Late last year I listened to a fascinating presentation by a Social Scientist from the CSIRO who was sharing data about people’s perceptions and their attitudes towards the challenges facing the Great Barrier Reef.I was mortified to find that many Australians didn’t realise that coral was a living organism and the perception of bleaching events was that the “rocks” in the water just “lost their colour” … (sigh!) It was also the first time I heard the term - "ecological grief" also interchangeable with ’eco-anxiety’ and ‘climate change distress’.I’ve since read many articles about the impact climate change can have on mental health, including intense feelings of grief as people suffer immeasurable loss in climate-related disasters like drought and bushfires, or as they begin to understand the impacts associated with the loss of a valued species, ecosystem or landscape. It is understandably a growing area of research.Just as grief over the loss of a loved one puts into perspective what truly matters in our lives, collective feelings of ‘ecological grief’ may strengthen a sense of commitment and deep love of the places that nurture and sustain us.
I do believe what we are seeing is a move from a place where scientists are telling us about the climate crisis to where more people across the globe are actually feeling it - physically and emotionally. According to an American Psychological Association report, climate change, and the associated impacts to land and environment, have been linked to a range of negative mental health impacts, including depression, suicidal ideation, post-traumatic stress, as well as feelings of anger, hopelessness, distress, and despair.In Montreal Canada “ecological grief circles” bring people together weekly. The group, made up of mostly millennials, is a place where the like-minded share tools on how to emotionally process the environmental changes they see in their country and what they experience through life and work.There is no doubt that local effects of climate change are often more personally relevant and more likely to move people to change behaviour. When people experience local climate impacts, their understanding increases as does their willingness to act.Closer to home, our country has experienced 9 of the 10 warmest years on record since 2005, and a heat wave in January broke records across the continent. We began this year with bushfires on the southern island of Tasmania and monsoon flooding in parts of Northeastern Queensland in early February. Australia is battling the gamut of extreme weather linked to climate change. The images of North Queensland arid land flooding and the subsequent loss of livestock and livelihoods was just heartbreaking.If, like me, you can feel overwhelmed by this subject at times the Australian Psychology Society has developed a bunch of resources to help us cope with feeling anxious about climate change.It would seem to me that the best way to overcome the sense of helplessness and increase the feelings of empowerment when confronted with eco-anxiety is to get informed and get involved.