Page 43 - Bulletin, Vol.81 No.2, December 2022

EDITORIAL

By Odette FOUDRAL

We are promised the worst:

• Gas supply
• Fuel supply
• Power cuts
• Food shortages (rice, flour, potatoes)

• Nuclear disaster
• Climate disaster

It's hard to stay optimistic about eco-anxiety. Another term added to our
vocabulary to the terms related to the pandemic.

What exactly is eco-anxiety? Véronique Lapaige, medical researcher in public health
and mental health

When I invented this concept in 1996, I was wearing three hats: one in mental health,
one in public health and one in environmental health. This is what led me to question
people's feelings about the major upheavals on the planet (global warming, pollution,
species extinction, etc.).

I noticed, in the multicultural group of about fifty people that I was following at the time,
that many expressed a similar sense of unease about their identity in the face of the
appalling reality of what was happening around them. But this feeling was not only
negative because it also made these people take responsibility for the global changes.

However, if we want to fight global warming, feeling responsible is essential. Eco-
anxiety should therefore not only be seen as a problem but also as a driving force for
change. This feeling leads people to adhere to certain values, to an inner commitment.
They will take a stand in the public debate, come together and a collective leadership
can emerge.

Source : https://www.nationalgeographic.fr/sciences/2020/04/leco-anxiete-le-nouveau-
mal-du-siecle

And yet: apart from putting our heads in the oven to avoid seeing the future, we
absolutely must stay the course. If only for the sake of our loved ones, grandchildren or
fragile spouses.

AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 81 No.2, 2022-12 41