Eco-anxiety: it’s a new term that’s being used to describe people’s nervousness about global warming or secret guilt about not taking canvas bags to the grocery store. Maybe you drive a gas-guzzler and feel ashamed about it. You can go to therapy for it; you can read about it; you can even take a quiz to diagnose yourself!

Allllll right, my fellow introspects: let’s splash ourselves with a big bucket of reality before worry runs away with the show. The fact is that we don’t all have the resources to make all the conscious, green changes we wish we could all at once. Feeling guilty about the changes you haven’t made yet doesn’t do you - or anyone else - any good. Rather than reacting with worry, focus on acting with positive steps. The most important thing is to educate yourself and then do the best you can, day by day. Making choices in tune with the needs of the planet is supposed to be satisfying, not scary.

Start simply and close to home. For example, replace your household cleaners with green products one by one. Eat a vegetarian meal instead of meat a few days a week. There’s no need to go on a huge green shopping spree, because ultra-consumerism is one of the things we’re trying to avoid here!

Just keep doing whatever you know is right, one step at a time, and leave the guilt aside. We’re getting greener day by day, and that means we don't need to be ruled by consumption any more - whether that's us consuming things or worries consuming us.

Image: p0psicle