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7 Steps to Deal with Climate Anxiety and Promote Resilience

Eco-anxiety is a growing as more people experience the aftermath of extreme weather related events. A recent survey in April 2025 showed that the majority of young people in the US experience climate distress. At OneGreenThing, we believe that after processing and identifying your emotions about the climate, you can find your unique talents in service to work toward culture change and collective action toward a greener, healthier, more just future.




One thing is certain - resilience, compassion, and community connection will help us move forward during this uncertain times. Here are 7 steps to manage eco-anxiety and lean into resilience:



  1. Feel all the feels.

    Understanding the climate crisis, its impacts, and our shared future if we don’t take urgent action generates a wide range of emotions. Sometimes it’s anxiety, anger, a sense of betrayal, or even despair. See a professional if eco-anxiety interferes with your daily life. Create space to feel all the feels and ask the young people in your life how they view the future they’re inheriting from us. Truly listen and hold space to foster resilience.  Listen into this conversation with child psychologist Ted Plimpton and youth climate leader Heidi Pan to find other ways to manage your eco-anxiety.


  1. Find Your Service Superpower

    Journal about your feelings, your worries and your hopes, and take an inventory of your talents, interests, and unique skills. Check out the 5-minute OneGreenThing Service Superpower Assessment and find your unique profile in service to help create meaningful change. 


  2. Embrace Creativity 

    Express how you feel through art. Focus on your feelings, a favorite solution, a vision for the future that either worries you or excites you, or your Service Superpower.

    Use your creativity -whether it be in painting, writing, dance - and channel it into working toward a greener, more equitable future. 


  3. Organize Locally

Collective action makes a difference in managing eco-anxiety. Take this group of teens, for example, in Minnesota who channeled their climate anxiety into service projects. Get to know your neighbors and connect with your community. Find a local land trust, community garden, service club, or environmental organization. Focus on the positive changes you can make where you live and understand that small changes can drive cultural change for systemic solutions. Learn more by checking out this interactive conversation with community leaders brought together by OneGreenThing.



  1. Create a “Go Kit” 


    Be prepared. Memorize the cell numbers of your family and friends in case of an emergency. Create kit of supplies if you need to shelter in place or evacuate. Check out the link in bio for the OneGreenThing essential “Go Kit” check list from medicines to spare clothes to water.  



6.    Speak Up & Out 

Talking about the climate crisis and climate solutions are important ways to foster resilience. Help family and friends understand what’s at stake and let them know that all the technology exists to make a greener future. Call your elected officials, request meetings with them, and be sure to share your concerns and hope for the future.  Listen in here to our conversation with Lindsay Dahl, Linda Reinstein, and Victoria Gilchrist about protecting what you love.


7.  Make Time for Rest and Play


Time connecting with nature can help restore a sense of well-being, decrease the stress hormone cortisol, and help restore your spirit. Play, humor, and time with friends can also help create support. As you move into action, know that taking time to avoid burnout is essential.


And, of course, join the OneGreenThing community!


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