'Should I even be having children?' Eco-anxiety fueled by summer of adverse weather

How 'eco-anxiety' affects our health Researchers at Quebec's College of Physicians are looking into how climate change is affecting mental health.

It's summer in Montreal. The ducks are taking a dip in the pond, the plants are in full bloom -- but for Aandrianna Jacob, it's no walk in the park.

Like many others, she's worried about climate change.

"With the state of everything we've been seeing lately with the Canadian wildfires, those long-term effects have really become evident in the short term right now. They are affecting our environment very noticeably."

All of this has Jacob processing difficult emotions.

"A feeling of anxiousness, not just about the environment, but the way I experienced it to begin with, was about my own future."

Researchers say this feeling is more common than we may think.

"Worldwide, over 60 per cent of young adults are manifesting some sort of eco-anxiety, and that's the same in Quebec," said Nessa Ghassemi-Bakhtiari, P.H.D. student of psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). "People are coming to terms with this as our new reality. Having to live through climate consequences is bringing up these difficult emotions."

It's a lot to process for Jacob, who has been questioning her future.

"Should I even be having children in this state? I would like to be a mother one day, but it's difficult to look at the world around me and think, 'I'd like to bring kids into this world,' when I can see that I don't know how long the world is going to last at this point."

Experts say many who suffer from eco-anxiety feel overwhelmed with all that has to be done.

"We talk about activism burnout -- A lot of people 'act, act, act,' finding solutions to the problems, but never take time to decompress and really adapt to the whole situation," Ghassemi-Bakhtiari explained.

Jacob says she finds some peace through her involvement with The Climate Reality Project, an organization dedicated to a global solution for the climate crisis with a focus on taking urgent action.

"It's really more in the activism where individuals can make a change."

On an individual level, talking about these feelings and having an open dialogue is a good place to start, said Ghassemi-Bakhtiari.

"Being kind towards ourselves, learning to identify our emotions and learning to communicate them with our family and friends; seeking out help if ever that's a need."