“The most important thing you can do as an individual is process these feelings, sit with them then move to a place of action. A lot of the work that needs to happen to reverse things is outwith our control but what the individual can do is sit with these heavy, dark emotions and process the anxiety in a way that helps them make informed educated decisions - and be a force for good.” 

In the third episode of their podcast Climate Crisis Culture, podcast hosts Eilidh McLaughlin and Jenny Fraser Harris tackle the difficult issue of eco-anxiety: what it means, what it looks like, how it can be induced and what coping mechanisms they both use to deal with it all. Recorded at the end of a difficult year for so many, the hosts guide you through their personal experiences of eco-anxiety.

How do we deal with the constant barrage of horrific news stories detailing environmental degradation around the world? Can we use this to motivate us to do better? How does defining the term and learning about it help us to cope? How does motherhood impact our feelings of climate anxiety?

Significant mentions of: Caroline Hickman, doom scrolling, finding balance, feeling your feelings, dried beans from the zero waste store, allowing occasional numbness and watching Netflix, not doing it all, the Paris Climate Accord, feeling alive and contributing, and, not to forget, the teeny tiny issue of societal collapse.

If you enjoyed this episode please give it a review on whichever platform you use to download or listen! Follow us on Instagram @climatecrisisculture @creative.sustainability @jfraserharris or find us at https://climatecrisisculture.podbean.com/  

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Hosts: Jenny Faser Harris and Eilidh McLaughlin

Editing + Artwork: Jenny Fraser Harris

Show Notes: Eilidh McLaughlin

Music: Michael Weldon

Further Reading / Links:

Read about Caroline Hickman here and her podcast Climate Crisis Conversations here

Read more from Jem Bendell here 

Listen to the Deep Adaptation Podcast here

Sign up to Britt Wray’s Gen Dread newsletter here

Read Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò article here

Watch Vinay Gupta TED talk here 

Eco Anxious Stories here

Podcast search for ‘eco-anxiety’

Search for Detox Your Thoughts book by Andrea Bonoir