Guest-host Cheyna Roth brings on Dr. Britt Wray to discuss climate anxiety, sharing personal experiences with wildfires near Lake Tahoe and the rise of climate-related challenges. They address the importance of communication, seeking help from climate-aware therapists, and self-care strategies for managing eco-anxiety. The chapter also explores promising projects, coping strategies, and preparing for environmental threats.
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Quick takeaways
Coping with climate anxiety requires pairing it with action and creating a supportive community.
Authentic emotional responses to the climate crisis can provide valuable insights and contribute to climate justice.
Deep dives
Dealing with Climate Anxiety
Climate anxiety is an adaptive response to real threats and should not be seen as a disorder. It can coexist with other difficult emotions like grief and anger. It is important to validate these feelings and create a supportive community. The barbershop approach highlights the value of laypeople being trained to provide support and promote mental well-being. Taking small actions, preparing for emergencies, and engaging in self-care can empower individuals in the face of climate anxiety.
Importance of Action and Community
Coping with climate anxiety requires pairing it with action. Feeling the distress is normal and not a sign of weakness. Liberating oneself from self-judgment and shame allows for a more constructive response. It is crucial to sit with the grief, find community, and take transformative action together. Social capital and strong community connections can prevent traumatization and build resilience.
Insights for Finding Purpose and Resilience
Authentic emotional responses to the climate crisis can provide valuable insights. Feeling distress is a caring response, and it's important to release negative feelings about having so-called negative feelings. By embracing the emotions and finding community, individuals can uncover the needed response and contribute to climate justice. Taking action, thinking critically, and feeling authentically are interwoven components of coping with climate anxiety.
As the massive Caldor fire blazed towards South Lake Tahoe in 2021, Joyce knew she had to get out. “The sky was red. It was like hell on earth,” she remembers. Her family got to safety and her house was miraculously spared. But, even now, it can be jarring to remember the fire. Climate-related extreme weather events are on the rise and another disaster is seemingly right around the corner. Especially with freakish flash floods, a scorching heatwave and wildfire smoke blanketing much of the country. On this episode of How To!, guest-host Cheyna Roth brings on Dr. Britt Wray, author of Generation Dread: Finding Purpose In an Age of Climate Crisis. Dr. Wray explains why we need to treat climate anxiety differently and how we can create resilience both internally and within our communities as we face climate change, together.
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Podcast production by Derek John, Rosemary Belson, Kevin Bendis, and Jabari Butler.
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