Thread by @neilsimpson85

I've written an article for @ExtinctionR that attempts to make sense of the struggles I experience when I try to talk to friends/family about the #climatecrisis. I hope it'll help others so I'm going to summarise it a bit here #mentalhealth rebellion.global/blog/2022/06/0…

Some responses I've had when I talk honestly about climate change. Any of these familiar?!

💩 U need to calm down
💩 You’re catastrophising
💩 Have u considered talking to a therapist about this?
💩 Scientists are human; they don’t know everything

I do not wish to calm down.

Therapist @LindaAspey says in order for humans to get through the day, we've developed all sorts of coping processes to stay feeling safe:

🙈 Distancing
🙈 Intellectualisation
🙈 Deflection
🙈 Disavowal

These apply when someone tries to bring up #climatechange.

Clinical Psychologist Dr Gareth Morgan @uniofleicester describes these processes as #threatresponses.

We all perform threat responses, usually involuntarily. We instinctively perform them for good reasons: We want to protect ourselves + our loved ones.

#Capitalism necessitates individualisation so that we keep consuming. 

Dr Morgan: "What we don’t need is more 1-to-1 therapy, or more pathologising of individuals. What we do need [are] more opportunities to bring people together, + more collective action."

Ppl who try to individualise #ecoanxiety are simply offering what seems a logical solution: most of us have been raised in societies that value individuals over community. Got a mental problem? Buy therapy + pills! 💊

Climate crisis anxiety is rational. U are not unwell.

If your personal community is struggling to support u, it is crucial that u find like-minded communities.

The @ClimatePsychol (@ClimateNa in North America) can help. They run #climatecafes + training to set up your own.

Or, u know, just search climate cafés on @ecosia.

Don't pull away from your loved ones. If we divide off into tribes, the climate + ecological crisis gets harder to tackle.

@KHayhoe: "Connecting with one another is how we change ourselves, how we change others, + ultimately, how we change the world. It’s contagious."

Apocalypse mood board inspo:

🕺 Your loved ones will listen to u before some random, unfamiliar environment expert

🕺🏽 U will not trigger earth-shattering epiphanies with your genius environmental arguments, but u might plant a seed

More tips: rebellion.global/blog/2020/12/0…

And finally, here's Buddhism + deep ecology scholar #JoannaMacy with her take on why it is so important to keep talking about these feelings:

“Of all the dangers we face, from climate change to nuclear wars, none is so great as the deadening of our response.”