“Mental Health & Climate Change” is a monthly column by Elizabeth Bechard, Moms Clean Air Force Senior Policy Analyst, in which she explores how families are coping with our warming world.
Just days into the new year, extreme weather has made headlines again: this week, tornadoes, blizzards, strong storms, and flooding tore through the Gulf Coast, Mid-Atlantic, and New England. In my community in Vermont, violent winds knocked out power and downed trees, keeping many local schools closed once again, less than a month after December school closures due to snow and flooding.
I’m entering 2024 with all the climate feels; perhaps you are as well. Here are six strategies I’m working with to cope with climate emotions myself this year—maybe they can help you too.
1. Remember that painful feelings about climate change are normal—and they’re a sign that we care.
If you feel a surge of winter grief every time it rains instead of snows this time of year, you’re not alone. If you’re already worried about another summer filled with wildfire smoke and blistering temperatures, you’re not alone. If you’re terrified about talking to your children about climate change because you don’t know what to say, you’re not alone. Nearly all of us are experiencing climate distress; painful climate emotions are an entirely reasonable response to what’s actually happening. They’re a sign that we care, not a sign that something is wrong with us.
2. Find people to connect and process your emotions with.
Climate emotions are too heavy for any of us to carry alone—we need each other more than ever in these chaotic times. Talking with a trusted loved one about how you’re feeling about climate change can be invaluable, as can joining a climate group like the Good Grief Network, a climate cafe, or The Week. If you need an additional layer of support, connecting with a climate-aware therapist can help too.
3. Participate in collective climate action.
Research shows that taking part in climate action with other people can help buffer the impacts of climate anxiety. Joining a climate advocacy group like Moms Clean Air Force connects you with like-minded people who care as much about climate change as you do and can help generate feelings of hope and solidarity alongside the painful climate emotions. Actively participating in climate solutions is a potent reminder that solutions do exist, and there’s so much we can do to contribute to the world we want. Find Moms in your state.
4. Boost your confidence in having climate conversations with your children.
For parents, the thought of having climate conversations with children can be a source of significant anxiety: we wonder how to walk the delicate tightrope of being honest with our children about climate change without terrifying them. The good news is that there are more and more resources available to help us navigate these conversations with children of all ages, like these wonderful resources from Climate Mental Health Network on talking to young people about climate emotions.
5. Bolster your emergency preparedness.
We know that disruptions from extreme weather are here to stay. While it can be overwhelming to think about preparing for every possible disaster (at least, it’s overwhelming for me!), being as prepared as possible for weather disruptions can go a long way toward helping us cope more skillfully and calmly in moments of crisis. Ready.gov has readiness checklists for nearly every kind of emergency you could think of. And though its title evokes hoarding canned beans for the apocalypse, I also love the book Prepping 101 for its practical ideas about how families and communities can be more prepared and resilient when emergencies arise.
6. Build your own “existential toolkit.”
I learned this practice from leading climate and mental health researcher Britt Wray. The idea behind an “existential toolkit” is to take time to think about the resources and practices that help you cope with difficult climate emotions, and to actually write them down—you can even draw an actual toolkit, if you like! Your toolkit might include spiritual practices; important relationships; beloved places; favorite songs, poems, or quotes; wellness habits, like getting enough sleep and staying hydrated; spending time in nature; or anything that helps you connect with a sense of meaning or refuge in difficult times. For me, the act of writing down the things that help me cope—and posting the list in a place where I can see it often—was surprisingly powerful.
For more ideas about caring for your own mental health as a parent these days, join us for our upcoming webinar on Tuesday, January 30: Parenting in the Climate Crisis: Self Care, Connections, and Support.
TELL CONGRESS: SUPPORT MENTAL WELLNESS RESOURCES FOR COMMUNITIES HIT BY CLIMATE DISASTER