Struggle Care

136: BEST OF: Eco-Shame with Rebecca Gray

Listen Later

You have probably heard me say, “You can’t save the rainforest if you are depressed.” The truth is that eco-shame and eco-perfectionism can get in the way of our taking steps toward better functioning. If you have ever felt guilty for not being “eco-friendly enough,” this episode is for you! 


Rebecca Gray is an environmental epidemiologist. With her master’s degree in public health, she studies disease, the patterns of disease, and health at population levels within communities and countries. She also studies how factors in the environment impact health by causing and promoting disease. Rebecca works with government agencies like the EPA and CDC to develop water guidelines to keep pollutants out of the water supply. 


Show Highlights:


  • How Rebecca has experienced forms of eco-shame in her profession
  • How some people push the environmental movement in ways that are able-ist
  • The trap we fall into to “embody the archetype” of the space we occupy
  • How social media plays into the eco-perfectionism pressure we feel
  • Why functionality matters more than the morality of what we do in care tasks, eating, the environment, etc. 
  • Rebecca’s view of today’s environmental movement
  • Why we should ask ourselves how an eco-behavior affects our health and well being
  • What really does need to happen to prevent climate change
  • How our capitalistic society colors what we can do to be eco-friendly
  • How differing narratives make us feel pressured to make individual changes and collective changes to “save the world”
  • How to identify what we need to function well, fill in gaps with eco-friendly behaviors, and learn how to conserve our energy
  • How to take a more reasonable–and less stressful–view of sustainability swaps
  • Actions that have the least impact and the most impact on environmentalism
  • Rebecca’s advice about letting ourselves off the hook for the decisions we make



    • Links & Resources:


    Connect with Rebecca: LinkedIn 

    Connect with KC: TikTok and Instagram

    Get KC's Book, How to Keep House While Drowning

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Struggle CareBy KC Davis
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8

    4.8

    734 ratings

    More shows like Struggle Care

    View all
    ADHD Experts Podcast by ADDitude

    ADHD Experts Podcast

    1,309 Listeners

    A Slob Comes Clean by Dana K. White: A Slob Comes Clean

    A Slob Comes Clean

    2,458 Listeners

    Edit Your Life | Simplify + Declutter Your Home, Time, and Mental Space by Christine Koh

    Edit Your Life | Simplify + Declutter Your Home, Time, and Mental Space

    510 Listeners

    Clutterbug - Real-Life Hacks and Tips to Declutter, Organize and Clean your Home Fast by Clutterbug

    Clutterbug - Real-Life Hacks and Tips to Declutter, Organize and Clean your Home Fast

    2,038 Listeners

    Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children by Debbie Reber

    Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children

    968 Listeners

    What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms by Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson

    What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms

    992 Listeners

    ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka by Tracy Otsuka

    ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka

    46 Listeners

    I Have ADHD Podcast by Kristen Carder

    I Have ADHD Podcast

    2,844 Listeners

    Feminist Survival Project by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski

    Feminist Survival Project

    361 Listeners

    Maintenance Phase by Aubrey Gordon & Michael Hobbes

    Maintenance Phase

    16,234 Listeners

    Good Inside with Dr. Becky by Dr. Becky Kennedy

    Good Inside with Dr. Becky

    4,449 Listeners

    We Can Do Hard Things by Glennon Doyle and Audacy

    We Can Do Hard Things

    41,489 Listeners

    Burnt Toast by Virginia Sole-Smith by Virginia Sole-Smith

    Burnt Toast by Virginia Sole-Smith

    419 Listeners

    Sorry, I Missed This: The Everything Guide to ADHD and Relationships with Cate Osborn by Cate Osborn, Understood.org

    Sorry, I Missed This: The Everything Guide to ADHD and Relationships with Cate Osborn

    37 Listeners