3 ways to cope with eco anxiety (without completely losing your mind)

I was talking to a dear friend of mine a few weeks ago.

She said, “Hey… do you have anything to help with eco anxiety?”

Why yes. Yes I do.

Just a reminder/disclaimer, before we get into this: I’m not a scientist, psychologist, psychotherapist, meteorologist, or professional comedian.

I’m going to try and keep this light, but Mrs. Maisel I am not.

Although I did go on a deeply determined, albeit mildly frenetic, grocery store search the other day for ready-made brisket at 4:45pm...

#RoshHashanah

#boyfriendisJewish

#settledonchicken

But I’m still not as funny as Midge.

ANYWAY.

I’ve been through some shitake in my life.

Divorce.

Death.

Financial hardship.

Cancer.

TWENTY summers of frizzy hair.

I’ve come at many of these big challenges from a place of ingenuity, optimism, faith—and finally, high quality curl creme.

So far, it’s worked well for me.

I approach the topic of eco anxiety from that perspective as well, minus the curl creme.

When it comes down to it, I feel like feelings about climate change may present as anxiety, but if you pick that big, tangled ball of recycled yarn apart, it’s actually more of a cocktail of strong emotions.

Fear is one of those emotions, for sure.

But perhaps also anger, hopelessness, helplessness, betrayal, guilt, confusion, resentment, worry, hatred, overwhelm, horror, and shame.

Maybe there are more emotions mixed in there for you?

If you were only angry, well, hell! You could go to a smash room and take a metal bat to a few of those now-obsolescent, plastic machines contributing uselessly to landfills and at least feel some sort of temporary relief.

If you were just guilty, you could start planting trees, composting, and collecting gray water.

But when you’re experiencing an absolute overload of really, big feelings? The frequency of that energy can cause paralysis.

I’m beginning to wonder if anxiety may just be too many emotions at once to name.

Anxiety vibrates at a rate and speed that is unsettling and disquieting.

Perhaps anxiety is one way your energetic system asks for you to address, one by one, the a number of the big feelings holding your heart and mind hostage?

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts about that.

But back to coping.

Here are my top 3 suggestions for coping with eco-anxiety:

#1: Name all the feelings that make up your anxiety and write out WHY you’re feeling that way.

Some examples…

ANGER: I’m furious that we’re in a such a mess! And I’m outraged that my generation has to deal with it!

GUILT: I feel terrible for using my air conditioner so much this past summer.

WORRY: What if we can’t figure this out? What if the world leaders really are ass-hats who don’t care about the earth at all?

I’m telling you.

Pause. Put down the chocolate chip cookie or the glass of red wine for a moment, take a deep breath, and figure out what emotions you’re dealing with and why. It’ll help.

#2: Clear the trapped emotions around eco trauma

At this point, you’ve either lived through an eco trauma firsthand or experienced second hand via the media or someone you know.

Trauma needs healing.

If you’re feeling emotionally overwhelmed, it’s going to be harder to DO anything as a part of the solution until you’ve done some clearing and reprocessing.

You can do this by tapping (google “trauma informed EFT specialist”), by writing to heal, by doing EMDR with your therapist, by performing a ritual where you release the emotions, or you can do it all.

Be gentle with yourself, especially if you’ve suffered a trauma firsthand.

E-motions are energy that needs to be MOVING through you, not getting stuck.

Get those suckers on their way so you can function at a more optimal level.

#3: Take action where you can. Move from pain to power.

If hopelessness is one of the mixers in your emotional cocktail (and it most likely is), taking action will immediately help that feeling to subside.

The truth is you DO matter, even in the face of something as seemingly overwhelming and large as climate change.

Your ideas, your energy, your thoughts, your actions: they all matter.

Areas where you can take action include: planting trees, writing letters, becoming a lobbyist, doing a neighborhood clean up, infiltrating an organization and helping it go green from the inside, moving off grid, going vegetarian or eating less meat, educating yourself, educating others, making a lot of money and USING IT to create change the—YES, YOU CAN HELP— list is endless.

Doing one little thing is better than doing nothing.

Doing big things will help you feel even more influential and powerful.

THE ALL-IMPORTANT MINDSET SHIFT:

Start focusing on the best case scenario. SEE IT and BELIEVE IT. Get others to join in this vision with you.

As my boyfriend would say, “Whoa. That’s next level…”

This is where the magic happens.

And yes, you may think, “OK, lady. You’re delusional.”

Many of our history’s great visionaries were seen as delusional at first.

Listen.

You and I are part of the collective consciousness.

Our thoughts have power.

Our united thoughts are even more powerful.

If we start believing that there is a solution—in our lifetime—to global warming, then we will find a freaking solution.

We are a smart, creative, capable, courageous, BRILLIANT world of humans.

We can do ANYthing we put our focused, positive energy towards.

But if we keep deciding that we’re doomed and screwed and not going to survive as a species, not only are we more likely is our future ill-fated, but that kind of “Sigh… what’s the use?” energy blocks all creativity, all ingenuity, and all FAITH in what is possible!

Years ago, my doctors told me, in not so many words, that I was done for because I had aggressive ovarian cancer.

Welp. Still here, nearly twenty years later.

They told my Dad he wouldn’t walk after a major stroke.

He walked within months.

The press would NOT freaking shut up about Australia burning. (Note: focusing on the pain of the problem does not bring the solution. The media is the worst about this...)

Once the collective started to focus on a solution, it rained, despite all doomsday predictions.

Redirecting your eco anxiety into innovative eco confidence and a determined certainty that we can solve this together, will change everything.

I recognize that making this mindset shift is a tall order, but it’s crucial.

This shift goes back to what I always say: figure out the BOTH/AND.

As Julia Cameron taught me many years ago, “Know you’re going to catch the bus, and then run like hell.”

We have to believe AND act.

We’re in a major pickle AND we can figure it out.

We’ve made a lot of mistakes AND we are unlimited in the ways we can turn things around.

It’s GOT to be both/and, y’all.

Both/And.

Alright… deep breath…

Good job.

Let’s recap today’s post!

1. Anxiety is most likely not just one feeling. Name all the feelings and write about what’s going on for each of them. Expression helps the energy move through you.

2. Clear those trapped emotions. There are tons of ways to process your emotions and get them to move through you.

3. Take action. Move from pain to power.

**IMPORTANT** Make the mindset shift that a solution is possible and within our reach. Focus on solutions and our brilliant innovative global population.

That’s all for this week!

I’m sending you all calm, solution-focused energy for the weekend.

Big, confident hugs,

Rebecca*