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Those working in sustainability, climate change research, disaster relief, activism, policy changers or other fields of climate careers are particularly susceptible to stress, anxiety, depression and BURNOUT. Let’s look at some positive coping tools to help you reduce the intensity of Eco-Anxiety.
As parents or educators, we are in the best position to equip children with knowledgable information, support and positive actions when it comes to climate change. Having open, well-informed, but contained conversations about climate change and its effects with our kids will help to create a space where they are not paralysed by fear, anger, and disempowerment but can instead be enthused by motivation and optimism.
When we look at the problem of climate change, it can feel so big and existential that we can feel a huge sense of scarcity in our ability to have an impact. Our eco-emotions may send us into spirals of grief anger and fear. If we want to impact climate change, this can leave us feeling defeated before we start. But when we unpick our negative feelings and trepidations about climate change, we can harness our eco-emotions and use them as drivers for positive action and self-resilience. When it feels like wave after wave of bad news about the climate, remember that there is good news: the solution to climate anxiety is climate action and this, in turn, will help with us make the changes we need to support the planet.
We live in a time where the general consensus seems to be "We are screwed".
As psychologists, it is our job to challenge this perception. The world population is experiencing existential threats in a way that, as humans, we haven't in our past. Epidemics and wars were prevalent, but the constant informational exposure to these threats has amplified our relationship with them. COVID-19 is a testament to the negative role of the 24-hour, mass media cycle and the echo chambers of social media at play. However, if harnessed and used responsibly, there is the potential for these influences to be positively impactful.
Wherever you may be on your journey with climate change, feeling a sense of agency is going to help you manage that anxiety. Taking actions- big or small will not only help you relieve some anxiety, but also will help the planet. Win/win.
I will share my own experience, partly because as you will go on to learn, we need to check ourselves when climate change really resonates with us and we open up ourselves to truths, dialogues, and actions. Here is a brief explanation of how and why I have committed to helping people process eco-emotions. At some point, there has been an ‘Aha’ or perhaps more probably, an “Oh No!!” moment that has lead you to read this material. Mine is described below. as this is a relatively recent phenomenon for us, one which will bring up different feelings at different stages, it is meant to give context to the fact that we are all navigating our eco-emotions and processing differently. Understanding a validating this will help us be kind to ourselves and support our kids. If you are short for time, scroll on! The practicalities are below. Otherwise, this was the start of feeling resonant fear for our future and the motivation to take action for me: