Teresa Pereira, doctoral researcher at CIPsi's Development and Psychopathology Laboratory was interviewed by Andréia Azevedo Soares, from PÚBLICO newspaper, for the article "Google searches on climate anxiety spiked in 2023. In Portuguese as well", regarding climate crisis.
CIPsi's researcher is part of EcoPsi – Psicologia e Clima (a collective that brings together mental health professionals focused on climate issues), and coordinates Teenager Climate Guide, a handbook that was conceived by and for climate activists.
Teresa Pereira explains terms such as "eco-anxiety", "solastalgia" and "ecological grief", to PÚBLICO and warns that searches in tools like Google Trends combine different terms that are often used as synonyms, but whose meaning can present differences depending on the source or the interlocutor.
Eco-anxiety, the researcher explains, is a set of emotional responses, such as fear or concern, which have an impact on individuals that can have a mobilizing effect, engaging them in climate action, or a paralyzing one.
Read the full story here:
https://www.publico.pt/2023/11/23/azul/noticia/pesquisas-google-ansiedade-climatica-dispararam-2023-portugues-tambem-2071166