Crippled by Climate Grief & Anxiety? That could soon be your strength!
Through the dark tunnel is the only way out, so let yourself feel the grief & anger
Welcome to web version of Climate Matters, a 100% reader-funded, free-to-read newsletter to help you make sense of this planetary crisis. If you’d like to receive weekly climate coverage in your inbox, sign up below (choose either paid subscriptions or none, you’ll receive updates anyway)
One of the most common responses to my posts on climate change on social media is that knowing all this information is very anxiety-inducing, concerning and most of all, downright depressing! I try and tell people it is a perfectly valid response to knowing that the world as we know it is going through an unprecedented crisis and may not be the same again.
Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash
But when it comes to a problem as gargantuan as climate crisis, which is like an asteroid on collision course with the earth, unfolding in slow motion, it becomes extremely tough to hold the valid fear of failure with a hope for future together. It then becomes a choice between trying to find the strength to actively engage with the depressing, infuriating news on climate change or ignore it for the sake of one’s sanity. And even if you find the strength to continue engaging with climate change, how do you talk about it without depressing others?
Given the dismal state of current climate action and impacts, I don’t think there is a lot of good news to be shared. It’s a classic blue pill (blissful ignorance) vs red pill (unpleasant truth) situation. It’s heartening that so many are now waking up to the threat of climate crisis and are willing to engage with it. But if we, as climate change communicators, downplay the scale of the crisis or give false hope, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. What we can do though, is offer a framework on how to process these negative, scary emotions.
Here’s my hot take on this topic:
Climate grief is inevitable and it is supremely painful.
But it is also a necessary step, like the proverbial hero’s journey where one has to confront their fears and learn to overcome the insecurities to ultimately become victorious.
I went through the same journey myself when I properly learnt about climate change and let me tell you, it was horrible. I hated the uncertainty, the ever present despair and anger, and the complete loss of purpose. I even had a very public breakdown on Instagram!
But, such grief can also lead us to action. After months of anxiety and despair, I decided to do something about it and I wrote a random post on Instagram saying I’m going to start talking about climate change because no one around me seemed to be doing so.
And a little over a year later, what a fulfilling journey it has been! I am still worried sick about climate change, often give in to despair, but I am able to get up and do what I can do about it, because I’ve found a way to channel that grief and anger into action. And in doing so, I’ve even found a huge community and plenty of opportunities to use my skills as a communicator and get involved in the climate movement.
Since you’ve signed up to this newsletter, I have to warn you that this publication won’t make for easy reading. More often than not, the climate news is worrying rather than encouraging. It is my duty to tell the truth without sugarcoating the apocalypse. I’ll not lie, as of now we are really out of time, the situation keeps getting worse and we do have a huge challenge ahead of us. The problem with climate crisis is that there is no silver bullet and it requires a complete re-hauling of the way our world works.
All this is to say, climate grief is here to stay.
So we simply need to learn how to process this grief and keep moving forward. Last week I read a phenomenal piece on climate grief which had me nodding vigorously in agreement at every line. It is a remarkable dissection of how grief can propel us to act and why it is absolutely necessary to acknowledge and process the immense emotional toll of climate change.
“Grief may even turn out to be our best ally in this age of climate crisis.”
Grief is the process of accepting loss.
I get why many people working toward sustainability want to sidestep emotional issues and push the public straight into action. The situation is urgent, and dwelling on our feelings can seem like an extravagance as the fires close in. But the problem is when we try to jump straight to the final step without first processing the emotional toll of all this lost beauty and life, we’re bypassing the very insights that motivate us fight for what we love.
Ignoring climate grief is like trying to rush through any great loss — a job, a home, someone you love — without pausing to acknowledge what you’re leaving behind. In all those cases, we’re not just losing something we once had; we’re losing the future that many of us had counted on.
- Jennifer Atkinson, an Associate Professor in environmental studies at the University of Washington and the host of Facing It, a podcast about climate grief and eco-anxiety.
Read the full piece below and I promise you, you’ll feel a lot better by the end of it. It is one of the most succinctly argued pieces I’ve read so far, that explains why processing climate grief is not only essential for our mental well-being but also essential for the success of the climate movement overall.
Read here : Climate Grief: Our Greatest Ally? - By Jennifer Atkinson, published at Resilience.org
I mean, when have we ever fought for something we haven’t loved dearly, right?
So, if you’re going through climate anxiety, remember two things -
You’re not alone. A whole lot of us have felt the same and/or are still feeling the full weight of losing the world as we know it.
There’s light at the end of that dark tunnel. You’ll have to go through it alone unfortunately, but on the other side you’ll find a whole community waiting.
And that’s it for this week. Reply or leave a comment to tell me what you think about climate grief and eco-anxiety and what are your ways to deal with this.
This is a 100% reader-funded publication, so please consider becoming a paid subscriber or make a one time contribution if you like what you are seeing.
Thank you for easing the grief with your timely piece.
I feel better. :)
Grief is necessary. It's like a pathway that must be crossed to move from one state to another. I loved the bit on dark tunnel and how we need to walk alone through it. That's what grief truly feels like but, as you said, there is light at the end of it. Thank you.