As the University celebrates Earth Week, students, staff and faculty look for ways to deal with climate anxiety, a sense of despair that may result from the global climate crisis. Pamela Tobi Fishel discussed how she approaches the topic from a psychological perspective, while students discussed how they use their strengths to find ways to make a positive impact in the environment while not getting overwhelmed and burnt out.
According to Fishel, a professor of pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, most types of anxieties result from fears that stem from stories that people have in their heads based on past lived experiences. However, climate anxiety derives specifically from worry rooted in events, such as the extinction of different species and climate change, that are currently taking place, Fishel said.