Grappling with Climate Change

Written by Sandra Olarte-Hayes, Director of Equity

My closest family and I have been in a weekly book club together throughout the pandemic as a way of staying connected from our respective parts of the country and to push ourselves to learn and grow. We have read books about issues that are important to us such as racism, restorative justice, politics, and the effects of technology on our brains. I am sure you will hear me talk about it again. Right now, we are reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, which weaves together indigenous wisdom and philosophy with the scientific studies of botany and ecology.

The book explores the relationship between humans and the natural world and makes clear how humanity’s overconsumption and lack of reciprocity with the Earth causes great harm. Coincidentally, our team at Colors of Austin Counseling recently started exploring some of these concepts in our monthly Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultation group. I want to share a bit of what we’ve explored because I think it relates to what many in our world are experiencing.

Climate change is on our minds

It became clear during our consultation group that our therapists are thinking about climate change a lot, both personally and professionally. A 2021 report from the American Psychological Association discusses how the increasing frequency of natural disasters is elevating rates of trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and depression as well as having community-wide impacts such as strain on social relationships, reduced social cohesion, and elevated rates of violence. The report also shares how “longer term climate change can cause equally significant mental health impacts. Heat can fuel mood and anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, vascular dementia, use of emergency mental health services, suicide, interpersonal aggression, and violence.” The report indicates that “drought can lead to stress, anxiety, depression, uncertainty, shame, humiliation, and suicide [and] air pollution has been linked to increased anxiety and use of mental health services, lower happiness and life satisfaction, and other negative well-being impacts.”

With each freeze this winter, our team heard about fear and trauma from last year’s winter storm. As summer arrives, we hear about the emergency energy conserving rolling summer blackouts much earlier in the summer than ever before. It can be a lot to stay present with our own existential fears about the future of the Earth and generations to come while also holding space for the anxiety of our community.

Apathy and hopelessness abound

Many in our discussion named that this topic and the uncertainty that surrounds it feel very difficult to sit with because there is a profound sense of helplessness. So much of the change that needs to happen to slow climate change and repair the damage would need to be taken on by systems and corporations greater than each of us individually. In the face of such helplessness and hopelessness, it sometimes feels easier to turn away from it, to think of something else. Helplessness and hopelessness can lead to apathy. It starts to feel inevitable. My sense is that many of you reading this might feel the same.

It is racialized

Anger was present. Climate change is inherently connected to privilege and oppression, where people in positions of power make decisions that impact the Earth and ultimately communities that experience marginalization. The American Psychological Association’s report states that “While the destructive impacts of climate change will be felt by everyone, the burdens will fall heavily on those oppressed by historic and present day social, economic, and political power dynamics [...] those who are economically disadvantaged, from communities of color, are indigenous, children, older, or women, have disabilities or pre-existing mental health conditions, or are outdoor workers may be more prone to mental health difficulties as climate change exacerbates pre-existing vulnerabilities.” Climate change will impact everyone, but it won’t impact us all the same.

Moving through despair

I will not pretend to know the path forward nor will I pretend that I do not oscillate between hopelessness and rage. You may know that I practice Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a type of therapy that focuses on opening up to our painful thoughts and feelings so that we can commit to actions that are in line with our most deeply held values and desires. You’ll hear me talk about it again. This is the lens through which I see my own pain and struggles and those of the people around me. In our pain we find what matters to us most and meaning. Experiencing that pain has its own value. So, while the discussion in our consultation group was uncomfortable and everyone acknowledged that it was painful, it felt important.

I’d like for all of us, myself included, to be present with this pain a little more…to really feel it. Dr. Wall Kimmerer quotes Joanna Macy, writing that “until we grieve for our planet we cannot love it – grieving is a sign of spiritual health. But it is not enough to weep for our lost landscapes; we have to put our hands in the earth to make ourselves whole again. Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy.”

In ACT, we focus on opening up to our feelings while taking action and I believe that taking values-based action, especially around social justice, helps us move through our feelings of despair. When I read Dr. Wall Kimmerer’s words, I hear that it is necessary to feel the pain and the despair so that we can reconnect with the present, with what matters, and with action, so that we don’t get stuck in hopelessness. Let us stay present with our hopelessness, let us feel it so that we can move into action, both big actions and small. Let us use these feelings to drive us towards change. At least that is what I am trying to do.