In June 2025, a group of youth workers, mental health professionals, and environmental educators gathered in Friends of the Earth Malta Floriana office as part of the CALM-EY (Climate Anxiety Learning and Mental Health for European Youth) project. This training aimed to explore how professionals can better support young people experiencing climate anxiety, a growing emotional response to the ecological crisis.

The training was grounded in evidence based approaches, including insights from psychology, cognitive behavioural techniques, emotional literacy, and climate justice education. It also emphasised practical tools, such as active listening, anxiety regulation methods, and strategies for turning difficult emotions into constructive action.

 

The result? A space not just for learning, but for connection, reflection, and healing.

 

 

As the climate crisis intensifies, so do the emotional responses it provokes, especially among young people. Many are experiencing what’s known as climate anxiety: a complex blend of fear, anger, guilt, helplessness, and grief. These emotions aren’t just fleeting thoughts, they’re deep, often overwhelming reactions to a very real and urgent global threat.

But what if climate anxiety isn’t just a problem to be solved, but also a signal, a call to connect, reflect, and take meaningful action?

That’s the spirit behind the CALM-EY project, a training programme designed to equip youth workers, educators, and mental health professionals with tools to better support young people navigating these difficult emotions.

Understanding Emotions with Compassion

One of the first things explored in the training was a simple but important question: Why do we feel what we feel?

Emotions are often misunderstood, especially anxiety. But when we unpack them, we start to see they’re not enemies, they’re messengers. In the context of climate change, anxiety can be a rational and even healthy response to a world in distress. Acknowledging this helps young people feel less alone and more understood.

A key part of the training focused on active listening, not just hearing what someone says, but being fully present with their words, body language, and emotions. When young people feel truly heard, it becomes easier for them  to express themselves and explore what’s really going on beneath the surface.

Reframing Thoughts: The CBT Model in Action

Another important part of the programme involved Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques. This evidence-based approach helps us understand how our thoughts shape our emotional responses.

For example, imagine two people seeing a dog on the street. One smiles and walks past calmly, they’ve had positive experiences with dogs. The other crosses the road anxiously, they were bitten as a child. The situation is the same, but their thoughts about it are different.

The same applies to how we think about climate change. The CBT model helps young people:

Recognize distorted or catastrophic thinking

Name and accept difficult emotions

Try out new behaviours

Use calming techniques to regulate the body and mind

These tools don’t make anxiety disappear, but they can make it more manageable, less overwhelming, and ultimately more constructive.

Turning Anxiety into a Force for Good

Perhaps the most hopeful takeaway from the training is this: climate anxiety can be a catalyst for growth.

When we acknowledge the fear, sadness, or anger we feel about the climate crisis, we unlock a source of energy that can move us toward change. That energy might lead someone to:

Seek out new information

Re-evaluate their lifestyle choices

Join community actions

Or even find a deeper purpose in their advocacy.

At the end of the training, each participant received a printed copy of the Self-Help Workbook developed as part of the project. You can reach the digital version of workbook through this link:  Self-Help Workbook for Youth – CALM-EY

 

One participant, Paola Mazza, shared:

“I had never heard the term eco-anxiety before,  but now I know I experience it. For example, the pessimism with which I look at the future of climate is one of the main reasons stopping me from raising a child. I found CALM-EY exercises to be helpful in a way that is respectful for one’s emotions: it’s not about stopping to feel bad, but building the resilience that makes it easier to stand up again.”

Another participant, Paulina Krauth, shared:

“The Calmey training was very enriching, as in my opinion this topic has been addressed far too little in society so far. I particularly liked the very respectful exchange with all participants.”

Sharing Hope, Building Resilience

The CALM-EY training isn’t just about teaching tools, it’s about offering empathy, patience, and hope. When young people know that their emotions are valid, and that they’re not alone in feeling them, something shifts. They begin to reconnect with their own inner strength and with others who care.

In a world that often feels uncertain and chaotic, the most radical act may be to sit beside a young person, listen without judgment, and say: “What you’re feeling makes sense. Let’s figure out a way through this together.”

Because that’s where true resilience begins.

Learn more about the CALM-EY project: www.calm-ey.eu

Written by: Berra Gunes

The activity is co-funded by the European Union.