See resources at the bottom of the page.
Climate change and the nature crisis threatens our worlds as we know them. Anxiety is a normal response to this. Fear, grief, overwhelm, anger, and hopelessness can be part of the waves of emotions.
The question is, if we are operating in a state of anxiety, how do we act with the clarity of mind, creativity, and strategic thinking needed to meet the challenge?
The East Lothian Climate Hub held a workshop in September 2024 called Climate Activism and Collective Wellbeing, delivered by a trained psychotherapist. We learned that many people in that space were operating on some level of fight, flight, or freeze, including both paid staff in the field and volunteers. These stress response states can impact your ability to process emotion, stress management, boundary setting, and sense of purpose and meaning. This can have a knock on effect on your mental clarity, creativity, and ability to see the bigger picture.
It wouldn’t be surprising to learn that many people operate within states of anxiety and stress, with the current work-life balance norms, the cost of living, and overly busy lives. And yet, we get up every day, carry out our work, deliver projects and create strategies. But people dedicating time to climate change can feel particularly high levels of anxiety. And many of us are familiar with the feeling of intense overwhelm or burnout.
How do we keep ourselves regulated, so we can keep making good decisions? To help us grow a healthy movement and sectors dedicated to climate action without burning ourselves out? So we are not overwhelmed but still feel the joy of what we have now, to remind us what we are fighting for? And what does this mean for communities that already exist within social struggle and insecurity? How do we work with them in climate activism, to support action without adding burden and anxiety?
We talk about collective wellbeing, as we need us all to be well in order to push for the change needed. Individual self-work can help us to heal so we can carry on being active parts of our communities and acting for the benefit of the collective. We were never meant to fight, or live, alone.
Here are some ways to help keep us regulated, present, and connected:
- Build strong communities – in our personal lives and in our workplaces. Relationships of trust, care and solidarity can form the support structures needed for resilience in harder times, as well as keeping us grounded today.
- Take collective action. Individual action is important for climate change, but we know that taking collective action (if that is upscaling local action or campaigns for change from above) wields bigger results and makes you feel like you are part of something bigger.
- Limit exposure to climate news and information. Don’t turn away from the reality of it or disconnect. But, do be aware of what you can hold and when you start to move into panic or disconnect. You don’t need to know every bit of climate information in order to act.
- Feel the fear and grief if you can. Making time to process can free up space internally to imagine the different possible futures and resource you to act.
- Be present in nature. Not all urban areas in East Lothian have lots of nature, but you can access nature from all parts of East Lothian. The calming effect of nature can be deeply grounding.
- Make space for joy and creativity. Having fun allows you to stay connected and resourced to act. Times may get harder. Don’t miss the beauty of what you have today.
One thing we know is that nothing in history has ever stayed the same. The downfall of the feudal system and the winning of women’s civil rights would have felt impossible to many living in those times. If we are not regulated, it’s hard to imagine all the possibilities that sit in front of us.
Climate Hub staff member Tess, wrote this article following the COP26:
Climate justice, community grief and power building
RESOURCES
Some of the resources below are from the The All We Can Save Project: Resources for working with climate emotions.
Climate Aware Therapy
If you are experiencing severe distress, consider going to a therapist that specialises in climate anxiety. Also consider stepping back from any exposure to climate news and information in the meantime.
Process Collectively
The Work That Reconnects (TWTR) is a method for processing the hard emotions around climate change, to cultivate inner resilience, healing, and connection. It is based on the teachings of Joanna Macy. TWTR moves participants through a four-stage journey that brings them into close contact with climate emotions for personal transformation:
- Coming from Gratitude
- Honoring our Pain for the World
- Seeing with New/Ancient Eyes
- Going Forth
Find workshops, retreats, and study groups: workthatreconnects.org
The Evolving Edge is a branch of TWTR that is focused on decolonizing the practices of TWTR to better meet the needs of communities of colour.
Read more about The Evolving Edge’s ideas and practices: workthatreconnects.org/evolving-edge
The Good Grief Network is a peer support network for processing and integrating the uncertainty and grief that the climate and wider eco-crisis can awaken in people. This group format moves participants through a 10-step program in which key topics are processed in a supportive setting, such as: “accept the uncertainty of the predicament,” “practice being with uncertainty,” and “honor my mortality and the mortality of all.” Volunteers can also request facilitation packages and run their own GGN programme.
Learn more: www.goodgriefnetwork.org
Online Resources
Eco-Anxious Stories is a site that serves as a welcoming and calming online realm, aimed at people who feel alone in their climate fears. It uses the power of stories to relieve that sense of isolation.
Read others’ stories, share your own, and access reflection guides and resources: www.ecoanxious.ca
Gen Dread is a newsletter, authored by Dr. Britt Wray—who investigates to connection between climate change and mental health at Stanford and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine—shares nuanced perspectives on the emotional and psychological impacts of the climate crisis. It regularly explores tools for coping with eco-distress, the intersection of eco-anxiety and grief with social inequality, and new research and practices that are emerging from climate psychology and emotionally intelligent change-making.
Subscribe and read past issues: gendread.substack.com
Good Grief Network
GGN is an innovative peer support network for processing and integrating the uncertainty and grief that the climate and wider eco-crisis can awaken in people. Based on Alcoholics Anonymous, this group format moves participants through a 10-step program in which key topics are processed in a supportive setting, such as: “accept the uncertainty of the predicament,” “practice being with uncertainty,” and “honor my mortality and the mortality of all.”
Volunteers can request facilitation packages and run their own GGN 10-step programs, though they are also regularly facilitated online via a donation-based format that anyone is welcome to sign up for.
Learn more or join a GGN 10-step group: www.goodgriefnetwork.org
Resilience grows best when we approach both ourselves and our world with compassion.
❤️
