Understanding Climate Anxiety

Recently I’ve been delivering sustainability training, talking about how much the climate is changing and how human activity is contributing.  The groups have been engaged and we’ve discussed how stories about extreme weather and record temperatures are becoming more common in the news.

In one session I particularly sensed that there were people who found this challenging, even upsetting.  When you think about it, this isn’t an irrational response to what we are seeing.  It made me realise that this was something that I needed to look at and address in future sessions.

I found this excellent resource by The Natural History Museum.

It’s clear that the anxiety comes from an understanding of what is happening, and then a feeling of frustration and hopelessness about a lack of an ability to do much about it.  So I want to share some strategies for ways to deal with this and channel it into something positive.

1 - Acknowledging how we feel.  Talking and sharing how we feel with people we trust makes us feel less alone with our anxieties.  This isn’t always easy, especially for adults and those of us who are supposed to be strong resilient managers or employees, but is an important first step.

2 - Think about how we frame the issue.  Focus on positive actions that have already been taken.  I know there is still a lot to do, but annual UK carbon emissions have dropped by over a half, from over 11 tonnes per person in the 1970s to 4.7 in 2022.  https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions.

Without being naive, positive changes are happening and the pace is accelerating.  This is a journey, and we need to keep travelling on.

3 - Come together and feel empowered.  The more we feel empowered and start taking action, the less anxious and hopeless we feel.  Coming together and taking actions with others makes us feel even more connected and empowered than doing things on our own.

A good place to start could be joining a local or national group, or starting something positive with friends or colleagues.

These are a few practical things we can do, or see some of my other posts for work related ideas: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/five-tips-living-more-sustainably

#climateanxiety #positiveaction #climatepsychology