Climate Anxiety

An interdisciplinary framework for understanding climate anxiety

Climate change generates measurable psychological consequences, yet research on eco-distress remains fragmented across disciplines. Climate Anxiety: An Interdisciplinary Approach, authored by a team of international researchers from universities and health institutions, offers an interdisciplinary framework for understanding climate anxiety and the psychological challenges of climate change.

The book synthesizes perspectives from psychiatry, psychology, public health, and environmental science to provide a structured, cross-disciplinary account of how climate anxiety manifests, propagates, and affects populations, including cognitive, emotional, and behavioural dimensions, and addressing both individual-level responses and broader societal patterns of adaptation. The volume explores this topic by examining the key issues and current scientific literature in each of the world’s major regions and the effect on indigenous populations.

Readers will also find:

• A historical overview on the relationship between climate crisis, anxiety and violent reactions.
• A summary on the effects of climate change on mental health from a clinical perspective and a review of the main individual and group interventions for climate anxiety.
• An in-depth analysis on the relationship between climate anxiety and spirituality.
• A focus on intersectionality of climate change and its implications on the Global Majority.
• An investigation on the role of anxiety in climate prepping.
• An interpretation of climate anxiety as a sign of cultural trauma and how it is contributing to the mutation of global thought and culture.

Climate Anxiety serves researchers, clinicians, public health professionals, and advanced students working at the intersection of mental health and environmental change. By unifying perspectives from psychiatry, psychology, and environmental science, this volume provides a structured foundation for understanding and addressing the psychological toll of ecological disruption.