Anxiety in a warming world: Instead of consuming less, we’re just consuming differently

I often wonder if your eco-anxiety feels the same as mine. Mine isn’t loud. It brings no panic. Instead, being “just enough” has quietly become my coping mechanism. It’s my peace with a world that shouts: buy more, consume more, be more.

My anxiety stems not from fear of loss, but from not optimising what I already have. Each small act prompts a faint question: Am I using too much? Could this stretch further?

We live in an age where “buying green” is marketed as better than “buying less.” Another bamboo toothbrush, a new steel bottle. They whisper sustainability, but I wonder: Are we just consuming differently, not less?

My guilt isn’t about failing to buy the greenest option. It’s about buying another thing at all. This isn’t new. As a child, I worried about outgrowing clothes before I’d “finished” wearing them. Back then, I didn’t know what sustainability meant, it was simply thrift, the kind my grandmother practiced without labels. Ironically, now as an adult in sustainability, my anxiety has only deepened.

I worry not just for myself, but for everyone. Family buying excess, friends overlooking their spending, the collective reliance on Amazon and instant-delivery apps. Are we always choosing comfort over conscience? And have I changed? Perhaps not enough. I’m caught in a loop: resist, adapt, overthink.

Then there’s waste—the constant reminder. Every empty jar, vegetable peel, feels like a moral test. Can I reuse this? Am I sacrificing joy just to throw away less?

Fifteen years ago, I imagined efficient recycling and circular economies. Yet in 2026, waste is still segregated by hand. My refills and reused bags feel small against overflowing landfills.

This is my eco-anxiety: A persistent hum of guilt. The feeling that my effort is a drop in the ocean, never enough.

So what’s the way out? I think it’s learning to be just enough. Not perfect, but aware and balanced. To know when to refuse, when to reuse, and when to simply rest. Sustainability isn’t about constant vigilance, but finding a sweet spot between what I can do and what I can sustain. Real change isn’t built on guilt, but on intention and persistence.

I still worry at the sight of a half-eaten meal. Your anxiety may look different. But being “just enough” isn’t small. It may be exactly what we need.

Anannya Das Banerjee is Associate Director for India & South East Asia at Global South Centre Institute of Transportation Studies, at University of California, Davis

This article follows the theme of Anxiety in a warming world, a special edition of Down To Earth published January 1-15, 2026, featuring exclusive interviews with Dia Mirza, Kalki Koechlin, Kiran Rao, Nila Madhab Panda, Sajana Sajeevan, Tsewang Chuskit, Manish Mehrotra and others, as well as columns by scientists, activists and journalists.