A story reflecting on climate anxiety and experiences of climate change around the world by Isla Gartlan, County Leitrim, Ireland.
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Isla works as a social inclusion officer. Working with individuals who come from different backgrounds has opened her eyes to how much climate change has impacted their lives as well as her own.
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Over the past year, my climate anxiety has heightened, stirred by both personal experiences and a broader awareness of global environmental crises. This year, I would describe my climate anxiety level as steadily increasing, as it seems to be getting worse and I feel I still do not know how I can help to make an impact as an individual. If I had to sum up my main emotion, it would be concern. Concern not just for the planet itself, the future generations who will face the worsening consequences of our actions if we do not all make big changes now.
When I was younger, climate change felt more distant, as I suppose I wasn’t fully aware of its potential outcomes. Growing up in County Leitrim, most of my early thoughts on the environment were shaped by what I learned in school. One memory that stands out is participating in the Green School Initiative, a programme designed to encourage schools and students to adopt more environmentally friendly habits. Every year, we’d take part in various activities like litter picking and being mindful of turning off lights when they weren’t needed. Simple tasks for children, but ones that aimed to instil good habits for the future. I do remember some joy from this as our school earned a lot of green flags. We got to hold a ceremony to raise the flags and I remember feeling pride in what we had accomplished.
However, I remember that even these simple actions instilled a certain level of anxiety in my younger self. We were often reminded not to leave the tap running while brushing our teeth, and I became almost hyper-aware of the idea of wasting water or doing something that could harm the environment. Even back then, it was clear to me that we were responsible for protecting the planet, but that responsibility sometimes felt overwhelming. I became anxious, worrying that small actions like wasting water might be contributing to larger environmental issues.
Since then, I’ve always tried to make conscious choices to minimise my impact on the environment, but even now, the fear lingers those individual actions might not be enough. These childhood lessons taught me to be mindful, but they also planted seeds of anxiety—an early awareness that our actions, no matter how small, are connected to something much larger. Looking back, I realise that those early experiences were my first steps toward understanding climate change, even if I didn’t fully understand the severity of it at the time.
All those feelings of anxiety and fear I have around climate change are constantly coming and going in small thoughts, however, with the tornado that swept through Leitrim village recently all those fears surfaced again but bigger as an adult. Firstly, tornadoes are not common in Ireland, and then to see one so close to home was shocking. I remember the day it hit and I couldn’t believe something so scary and damaging could happen here. It was a moment where the penny dropped for me as the impact of climate change. This wasn't happening halfway across the world, easy to disassociate from, no it was happening in my home county and too people who I personally knew.
Working as a Social Inclusion Officer has given me the privilege of connecting with people from diverse backgrounds, many of whom have been directly impacted by climate change. I’ve spoken with individuals from regions where extreme weather events—such as floods and droughts—have displaced entire communities. Hearing their stories brings a human face to the statistics, and it's heart-breaking. In these conversations, I've often found myself thinking about the people I work with, wondering how climate change has reshaped their lives and what it means for their future.
Climate in Ireland, too, is changing. Older generations, like my Granny always talk about how winters were once harsher, but more predictable. Now, every year winter seems to be coming later and later and season seems unpredictable, with heavy rainfall and storms becoming more frequent, leading to local flooding. These conversations add to my growing sense of dread because it makes me realise that the environment, I grew up in is changing before my eyes.
In reflecting on the changes I’ve witnessed, both locally and globally, I feel a profound sense of responsibility. It’s clear that climate change is no longer something we can ignore or put off as a problem for future generations to solve. It’s happening now, and I feel like each of us has a role to play, whether through advocacy, lifestyle changes, or simply staying informed. However, alongside this responsibility, there is also a feeling of helplessness. The greatness of the climate crisis is overwhelming, and at times, it’s difficult not to feel powerless against forces that seem too large to control.
As I continue my work and look toward the future, I am trying to hold onto hope. Hope that we can make meaningful changes and that humanity will come together to combat this crisis. At the same time, I remain deeply concerned, knowing that we must act quickly and decisively if we want to preserve the world for future generations.