20/08/2020

(AU) Climate Grief Expected To Be Widespread Soon But It's Still Not Openly Acknowledged

ABC Health & Wellbeing | Paige Cockburn

Those who suffer from climate grief don't always feel their grief is worthy which leads to complications. (AAP: Dean Lewins) 

Feeling miserable, anxious, helpless and just generally terrible because the world is becoming less habitable? You're not alone.

The good news is there are strategies that may help you cope. The bad news is the pandemic we're now facing may test your passion and enthusiasm for climate action.

For the past 18 months, Canadian scientist Kurtis Baute says he has been dealing with a lot of 'climate grief'.

"Basically I can't stop thinking about the fact that millions of people, real people, are dying or will die because of something that is completely unavoidable," he recently announced on his YouTube channel.

"We can stop using fossil fuels but so far we've completely failed to do so...it feels completely out of control and it's depressing."

Kurtis Baute recently sought out professional help to cope with his despair about climate change. (Supplied: Kurtis Baute)

Climate grief — or eco anxiety/despair — is a strong psychological response to the current and future loss of habitats, species and ecosystems.

It's recognised by the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and sufferers may feel emotions like fear, anger, guilt, shame, grief, loss and helplessness.

It can be related to the direct impacts of climate change, such as drought or bushfire. But it can also take the form of a sense of doom or even existential crisis about our warming world.

In some ways it's a lot like the grief we experience when someone dies.

The health industry predicts it will be common place in the next 10 years.

The danger of unvalidated grief

Climate grief is often categorised as a form of disenfranchised grief which means it isn't always publicly or openly acknowledged.

"There's no ritual around loss of environment," says Tristan Snell, a counselling psychologist and researcher in environmental psychology at Deakin University.

Make just one change...
"When you lose someone, there's a funeral and all sorts of ways people connect and this helps process that loss. That's just not the case for loss of environment."

People experiencing disenfranchised grief can feel unsupported or ashamed, and consequently can be very reluctant to talk with friends, family or a professional.

"People may feel this isn't something someone else can help with," says Dr Snell.

This can then snowball into major physical and mental health problems.

Some will feel this more than others

Researchers, including Dr Snell, are currently trying to gauge the mental health impacts of climate change and recent climate-related events on Australians with this survey which you can get involved in.

However, the latest research says that if you're between 15 and 24-years-old you are at higher risk of feeling climate grief, with almost half of young Victorians feel extremely frustrated, fearful, sad and outraged about climate change.

Young Australians are particularly vulnerable to climate grief as their future is at stake. (ABC News: Jedda Costa)

Dr Snell says the issue is also pressing for younger children and unfortunately they won't be able to handle grief as well.

"What usually helps is expressing it, talking about it, making sense of it. But that's really hard for young children," he says.

"I don't know if we have the right language in our culture to recognise and express grief related to climate change, so it makes it really hard for adults and even harder for children."

Feeling homesick when you're home

'Solastalgia' is a term coined by the Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht to describe the feeling of homesickness, even when you're at home, due to climate change.

Those who depend on the land for their livelihood are very susceptible to this kind of loss.

An interview series with farmers in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia revealed the ecological grief that comes with wind erosion, which is a consequence of persistent dryness.
"[Losing the farm] would be like a death. Yeah, there would be a grieving process because the farm embodies everything that the family farm is [...] And I think if we were to lose it, it would be like losing a person ... but it would be sadder than losing a person," one farmer said.
While no research on climate grief among Australian Indigenous people exists, interviews with Inuit communities in Canada speak volumes about the disruption to cultural identity when the land changes.
"It's hurting in a way. It's hurting in a lot of ways. Because I kinda think I'm not going to show my grandkids the way we used to do it. It's hurting me. It's hurting me big time. And I just keep that to myself," one Inuit said.
The realisation that the world must be relearned is particularly disruptive for Indigenous people, and healthcare professionals predict they will be the hardest hit by climate change-related mental health issues in the future.

Grief may lead to burnout

The impact of COVID-19 on those who struggle with any form of eco grief is still unknown but psychologists are looking for answers.

Dr Snell predicts that some people may feel more positive about COVID-19 related changes — like working from home — enabling us to reduce our environmental impact.

But the APS emphasises others may experience burnout from the combined stress of the pandemic and climate change.

Your planet

This could in turn trigger cynicism and a loss of purpose and energy, and could even undermine enthusiasm for climate action.

There are certain aspects of climate change action that can make people particularly vulnerable to burnout, including the slow pace of progress and having to work against resistance (for example of the fossil fuel industry).

How to cope

Clinical psychologists are developing strategies to help people work through climate grief, but research is still quite limited.

However you may find the follow tactics help with feelings of emotional distress:
  • Gather trusted and authoritative information on the topic to ensure your knowledge on climate change is correct
  • Become more environmentally engaged by getting involved in land care or tree planting for example — taking action to better the planet is thought to relieve some anticipatory grief
  • Spend time in nature to remind yourself it's a source of strength
  • Talk with like-minded family or friends and if needed, seek professional help
For Mr Baute, finding a therapist who was responsive to the concept of climate grief has helped with his anxiety and helplessness.

"This is a really serious problem for a lot of people .... and [the therapist] is helping me navigate the emotions," he says.

"Again, these emotions are entirely rational, it's an extreme situation, and it's reasonable that we would be having an extreme emotional response."

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