Eco-anxiety affecting more than two-thirds of Australians aged 16-25 years, study finds

Shelley Addison-Bell emigrated from New Zealand to Sydney's eastern suburbs. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)

From her hometown on New Zealand's north island to a famed beach spot in Sydney's east, the ocean has always been Shelley Addison-Bell's backyard.

"But that means I've seen firsthand the effects of climate change."

During her 29-years, Ms Addison-Bell said even she's noticed temperatures rise and biodiversity struggle just as scientists have warned.

Her fears of what these climatic changes might mean for the planet's future began to impact her everyday mental health.

"[I experienced] overwhelm … anxiety, feeling quite powerless.

"And also feeling angry about some of the choices that are being made, and not having a lot of influence over that."

That was until her friend, Jaynika Patel, introduced her to the idea of starting a 'climate cafe' – an initiative where young people group together to express their feelings of the state of the world, often with the help of science and mental health experts.

Their nearest coffee shop in Manly embraced the idea and have so far hosted two meet-ups which Ms Addison-Bell said has brought her comfort.

In recent years, movements like climate cafes have been created in response, and as a remedy, to the growing anxiety around climate change.

"I think people just need to be aware that they're allowed to feel how they're feeling and it's also important that they need to spend some time to work through that," Ms Addison-Bell said.

'Concerns for the future are real'

Ms Addison-Bell's climate stress, often known as eco-anxiety, is affecting more than two-thirds of Australians aged 16-25 years, according to Mission Australia's latest research.

Melbourne-based clinical psychologist Eoin Killackey said eco-anxiety is proven to impact someone's functioning and mental health in varying degrees but has, until recent years, been overlooked.

"It's not a theoretical situation" he said.

"With natural disasters, like bushfires and floods that are happening, they can actually see the consequences… It's in their faces."

Professor Killackey said an increasing number of clients in his practice were scheduling one-on-one appointments to specifically address their eco-anxiety.

He pinpointed individual helplessness as their most prominent concern.

"None of us can individually solve the whole problem, but we can engage in behaviours that allow us to contribute even in small ways towards solutions."

Mission Australia's research also found that young people experiencing climate distress identified validation from health professionals as the most helpful response.

"Because sometimes people are a bit embarrassed about feeling that way. But to acknowledge that this is a situation that is real, and their concerns for the future, are real," Professor Killackey said.

Professor Killackey said he was supportive of community-led outlets like climate cafes so long as they were backed by expert information.

"I'd be really, really hopeful to see is some reduction in that distress that young people are feeling around [climate change] because there's an avenue for them to go and turn that distress into action."

'I offer a guided relaxation in nature'

Open-toe shoes and a heavy-duty backpack are part of Monique Ross's daily attire as a certified nature and forest therapy guide.

She leads people suffering from eco-anxiety, as well as other forms of mental or emotional distress, through some of Queensland's most idyllic nature reserves.

"It's called forest bathing," she said.

"I offer a guided relaxation in nature… as well as little invitations or ideas for ways that people might like to connect with the space, in a sensory way."

Ms Ross said forest bathing helped her "rediscover a sense of balance" as she made a career change, burnout from her previous job in digital media.

Now, she considers nature her "colleague".

"When you see that your colleague is struggling, you do feel that real sense of kind of sadness, or despair or anger or guilt, and feeling like you can't do anything about it.

"So [eco-anxiety] is definitely something that I've experienced as well."

Ms Ross said she offers grief circle session with a focus on "climate good news" to people whose eco-anxiety is "anticipatory".

"With a human death, there's one moment that you can pinpoint when the grief started.

"But with climate stuff, it's really long and enduring.

"There's still a lot of beautiful nature. It's not all lost."

'Makes me really excited'

On an unseasonably warm Wednesday afternoon, Ms Addison-Bell arranged chairs for over a dozen climate cafe attendees in Sydney's CBD.

This is the same set-up Kate Phillips will emulate at three of Melbourne's largest museums from July.

Ms Phillips is the senior curator for Museums Victoria who, in partnership with not-for-profit Orygen, will deliver a series of publicly available climate cafes.

"It's challenging enough to work out what [young people] want to do with their life," she said.

"But to have this other layer of worry that the future might be getting worse… it's a tough thing to be facing."

The sessions will be restricted to 20 participants each time to give research experts the opportunity to discuss scientific solutions in a more intimate setting.

Ms Addison-Bell said she's "grateful" grassroots initiatives like climate cafes are garnering attention.

"Any more opportunities for [young people] to express and work through their needs and feelings makes me really excited."