“Olivia expressed despair due to climate change.” “Badge is anxious when he thinks about the future.” In August, a Montana court ruled that these and other youth plaintiffs “have a fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, which includes climate.”
Anxiety is on the rise and, rightly or wrongly, is blamed for everything. A recent federal survey reports 27% of respondents had symptoms of an anxiety disorder, up from 8% in 2019. That’s scary. Youth emergency-room visits for mental health have gone up significantly.
Do you suffer from anxiety? The Mayo Clinic’s list of signs and symptoms includes feeling nervous, feeling a sense of impending danger or panic, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating and trouble concentrating. Apart from those with nerves of steel, I’ll bet we’ve all had at least one of these symptoms. A survey by KFF suggests that half of 18- to 24-year-olds report anxiety or depression symptoms. Not everyone can deal with them.
Gymnast Simone Biles and tennis player Naomi Osaka have withdrawn from competitions because of anxiety. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan took a leave of absence for anxiety right after the merger announcement with Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
This is mostly a U.S. problem—affluenza?—which I’ve seen blamed on social media, poor sleep and previous underreporting. Yes, Instagram-inflamed narcissism is a problem, but I think the rise of anxiety is about more than that. So what is it?
- Extinction anxiety. Daily news reports question the ability of humans to survive in the near future. AI experts warn about human extinction.