Feeling "Eco-Anxiety"

A friend who is an avid gardener told me that she had been standing near some flowers in her yard and, without thinking, removed a few dead petals.

Later on, she saw that she had an insect bite on her leg. It didn't look or feel like a mosquito bite. Had she been bitten by a tick?

She didn't normally worry about things like this - but her husband recently had been bitten by a tick in a wooded area.. So she went to the nearby drugstore to ask the pharmacist if she should be concerned.

Well, there  are ticks in our neighbourhood, he told her, so it's possible.

Ticks never used to be a concern here in the city, she told me. But as our winters get milder, they're moving farther north.

Now I'm afraid to do any gardening without being covered up from head to toe, she said. It's awful! I guess this is what they mean by "eco-anxiety."

Anxiety spreads! Now I wonder if I should be concerned about bug bites now too?!!