Inhabiting a Wounded World: A Qualitative Phenomenology of Ecological Anxiety

We present a qualitative phenomenological study of ecological anxiety, which is defined as distress caused by the awareness of the ongoing climate crisis. We aimed at describing how lived experience is altered in ecological anxiety, how it can be differentiated from general anxiety disorder, and generating hypotheses about potential cognitive mechanisms. We collected interview data from 30 participants. Ecological anxiety manifests through various symptoms, such as fatigue, ruminating, bodily symptoms, and disordered sleep. Participants reported feelings of guilt, shame, and anger. We identified two types of ecological anxiety: informational and experiential. A key characteristic of ecological anxiety is marked attitude towards information. Participants also experienced a distorted sense of time, feeling alienated from the future and rushed in the present. This research suggests that while ecological anxiety does amount to a distinct experiential state, it shares similarities with both generalized anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.