Managing Climate Anxiety and Eco-Emotions
Identifying Climate Anxiety and Managing Eco-Emotions
By Megan Kennedy-Woodard
It's hard to watch the news, scroll through Instagram or listen to the radio without hearing or seeing something related to climate change. We recognise the impact of climate change on the earth in the forms of seeing polar bears starve, hurricanes hit new veracity, picnics in February and snowstorms in June, fires raging, but we are also becoming increasingly aware of the impact on our mental wellbeing. As psychologists, we are noting the rise in the presentation of eco, or climate anxiety. It can be a crippling worry that can manifest in the forms of difficulty in concentrating, difficulty in being present, panic attacks, depression, low mood, burnout or insomnia. This can leave us feeling overwhelmed, detached, hopeless, grieving, angry and paralysed, all of which are emotions that inhibit us from taking necessary action to mobilise against the climate crisis. It can be hard to see the wood from the trees, but there is good news: the solution to climate anxiety is climate action.
We Must First Identify Our Emotions, Then Challenge Them to Reveal Our Purpose in the Climate of Change
When we unpick our fears and trepidation about climate change, when we really look at the problem, it can seem so big, so existential that we can feel a huge sense of scarcity in our ability to have an impact. This can leave us feeling defeated before we start to try to make a difference. There is a desperateness to get something done, but no clue where to start. You aren’t alone. I have felt this desperateness too and so have many, but I have taught myself to change the thought of ‘desperateness’ to ‘determination’, which changes my emotions. This impacts my actions, giving me more productive and positive results. We must educate ourselves emotionally, steel ourselves with robust mechanisms of inner honesty, awareness, and resilience in order to find our role in this cause. So what can help us? Knowledge is protection. Positive action is protection. Perseverance is protection. Community is protection. Determination is protection. I am determined, many people are determined and this, I believe is going to create the generation of change. This can be the start of ‘Climate Change for the Better’.
Models and Concepts to Understand our Thoughts and Emotions about Climate Change
This is a new area of psychology and there is the ongoing question about how to define this from a psychological perspective. We are fundamentally aware that it is essential to develop our understanding of Eco-emotions in order to identify and support this recent mental We have pooled the principles from CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) and Coaching models, and tailored them to help with the process of anxiety, anger, grief, apathy, and depression in relation to climate change.
When we look at other psychological problems in the context of anxiety, for example: OCD, social anxiety, generalised anxiety disorder, or specific phobias, it is common for people to experience unhelpful, intrusive psychological worries, for example, ‘I am scared that harm will come to somebody I care about if I don’t turn the lights on and off the correct number of times’ or ‘What if my child is self-harming?’. These are still in the hypothetical context whereas, climate change is not (elements of the extent of the impact may be up for discussion, but the science is clear). We can work as psychologists to challenge these beliefs and worries, but it is important to realise that this is a different scenario. Distinguishing a difference between anxiety and eco-anxiety is important in treatment, as we can see that we need to acknowledge that climate emotion feels different.
Perhaps it is useful to draw similarities to the emotional experience of climate change and the work done as psychologists in a hospital. In this context, patients or families are often given very serious news. With this, we see all the emotions bubble up and coping mechanisms fire into action. These emotions and defenses may be seen as rage, fear, denial, grief, disempowerment or problem-solving overdrive (which will eventually result in burnout when the reality hits). Patients or families are then told by experts what ‘The Plan’ is, what to expect, how it will be managed, to either attempt to relieve or minimise the effects of the prognosis, but with the understanding that ‘this may not work’ or simply, there is nothing to be done. When families or patients are given this is mechanical, logistical, factual information it provokes feelings that trigger their emotions. The problem may seem too big, or they may want to minimise it. If you or someone close to you has experienced this kind of diagnosis of illness or injury, you will most likely understand. We respond with panic and protection and the parasympathetic nervous system, which is known as our ‘feed and breed’, relaxed state is nowhere to be found. Instead, there is ignition in our brains for our sympathetic nervous system: fight-flight-or freeze mode. This essentially means that our nervous system is operating as if we are under attack. When we are talking about climate change, this can feel like an ever-present threat. And we may feel constant low-grade stress- or perhaps we have mild to severe attacks of fear and panic and depression, our engagement with this threat may wax and wane. This is so hard. Now, the similarity again to this sort of hospital or traumatic experience and climate change is like dealing with a very serious long-term prognosis. When we really comprehend climate change, when there is the true resonance of the severity, once the diagnosis is known, we can’t unknow it. We can push it away, do everything we can to ‘fix’ it - we are merely trying to function, manage, maintain our hope and normal life. But how can we do this?
Easy Ways to Tune in to Your Own Eco-Emotions:
Talk about it. Isolation is one of the key weapons of anxiety and depression. Connecting with others is hugely protective. Connecting with one’s self is also hugely protective. If you are someone who journals, great. If you aren’t, I invite you to give it a try or at least give yourself some mental time and space to process this. Give yourself a minimum of 15 minutes and commit to writing this entire time. I would encourage you to have something restorative planned upon completion of this exercise so that you can decompress, as recognition of these big emotions may feel quite heavy. Here are a few questions to get you going. I really encourage you not to feel like there is a ‘right’ answer but to be honest with yourself about your experience.
How do I feel about the impact of climate change?
How do I feel about my future, or my family’s future living in uncertain times?
What sensations do I experience in my body when I think about Climate Change?
What am I grateful for right now?
What has worked in the past to overcome problems I have experienced?
Who can I turn to for support (you can look beyond your relations and friends and seek support in grass-root organisations in your community)
How do I enjoy my time in nature?
What is my purpose in this? (more below)
What keeps me grounded and what is restorative?
What is your Purpose in the Climate Change Movement:
Identify what your purpose is. Why does this matter to you? Is it for your own protection? Is it for your kids? The animals? What is it that makes you care? This may immediately pop into your head, if not, I suggest sitting down and making a list of the things you care about and how climate change will affect this. There is no wrong answer.
What Actions will you Take?
Everybody now. Everyone can help. What is it that makes you special, different? Don’t be modest.
I am a fantastic cook. I can’t bake to save my life but I can make a feast out of whatever dregs are in the fridge. How is this helpful? Well, as a result, I waste very little food. My friend say I am a great cook. How can this be of use? Hmmm.. What if I get those friends around and teach them some basics about cooking to reduce waste? What if they go and teach their friends and families how to do it? What if their friends and families then go and teach….do you see where I am going?
We all have something. If you are struggling to identify yours, again, sit down and make a list of all the things you can do. If you are still struggling, ask people around you. It may also be your circumstance that can be of use. Do you have 3,000 followers? Influence. Are you wealthy? Donate to political parties strategically? Have you got a backyard? Rewild. Just go for it.
Set Personal Climate Goals. YOU ALONE WILL NOT SOLVE THIS. BUT you can have a big impact.
When we set goals that are too low, we don’t entrust them with value and are therefore not invested in their success. When we set goals beyond our practical ability to succeed (for example, become leader of the world and save the planet by Thursday), we put too much pressure on ourselves and will either burnout or never feel like we are doing enough or having an impact. If you are eating red meat 6 times a week and suddenly decide to go vegan, starting tomorrow for the rest of your life, unless your will power is much better than mine, you will likely slip and then feel like you may as well give up because you have set your bar too high. Start slow. Meat-free weekdays, then vegetarian, then give vegan a go (the likelihood is you probably won’t even crave meat at this point anyway. Be realistic, but committed.
What 3-5 small changes can I make today?
What 3 commitments can I make to help in the next month?
Some examples:
4 commitments you can make today:
I will ride my bike to work 4 days a week.
I will change my electricity to green energy
I will change my internet browser to Ecosia (p.s. just do this)
I will challenge my colleagues to the Ducky Challenge (p.s. also, just do this: a behavioral change app that nudges you towards sustainable living and gets your community competing for who is the greenest. Brilliant.)
In the next month:
I will organise a litter pick with my kid’s school
I will commit to not buying fast fashion
I will write to my local politicians
Protective and Productive
Again for context, my relationship and engagement with climate change is something I need to continuously monitor because it is fluid. My commitment and concern is not. We must recognise our own emotions in order to efficiently be impactful. I want to emphasise that this can change. It can wax and wane and develop and then you may find yourself diving in, hitting pause, coming back- it’s an ongoing relationship and experience. But by keeping this understanding and awareness of where we are in check, we are more protective and productive for ourselves and in the long term will keep us resilient within our goal for resonance and action.
Protective Actions
Engage with local grassroots communities
Make changes at home. Use technology! (Some great apps worth googling: Olio Ducky Climate Challenge Ecosia THRIFT+)
Volunteer for conservation projects
Give yourself ‘Mental Breaks’ where you don’t engage in social media or news about climate change. Overloading yourself with bad news may send you into a space of resonant inaction.
Get into nature. Remember what you are fighting for.
Getting Help When Eco-Emotions Become Too Much
If you are noticing that emotions are debilitating you from living your day-to-day life, you may need to think about getting professional or peer support. If you are experiencing anxiety attacks, insomnia, depression and grief, speaking with a psychologist can be hugely helpful in managing negative thinking. If you are experiencing moderate or low levels of these negative emotions, speaking with others, creating communities and getting out into nature can be restorative to your mental wellbeing. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
