Many young people, including myself, experience eco-anxiety. We worry about the impact of climate change on our future: the loss of nature, the harm to vulnerable populations, the threat of safety of living in places like the Netherlands, and this list of concerns goes on and on.

Eco-anxiety, characterized by negative emotions due to the awareness of growing climate risks and environmental threats, can significantly affect mental health among youth, that might cause issues with sleep, work or socializing. Although therapists are able to guide youth through eco-anxiety, mental healthcare already faces long waiting lists. There is a lack of interventions integrated into youth’s daily lives, which can be more promising in effectively helping them manage eco-anxiety. My master’s project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport, aims to develop a design intervention to help Dutch youth cope with eco-anxiety in their daily lives.

This project starts with a literature review to explore what is known about eco-anxiety among youth and how it can be addressed. The review raises three research questions:

(1) How do youth experience eco-anxiety?
(2) What are the best ways for youth to cope with eco-anxiety in their daily lives?
(3) Who are the key stakeholders and what are their roles?

A mixed-method study, including self-study, context mapping with Dutch youth, and stakeholder interviews, are conducted to address these questions. The results reveal various manifestations of eco-anxiety, individual and social influences contributing to it, effective coping strategies that youth can integrate into their daily lives, and a system map of youth-stakeholder relationships. Based on the literature review and empirical research, the following design goal was formulated:

The design intervention should assist youth (aged 15-21) experiencing eco-anxiety, in fostering positive eco-emotions with someone who is environmentally conscious, which provides support for addressing eco-anxiety when negative eco-emotions arise at a later moment.

To explore possible design directions, two generative sessions with climate psychologists and designers were organized respectively. Then, several initial design concepts were proposed, prototyped, and tested with youth.
This has led to my final design concept: Dear Future, a meaning-focused coping game to empower youth experiencing eco-anxiety. It encourages youth to together reflect on personal values in relation to climate change, providing support to manage eco-anxiety.

Dear Future was prototyped in a high-fidelity way and evaluated by youth, climate psychologists, and policy advisors. Participants found the concept engaging and useful for meaningful conversations and fostering hope. Dear Future could be further improved by integrating small action steps aligned with participants’ values. Additional recommendations include researching how to implement Dear Future, its long-term effects, addressing negative eco-emotions, and incorporating values into climate discussions.