Climate feelings
As change makers, we got ‘em. Now the question is - what do we do with them?
With the most recent IPCC report and NYC’s Climate Week on the horizon, climate change is on many of our minds, which means climate feelings are in many of our hearts...
"I have felt so frustrated and disempowered by the broad and impending implications of climate change… Every choice I make, the products I buy, the transportation I use, whether I shut off the lights - all of it is overwhelming."
- Audrey M., public health professional
Climate feelings go by many names: climate anxiety, eco-grief, environmental despair, solastalgia, vicarious trauma.
All pointing to the same thing. As Glenn Albrecht, Australian environmental philosopher puts it, it's: “A generalized sense that the ecological foundations of existence are in the process of collapse [cite].”
Oof.
Maybe even just reading that definition you noticed something happening within yourself?
Maybe you noticed dismissal, rejection and anger “Phh - what an extreme thing to say!”
Or maybe you noticed deep dread, sullenness and a sinking feeling in the center of your chest. “Oy, that’s exactly it…”
Or maybe you noticed numbness; no reaction at all. Your mind randomly pulling you somewhere else. “Op! Gotta go check that email!”
Whatever you noticed - it’s welcome here. Because by becoming more aware of your internal world and whatever emotional responses you have towards this big, complex topic, you can better care for your (very normal) feelings in order to better support your work and well-being.
Feelings are not good or bad. They just are. And this month’s theme on climate feelings is an invitation to get to know yours more.
Join me this month to share what’s alive for you around climate injustice. And if you feel called to do the same for other people, keep an eye out next week for a special promotional offer to join my Circle training to learn a model of community-based emotional processing you can use with your community today.
Hi, I’m Liz Moyer Benferhat. Writer, facilitator, coach, and development practitioner dedicated to the subtle interplay between how inner transformation feeds the outer transformation we need in the world. Welcome 🌿