by Martina Leeven
Registered Counselling Psychologist and Accredited EMDR Consultant


Feeling anxious about the changing climate?

Recent heatwaves have once again brought to the fore concerns about the changing climate and what this might mean for us more specifically here in the UK. It is easy to believe the climate crisis is happening to other people far away, but with increased periods of drought, heat and flooding, we can begin to picture more clearly some of the increasing risks we face. These worries can feel overwhelming and often people prefer not to talk about the climate crisis due to a fear of overwhelm and a sense of helplessness to change it.

We can experience a range of feelings like anger or fear; or we may feel grief, guilt, and a wish to turn away or shut it out. The wish to protect ourselves from the pain is natural, and we may prefer to hide in a ‘bubble’ in an attempt to feel safe and secure. All these responses are normal and depend on our past experiences and how much room we have inside to engage in what feels insurmountable and unchangeable.

So why should we engage with our climate fears? Why not just ignore them ‘because we can’t do anything about it anyway’?

As a psychologist specialised in trauma, I spend a lot of time thinking about our stress response and how it activates the nervous system, creating all kinds of issues for us- both psychological and physical. When we chronically turn away from our internal discomfort, we may get relief in the short term, but over time this can leave us less resilient to meet life’s continued challenges. Our ‘window of tolerance’ shrinks. If we hold past unprocessed trauma in addition, it may mean we don’t have sufficient space to move through current and future events with resilience, instead we feel crippled by anxiety and depression, or seek out numbing distractions.

A trauma approach looks at how we can turn towards uncomfortable feelings and begin to face our fears in a safe and supported space, increasing our tolerance once again and making us more resilient to act in the here and now.

When it comes to climate anxiety, most people are surprised to find that they feel better talking about it, contrary to their initial fear that it will make matters worse. Sharing with supportive others helps to co-regulate our nervous systems as does naming and feeling previously unnamed feelings. This is what Climate Cafés & Listening Circles are about: a facilitated yet open and confidential space for people to speak freely about their feelings related to the climate and biodiversity loss we face. The space is not for talking about what to do or how to do it, rather it is making space to explore the felt experience. Beyond the cafe this can enable movement from silence or stuckness into what might include a period of grieving, which can then give way to constructive steps towards positive action.

When we avoid, we feel powerless, whereas when we engage with feelings there is movement towards connection and change. Many people find they then move towards a natural state of ‘oscillation’ between attending to difficult feelings, and periods of respite or moving away from doing this inner work. Self-care is paramount as the climate crisis is on-going and unfolding before us, and this can present real challenges for our nervous system. The on-going nature of this crisis means we can constantly anticipate disaster, leaving us in an activated state of pre-traumatic stress. We need a range of tools and resources to help us manage this and Climate Cafes are one such tool.

Climate Cafés were first run by the Climate Psychology Alliance (CPA) back in 2019, based on the model of the Death Café founded by Jon Underwood in 2011, attempting to make space to talk about taboo topics that were socially silenced.

‘While not therapy groups, they offer a hybrid liminal space that has a broadly therapeutic intention.’ – Gillian Broad

I have been facilitating Climate Cafés adapted from the CPA model for a few years now, specifically for therapists in order to give mental health practitioners a space to address their feelings and thereby be in a better position to support others who may wish to talk about theirs. When we as mental health practitioners turn away, we collude in a collective silence, and it is our job to open up and tune in and create spaces for people to share their concerns, including those about the ecological crisis unfolding. This can feel challenging as we are all in it, even if we are unequally affected. Participants who have attended cafés expressed their experience with ending remarks including: ‘a relief to express feelings; hope; connection; validation; not feeling alone any longer, community, mobilising, awareness raising, anxiety reducing, feeling lighter, soothed by talking about it, re-energising’. Some people also noted that taking part and connecting with feelings made them aware of their anger and grief, which also felt validating and empowering.

If you’d like to attend a Climate Café to explore your feelings about the climate crisis, there are plenty around- some in local communities, and others online. The CPA hosts regular online cafés & listening circles for young people, parents and grandparents, and adults: find our events here.

The Association of Mental Health Providers are proud members of the Climate Minds Coalition.