecting people who live in vulnerable areas or have been directly exposed to extreme events such as prolonged droughts and floods.

Among these groups, eco-anxiety levels are significantly higher than in populations without direct exposure and are often linked to concrete threats to economic and ecological security.

From Paralysis to Action: The Adaptive Role of Climate Anxiety

One of the most important findings of recent research is the ambivalent nature of eco-anxiety, which has been described as a double-edged sword. A 2026 meta-analysis involving more than 34,000 people confirmed a positive correlation between climate anxiety and pro-environmental behavior.

Anxiety can act as an alarm signal, prompting people to engage in collective action and political activism. Activism and community involvement can in turn serve as protective psychological buffers, helping mitigate the depressive effects of climate anxiety while restoring a sense of agency and personal efficacy.

But when feelings of helplessness overwhelm a person’s sense of efficacy, eco-paralysis can take hold. This psychological block can lead to maladaptive responses such as emotional avoidance, fatalism and resignation. In more complex clinical contexts, it can also contribute to the conscious decision not to have children because of uncertainty about the planet’s future.

Therapeutic Approaches

Managing eco-anxiety at both the clinical and social levels require moving beyond traditional therapeutic models focused solely on reducing anxiety symptoms. Leading guidance recommends an integrated approach based on four strategies:

 Emotional acceptance and validation: Therapists should not pathologize a person’s anxiety but instead recognize it as a rational response to the objective reality reflected in climate science.

Promoting collective action: Channeling emotional distress into concrete community initiatives can reduce feelings of isolation and strengthen a person’s sense of eco-efficacy.

 A media diet: Limiting doomscrolling through conscious regulation of exposure to catastrophic news can help prevent information overload and escalating distress.

Nature-based interventions (ecopsychology): Active reconnection with the natural environment can support psychological resilience and reduce cortisol levels and other forms of physical and psychological stress.

Sources

Alibudbud R. An infodemiological study of eco-anxiety from 2004 to 2026. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2026.

Gioda G. Eco-ansia, quando la paura per il clima diventa un problema di salute: cosa dice lo studio su 76 mila persone. Mondo Sanità, 2026.

Hogg TL. et al. Assessing eco-anxiety across the lifespan: a systematic review of current global scales. Environmental Research, 2026.

Istituto Superiore di Sanità. Ecoansia e salute nelle città. Epicentro, 2026.

Marinucci M. et al. Eco-anxiety and mental health: correlates of climate change distress. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2025.

Ramos J. et al. Latent profiles of eco-anxiety: resilience, and vulnerability factors in a Portuguese sample. Sustainability, 2026.

Santos R. et al. Towards a unified conceptual framework of eco-anxiety: mapping eco-anxiety through a scoping review. Mental Health on a Changing Planet, 2025.

Smit L. et al. A systematic review of social, political and geographic factors associated with eco-anxiety. Nature Mental Health, 2025.

Yıldırım M. et al. Eco-anxiety without borders: a cross-national study on climate perceptions, beliefs about government climate action, and climate concern. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2025.

Žukauskienė R. et al. How does eco-anxiety relate to pro-environmental behavior? A correlational meta-analysis with clinical and social implications. Societies, 2026.