Resources

Your grief has a name.

Feeling sad, angry, hopeless, and/or confused are all natural reactions to devastating environmental changes and their resulting consequences for all living beings. Ecological (eco) grief, eco-anxiety, environmental depression, and climate depression are terms used to describe the psychological responses to climate change and environmental destruction.

You are not alone.

People who care about the environment usually feel strongly. This quality, which may help lead to a career in environmental advocacy or protection, can also make one susceptible to pain and anger when faced with environmental catastrophes, setbacks, or slow progress.

Constant exposure to difficult information and scenes can lead to burnout and damage to the psyche. Suppressing feelings doesn’t help. Environmentalists may feel ashamed to talk about their emotions, pressure to keep “doing the work”, or guilt for falling short of their own or others’ expectations.

We need to discuss our complicated feelings systematically and openly. Regular conversation and support is essential, not only to being effective, but also to surviving and thriving in life and work.

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Below are articles & resources that have been helpful to me

• PRI, The World. “Is climate change causing us to experience ‘ecological grief’?”
• The Guardian, “How scientists are coping with ‘ecological grief.’”
• Resilience, “Practices for Eco-Grief.”
• Undark, “It’s Time to Talk About Ecological Grief.’
• Is This How You Feel? The Scientists.
• Eco-Anxious
• Good Grief Network
• Climate Awakening
• Gen Dread
  • Specifically, this diverse and thorough resource compilation.
• One Earth Sangha