How Much Climate Anxiety Helps?

Death, Sex & Money

Slate Podcasts

Business, Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, Careers, Relationships, Sexuality

4.6 • 7.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2022

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

I take a walk with Britt Wray who studies the mental health effects of climate change, and we talk about how she overcame debilitating climate dread without turning away from the crisis.

Do you want to lessen your climate anxiety while also helping the planet? Britt says, "It's a crucial step to find community with others who can stand in the fire with you, who get it, who will mirror and validate the concerns and will never say you're overreacting." Here are some resources she suggests:

The Good Grief Network, modeled off of a 12-step program, hosts in-person meetings around climate anxiety and climate action. C onceivable Future hosts parties for people to talk about family planning in a warming world, and The All We Can Save Project offers a how-to guide on starting your own community talking group. Subscribe to Britt Wray's news letter Gen Dread, which is all about staying sane in the climate crisis.

Did you know we have a weekly email newsletter for the Death, Sex & Money community? Every Wednesday we send out podcast listening recommendations, fascinating letters from our inbox, and updates from the show. Sign up at deathsexmoney.org/newsletter, and follow the show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Got a story to share? Email us at [email protected].

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	We have 12 years to have a climate catastrophe.
0:07.0	Okay, 12 years from now my reproductive window is going to be pretty much closed.
0:16.0	And so it's this strange alignment between one biological clock and one planetary and political clock
0:25.0	that were one's urgency was making the other one feel all the more like a dilemma to act within.
0:33.0	This is Death, Sex, and Money.
0:36.0	The show from WNYC about the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more.
0:42.0	I'm Anna Seil.
0:45.0	I'm pumped for this rock.
0:47.0	Yeah, this is awesome. Can I carry something?
0:49.0	I met author and climate researcher Britt Rhaeg on a trailhead on the side of a two-lane road in the Santa Cruz mountains in California.
0:57.0	We'd asked her to take us to one of her favorite places to talk about her research into the mental health effects of climate change.
1:04.0	We're going into the Saratoga gap trail at the Casual Rock State Park.
1:09.0	It's a short hike. It has a flat plateau that we can set up from chairs on.
1:14.0	Britt has a PhD in science communications and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford.
1:20.0	She has a new book out called Generation Dread, Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis, which I really loved.
1:28.0	We all live on the same planet and are noticing different ways the changing climate is surrounding us.
1:34.0	But of course, each of our personal risks differ markedly depending on where we live and the amount of resources we and our communities have.
1:42.0	Britt and me, we've got a lot of power and access to resources comparatively.
1:48.0	I wanted to talk to Britt not about the effects of climate change on our physical environments, but on our psychology, which is what she researches.
1:57.0	Britt writes there's a pattern to how people incorporate climate threats.
2:02.0	Some experience mild climate anxiety, which might cause you to detach or become avoidant.
2:08.0	As it gets more severe, the anxiety can make it harder to function. What do I think about much else?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Slate Podcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Slate Podcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.