2023-06-27 01:08:40
It’s totally normal to become a little more anxious when you are directly exposed to the consequences of climate change, for example forest fires or air pollution, explained Paquito Bernard, professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal. (UQAM) and researcher at the Mental Health University Institute of Montreal.
While some people may seem to overreact due to climate change, Dr. Paquito Bernard believes that, on the contrary, this type of reaction is normal.
feeling overwhelmed
In the short term, one may have a feeling of being overwhelmed by the consequences. But the fact that we are exposed more and more often, we will manage to adapt, then better manage this anxiety in the face of, for example, air pollution and forest fires in Quebec, added the teacher interviewing Telejournal Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
Paquito Bernard believes that in a context where the air quality is poor, it is necessary in the short term to protect yourself, check on your loved ones, those who have chronic illnesses or mental health problems and follow the recommendations of public health in Quebec. He also believes that eco-anxiety can further motivate people to fight climate change.
Several possible reactions
We know that when we have a moderate level of eco-anxiety, it is associated with people who will invest more in associations, in their behavior, in supporting local or provincial decisions that will help us fight against change. climate, he added.
Ecoanxiety reactions can also be characterized by both denial and great fear. Some do not take climate change into account at all, while in the extreme, some people can be paralyzed, adds Dr. Bernard.
Less optimistic young Quebecers
A Léger poll conducted in the fall of 2022 among 3,000 Canadians aged 15 to 39 showed that young Quebecers are more concerned about climate change than the rest of Canada. 80% of young Quebecers surveyed do not believe that the situation will improve, unlike 72% of young people in the rest of Canada.
In the same poll, 44% of young Canadians said they do not want to have children in the context of the climate crisis.
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