Short Answer: Climate Grief and Anxiety Reflection Paper

A heightened awareness of the impacts of climate change can bring up intense emotions, including anger, grief, and anxiety.  On this page, we'll take a moment to acknowledge these emotions, listen to scientists who study climate change for a living process their emotions, and examine some writing on the links between climate change and mental health, and how a focus on engaging around solutions is often beneficial.

Assignment: Reflection 

Write a 350 word or more reflection with your responses to what you read/listened to/watched. You can reflect in any way you want. Some suggestions if you need ideas to get started: 

• What is the impact of climate change or the discussion of climate change on your emotional state of mind?
• Which ideas, approaches or techniques that you learned about in the reading/videos seem like they would be useful for you: window of tolerance, double bind, or attunement? 
• Have you ever used any of them before? In what setting and with what success?
• What circumstances do you think they would be helpful for regarding climate change?  
• What has been the impact of natural disasters on your state of mind? How would you apply or have already applied the tools from the article such acknowledging feelings, building community, taking action? 

Start by watching the 4-minute video below, in which climate scientists share the emotions they feel as they research climate change and explain why it’s important for everyone to acknowledge grief, anger, and other feelings.

Watch the 13 minute video by Dr. Renée Lertzman, a psychologist who specializes in eco-anxiety and barriers to climate and sustainability engagement. Then read the article , How climate change affects mental health: Experiencing disaster - or even reading about it in the news - can be stressful and scary. These steps can help. Links to an external site.

Optional Resources:

• Children are among those who are at greater risk of developing anxiety in response to awareness about climate change.  Read this article by Dr. Lertzman that focuses on climate anxiety and children.  Link: Children of the Climate Crisis, A generation of kids faces a more dangerous world as they come of age in the era of eco-anxiety. Links to an external site.

• Podcast interview with psychologist who focuses on people doing the climate change activism:  Link to Inside Out: The Grief, Trauma and Anxiety of Climate Change (and what you can do) with Dr. Renee Lertzman Links to an external site.

• Collection of resources from Dr. Renee Lertzman, Project Inside-Out Links to an external site.

• How to Address 'Climate Grief' A support group for people feeling distress about global warming. Links to an external site.
• How to Talk to Kids About Climate Change Links to an external site.