So, what can we do to ease any anxiety, anger or despair that we might be experiencing right now? Hickman advises starting with the basics – treat yourself with kindness and compassion. Avoid a superhero mindset to prevent burnout; this is an emergency, but a long-term one that will need sustained energy.
“Try not to get overwhelmed, find group support for yourself and balance the internal emotional feelings with external practical actions,” says Hickman. “There is hope, but we need ‘radical hope’ not naïve hope.”
The idea of radical hope is a philosophy supported by the Climate Psychology Alliance, which it defines as leaning into our feelings of helplessness, anguish, grief and destructive entitlement to create a resilience to a crisis and a capacity to deal with it. In other words, if we accept the difficult reality, we can start to imagine a new future. “Things are bad, but there is also a lot we can do if we take action now,” says Hickman.
Both recommend balancing your news consumption. Talking therapy is another option to consider, but make sure you approach a mental health professional equipped to deal with issues relating to the state of the planet.
The Climate Psychology Alliance has an outreach programme offering a list of climate change-aware therapists, as well as forums in which to explore and validate any concerns you might be having. “I have heard stories of people being responded to by therapists who either want to make it a personal problem (‘what is this really about?’) when a client raises concerns about the climate crisis; or alternatively a kind of ‘green prescription’ (‘go out in nature and you will feel better’) or even an ‘action prescription’ (‘go out and take some action and it will help’),” explains Staunton.
“None of the above are responsive to the needs of the client, and are an indication that the therapist has not dealt with their own climate distress, and therefore cannot be receptive or responsive to the distress of the other person.”
It is too late to repair all of the damage we have caused the planet, but we can channel our anxiety into positive action to prevent the situation from worsening going forward. Allow yourself time to feel whatever it is you’re feeling in relation to climate change – but don’t sit in it too long. It’s time to act.
How to make small steps to tackle the climate crisis, according to Greenpeace:
- Sign a petition or write to your MP to express your concerns. “If lots of us do this, it helps to demonstrate just how much public will there is for real progress at this autumn’s global climate summit in Glasgow. You can also encourage our leaders to cut UK emissions from areas like home heating and improve public transport as well as routes for walking and cycling.”
- Demand accountability and action from big companies. “Supermarkets and fast-food companies are driving deforestation in the Amazon and other forests with swathes of forest being destroyed for meat and dairy production. Joining and supporting campaigns like our own calling on UK supermarkets and fast-food companies to drop forest destroyers from their supply chains is a good way of applying pressure. And reducing your own meat consumption is a really positive step.
- Join an organisation fighting for the environment. “Consider joining Greenpeace or new youth led movements like Green New Deal Rising. Coming together with other people to campaign and take action is a powerful way of building pressure for change.”
