Turn the Tide on Climate Anxiety

Megan Kennedy-Woodard and Dr Patrick Kennedy-Williams are founders of Climate Psychologists, which provides individual therapeutic support and wider consultation regarding the mental health implications of climate change. They have done press work with The Guardian, Time Magazine, Vogue Business, ITV, BBC Radio 4, and The Times. They also teach Guardian Masterclasses. Patrick is a clinical psychologist and enjoys getting out into nature, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (sometimes), Italian food and cycling. Megan is a coaching psychologist who loves the mountains and the sea, could eat Mexican food for every meal and believes there is no such thing as 'too many pets'. Megan and Patrick live in Oxford with their two wild and wonderful children.

• CHAPTER 1: Turn the Tide on Climate Anxiety 8Incoming Waves: The support takes shape 12Setting sail: Our journey into climate psychology 18In the Wake of COVID-19: The Unavoidable Parallels 23How to get the most from this book 28CHAPTER 2: What we know about climate anxiety (and what we don't)32How widespread is climate anxiety? 33Is climate anxiety a mental health condition? 35Who does climate anxiety affect? 37The 'direct' and 'indirect' psychological effects of climate change 37Young people 39Earth scientists/sustainability workers 40Other predisposing factors? 41Receiving climate messages 42Facing the climate reality 43CHAPTER 3: Navigating my responses to climate change 50Understanding normal responses to threat50Understanding the Fight/Flight/Freeze (FFF) response 50Dizziness/Lightheadedness 51Racing thoughts 52Visual changes 52Dry mouth 52Breathing changes 52Racing heart53Sweaty palms 53"Butterflies", cramps and stomach ache 53Bladder urgency 54Take the test: Am I experiencing climate anxiety? 55Climate Change Anxiety Scale (CCAS).55What can I do with this information? 57CHAPTER 4: Climate Emotions 59Climate anxiety 61Climate Grief64Climate Anger67Climate Depression 68Climate Guilt69Positive climate emotions 71Saying 'Thank You' to your emotions 71CHAPTER 5: Defenses, biases and climate behavior74The psychological defenses 74The Five D's 75Distance 76Doom 77Dissonance 78Denial79iDentity 79My Five Ds 80Cognitive biases 81Confirmation bias 82Status quo bias 83The 'Thinking Trap' biases 84Emotional Reasoning 85"All or Nothing" Thinking 86The Mental Filter86Magnification and Minimization 87Personalization 87EXERCISE: Understanding your own Eco-Thinking Traps 88Doomscrolling - A digital rumination 89CHAPTER 6: Sending Signals; Communication about climate change and why it makes a difference 96"Climate change has an image problem." 101Community and connections 103EXERCISE: Strengthening your climate network 106Talking about climate change 107Narrative: The power of stories 109CHAPTER 7: Laying the foundations for action 116Finding attunement116Moving towards Mindfulness 117Scarcity versus abundance 121The role of self-efficacy 124Objects of Care 127Values 130The Signature Strengths Survey 131Challenging our (climate) thinking 134Stepping stone thoughts.134Overcoming Thinking Traps 138STOPP Technique 140Why self-care matters 143Getting outside (It's only natural)149CHAPTER 8: From anxiety to action 155Sustainable action 155What action should I take? 156Impact157Ease 159Meaning 160Motivating change in others 161Harnessing the power of 'Nudge' economics 162Are Nudges ethical? 164Some classic 'Green Nudges'165Nudging at the table 165The' Follow the crowd' effect166Nudges at work 167The Ethical Nudge project169The (potential) pitfalls of individual action 169Perfect gets nothing done 170Scheduling is self-care 172Hitting hard-reset173Values, goals and actions 177Consciously scheduling 179Signal and celebrate 183Feeling OK to feel OK 186S.E.T.B.A.C.K.s and how to respond to them 187The S.E.T.B.A.C.K. steps 188Staying well: Your blueprint (for a greener planet)190We, together, are unstoppable 191Endnotes and References 192

When it comes to climate action, the obstacles we face are no longer technological, they are primarily political and psychological in nature. Read "Turn the Tide on Climate Anxiety" and better understand those obstacles-doom, denial, and defeatism-- and how to circumnavigate them.