We have been seeing a lot of climate change news on some of the extreme effects of climate change. This has brought up a lot of understandable uncertainty as well as climate change anxiety and stress.
How do I cope with this stress and anxiety about the effects of climate change? Should I learn about the causes of climate change? Can enacting climate change solutions help me feel more in control and decrease anxiety? Check out our latest video about ways to cope with anxiety and stress from climate change!
If you’re interested in more, check out these science-based books about the causes of climate change and ways we can work to limit the effects of climate change. Or check out this documentary film about the possible effects on climate change on the earth and society.
I was on the beach in Lake Tahoe today. Usually, on a summer day, you can see the other side of the lake clearly. But for much of this summer, you can’t see more than a few miles in front of you due to smoke from wildfires. These fires have been getting worse and worse due to climate change.
A rise in climate anxiety
Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite places in the world. Many people are starting to get really worried about how so many places we love are becoming difficult to visit. And there are concerns that our entire planet is in danger of becoming inhabitable due to climate change. Many people are starting to see this issue as one of our survival!
Stress, anxiety, or feeling discouraged about climate change is very natural. This is especially because we have not seen these effects this bad before. And because reports keep coming out about the harmful effects of climate change now and going forward.
How to combat climate anxiety
There are some ways that can help relieve some of that stress, anxiety, or discouragement you may feel about climate change. These are related to strategies you can use for anxiety and stress about politics and even strategies for coping anxiety and stress about the COVID-19 pandemic that we’ve discussed in previous clips.
1. Seek social support. Speak openly about the stress you feel about climate change with trusted sources of support. However, an important thing about social support is making sure to not fixate on the arguments for or against climate change or even about the politics of it.
2. Limit exposure to the news or take it only in small doses (for example, 5 mins per day or less)
3. Engage in enjoyable activities that give you meaning to focus attention away from constant thoughts about it
4. Take back a sense of control. So much of climate change anxiety and stress (and anxiety and stress in general) can be driven by our lack of sense of control in a situation. Because of this, it can help to focus on intentionally engaging in things you can control and enjoy in your life.
Take the control back
It can also help take back control of the issue itself. This may include:
– Learning more about climate change and why it occurs from reputable scientifically-based sources (see some links at the end of this article). Searching content like this may be anxiety-provoking in and of itself. It’s okay to feel stressed or anxious about the things you read or view! Understanding the causes of climate change is so important despite anxiety. Especially because the more you understand the issues, the better informed you can be about how you want to approach them.
– Taking an active approach by addressing those issues head-on in your own life. Addressing these issues may take several forms. Perhaps you may figure out ways to transition parts of your life to electric or solar energy or ways to reduce your carbon footprint or the amount of energy you use overall. You might be better able to write your elected lawmakers about changes you want them to make. Or it can help you start to understand the policies of candidates for future elections.
These things can all make you feel a sense of control and a sense of effectiveness in contributing to our overall efforts to reduce climate change.
Closing
I hope talking about ways to deal with climate change stress and anxiety was helpful. If you’re interested in learning more about this topic in order to take back control, there are a few resources. Check out these science-based books about the causes of climate change and ways we can work to limit the effects of climate change. Or check out this documentary film about the possible effects of climate change on the earth and society.
Dr. Matt B with your Emotional Minutes, signing off. See you next time!
