Eco-Anxiety is real….and what to do about it

Dear readers,

It has been a while hasn’t it?  Given all the recent issues in the world right now, I haven’t had the energy or drive to write.  Our world is experiencing unprecedented climate events such as fires on both sides of Canadian coasts, fires in California and all throughout Europe, flooding in New York and Korea and extreme heat in unexpected places like England where roads were melting. 

It is hard not be discouraged.  I confess that I have been struggling with it all.  My motto was always to tell myself and others that our human ingenuity has always allowed us to solve any problems that our world was facing.  However, I don’t really see that we are making enough of the changes necessary to address climate change in a serious way.  Fossil fuel projects are still going forward, such as Bay du Nord in Canada, even though it is clear that we need to completely stop them all.  It has left me feeling a bit anxious and a bit angry. 

It seems that I am not the only one with these feelings as a new term called “eco-anxiety” has been coined.  The APA defined it as a fear of environmental doom.  Sounds about right.  But I knew that I needed to find a way to deal with it.

How to deal with Eco Anxiety

Perhaps some of you are feeling the same way as I am?  I know that I must not give up and I need to find ways to overcome my anxiety and take action.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327354#do-i-have-it

https://www.ecoanxiety.com/how-to-alleviate-eco-anxiety/

Here are five things that I am doing to to help relieve my stress relating to what is happening with the climate.

#1 Spend more time in nature

This is my number one way to relieve stress.  I spend as much time as possible outdoors and I go to parks and hike as often as I can.  Being in the woods, surrounded by greenery, trees and fresh air is calming and soothing,  When I have trouble falling asleep at night,  recalling the time I spent outside is very helpful to catch some z’s.

#2 Meditate 

It’s no secret that meditation helps provide peace and calm to one’s racing mind.  In today’s world of go-go-go, taking 10-20 minutes per day to meditate and breathe is an easy and effective way to relieve the stress that I feel.  It allows me to be grateful for the life that I have and to try to live in the present moment and avoid overthinking what is going to happen in the future.  Meditation helps me let go of my anxiety and concern that we are not doing enough to protect our planet.

#3 Do my best with my own individual actions.  

It is clear that addressing the climate issues will require governments of multiple countries to join forces and stop the production and burning of fossil fuels.  China, the US and the EU are  the top three GHG emitters in the world, with  Canada is in the top 10 (https://www.wri.org/insights/interactive-chart-shows-changes-worlds-top-10-emitters).  Governments of these countries are the ones that need to take immediate action to reverse the course of climate change and prevent impacts to our water and food sources.  However, I still believe that personal action can have an impact, albeit small, and taking individual action can make us feel empowered in a world where we cannot control the major causes of climate change.  I have mentioned that I am not perfect when it comes to my own individual actions for the climate and the guilt of not “being perfect” eats at me.  I often feel like a hypocrite.  However, I need to be realistic and practical about what I can do and still enjoy my life.  I am doing my best to practice what I preach by eating less meat and dairy, minimizing air and car travel and consuming mindfully.  I also want to be more forgiving of others who do not wish to travel the same path as me. 

#4 Avoid reading too much news and social media on the topic.  

While it is important to be educated on what is happening with the climate, too much of anything is not a good thing.  As a result, I am trying to limit the amount of time that I spend on social media on the topic.  A lot of the news is doom and gloom.  As a result, I do  want to put my focus on environmental good news, because there is definitely some.  This website is a good one, with an inspiring g quote from Vaclav Havel:  “Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something is worth doing no matter how it turns out”:

https://www.nottoolateclimate.com

#5 Join an organization working working to address climate change

It took me some time to find a group working on stopping climate change.  The only group that I knew of was Extinction Rebellion and as their group name suggests, they were a little too extreme for me.  Fortunately, I found a group called For Our Kids Montreal and I slowly getting involved with this group and look forward to contributing in whatever small ways that I can. 

For Our Kids Montreal

Ultimately, having a tribe with whom I can share my thoughts, feelings and concerns will really help me.  One of my work colleagues also told me about Meres au Front, which is ultimately a French speaking version of For our Kids.  In fact, they are partners on projects.

Accueil

I will get involved with them too.  It reassures me to know that there are groups out there who share my concerns and are pushing governments of all levels to stop fossil fuel projects and make the necessary changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

One observation, it is interesting that most of the groups that I found were led by women.  Why is it that women seem to be ones to care about the climate and our planet? Do women have a better connection to the planet?  Or is it because of our tendency to be more nurturing?   For those women reading this post, I would love to hear thoughts and encourage you to have a conversation with the men in your life to see how to get them involved in saving our planet.  

Have you felt any eco-anxiety?  Do you have any tips to share with me on how you have managed it?  Thanks so much for reading this post.