Episode 79

[FOCUS] Eco Anxiety

Episode Summary: Have you ever experienced eco-anxiety? You are not alone and there are things you can actually do to help deal with the issue.  This episode is an excerpt from a past episode on eco-anxiety and fungus

Did you know that eco-anxiety is when you worry a lot about the environment and the future of the planet? As we are talking more and more about environmental issues, eco-anxiety is a feeling that more and more people are experiencing. Imma and Jenn came together to discuss this problem and share some tips on how to deal with the issue.  

Listen to the full episode here 

For more information on the project and to order your copy of the Carbon Almanac, visit thecarbonalmanac.org

Want to join in the conversation?

Visit thecarbonalmanac.org/podcasts and send us a voice message on this episode or any other climate-related ideas and perspectives.

Don’t Take Our Word For It, Look It Up!

You can find out more on pages 154, 155 of the Carbon Almanac and on the website you can tap the footnotes link and type in 252

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Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Jenn Swanson and Imma Lopez

From Langley in British Columbia, Canada, Jenn is a Minister, Coach, Writer and Community Connector, helping people help themselves.  

Imma is from Cádiz in the South of Spain, living in Aberdeen, Scotland. Imma is a sommelier, a poet, a podcaster, a mother, a slow food advocate, and an animist activist.

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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater.

Transcript
JENN:

It's a, it's a term now, you know, it's eco anxiety is when you are.

JENN:

When you worry a lot or all the time about the environment

JENN:

or the future of the planet.

JENN:

And a lot of people seem to be suffering from it these days.

JENN:

So I'm glad to hear it's not happening to you all day

JENN:

because it does for some people.

INMA:

Yes, is easy to, fall into and in spite of of listen in the

INMA:

news all day about talking about climate change and then feeling, uh,

INMA:

disempowered to be able to do anything.

INMA:

And then if it gets worse, you go get guilty.

INMA:

And it's just like a cycle of, of dis empowerment.

INMA:

You kind of lose your agency to really see that you can do something about it.

JENN:

Yeah.

JENN:

Sometimes it feels like you can't, it's so big.

JENN:

It's so big that it's so hard to know where to even begin.

JENN:

That's why we're here.

INMA:

Yeah.

INMA:

Yeah.

INMA:

, to give people bite-size of things that are not so overwhelming

INMA:

that you actually can do.

JENN:

Right.

JENN:

And do you know, there's some terminology associated with eco anxiety?

JENN:

There's some new words and they're kinda hard to say and kind of hard

JENN:

to spell, but there's one of them.

JENN:

That's SOLSAGIA S-O-L-S-A-L-G-I-A it's to use, to describe emotional

JENN:

distress about climate change, um,

JENN:

SOLSALGIA And then, uh, the other one is called TOPOPHILIA,

JENN:

which is T-O-P-O-P-H-I-L-I-A.

JENN:

And that's to describe your bond with the environment, um, your,

JENN:

your emotional ties to a place so...

JENN:

to particular place.

INMA:

Yeah.

JENN:

Yeah.

JENN:

Philia means love,

INMA:

Yeah,

INMA:

And relationships.

INMA:

So, Yeah.

JENN:

Yeah.

JENN:

So I didn't even know there were words associated with that until I started

JENN:

looking up, , they're actual terminologies that have evolved because of how

JENN:

worried people are about the planet.

INMA:

I read a book from Solnit, Erica Solnit that speaks about

INMA:

us in the moment of crisis.

INMA:

And what she found out, , with her research was that in the moment

INMA:

of panic or in a moment of crisis, people tend to paralyze themselves.

INMA:

And what she found that I was exactly the opposite that people tend to get focused

INMA:

on action and act to solve problems.

INMA:

When, when I was reading, I

INMA:

read all the people and articles about it and it gives me hope because it

INMA:

means that

INMA:

if everyone act these big, big problems can be reduced to what we

INMA:

can do, we actually can do and hope.

JENN:

Yeah.

JENN:

Sometimes I say we're not human beings.

JENN:

We're human doings.

JENN:

So there, there are four things that we can do if you're feeling

JENN:

anxious about eco anxiety.

JENN:

And the first one is to talk about it.

JENN:

Like we're doing today Inma, to talk about your feelings.

JENN:

And, and sometimes you can get some, you can find out other people feel

JENN:

the same way, which as you say, can, can bring up ideas and maybe

JENN:

you can do something about it.

INMA:

Well, I feel, I feel really well when, when I'm having these

INMA:

conversations with you and with rest.

INMA:

It feels like it doesn't disappear.

INMA:

It brings to the present moment.

INMA:

And between the two of us can come up with something that we certainly can do.

JENN:

Right.

JENN:

The second thing you can do is to take a break because sometimes it's everywhere.

JENN:

Like you say, it's on the news.

JENN:

It's in the papers.

JENN:

That's, it's everywhere.

JENN:

And sometimes it's time to do something fun or do something else.

JENN:

Um, play with a puppy.

JENN:

I don't know, but that is different.

LYNN:

You've been listening to Karbon sessions, a podcast with carbon

LYNN:

conversations for every day, with everyone from everywhere in the world.

LYNN:

We'd love you to join the carbon sessions so YouTube can share your

LYNN:

perspectives from wherever you are.

LYNN:

This is a great way for our community to learn from your ideas and

LYNN:

experiences, connect and take action.

LYNN:

If you want to add your voice to the conversation, go to the carbon.

LYNN:

Dot org slash podcast and sign up to be part of a future episode.

LYNN:

This podcast is also part of the carbon Almanac network for more

LYNN:

information, to sign up for the emails, to join the movement and

LYNN:

to order your copy of the carbon Almanac, go to the carbon almanac.org.

LYNN:

Be sure to subscribe and join us here again.

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When it comes to the climate, we don’t need more marketing or anxiety. We need established facts and a plan for collective action.

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