Last season, my fellow co-producers and I did a roundtable episode about eco-anxiety, where we explored our own triggers and coping mechanisms, and whether we retained any hope whatsoever with so much bad news constantly going around. I wanted to delve into this topic further and, via my association with another environmental organisation, I thought I knew who the perfect person would be - Dr Aura Goldman. Aura is a psychotherapist who, amongst other accolades, specialises in eco-anxiety and the plethora of other climate and environmental emotions that my fellow nature lovers may encounter. Listen to the episode here.
As someone who works in the environmental sector on a daily basis, I am prone to bouts of despair, grief and sometimes a complete lack of will to go on. Turns out, I’m not alone. There is heaps of research going into these feelings as the moment, and Aura shared some great resources that I’ve listed below. For this episode, I spoke to fellow environmentalists about the emotions they encounter due to their activism, and ran them past Aura as case studies. Her advice is awesome, and I hope that anyone who listens who has encountered these emotions themselves takes something from this episode - I kind of see it as a group therapy session for my fellow environmentalists! There are many nuggets of wisdom that I’ve taken away from this interview that I’ll be calling upon next time any of these emotions rear their head.
Here's a link to listen - I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic and whether you found the episode useful!
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Thanks for sharing, Hannah!
You're very welcome! Would love to think the conversation has a positive impact on others, as it did on me :)
Great piece @Hannah Mulvany
Big interface here with Conservation Optimism. We see our mission as supporting, empowering and enabling conservationists around the world, and we hear from many people who are suffering from anxiety and despair.
The framing for our messaging is very challenging, because we cannot, in all conscience, try to tell our friends and colleagues that the challenge is not as great as we all think it is (it is; it's probably greater!) nor that someone else will sort deal with the challenge (they won't). But we can assure people that they are not alone, and that, if we all work together and work at our best, that we genuinely believe that we can overcome these challenges, and that there is a place we can all get to that is diverse and healthy and resilient. Many conservation efforts are successful, lessons are being learnt, the challenge is great, but we have skills and talent and we're good at this!
We're holding a Summit in Oxford in the UK in September - three days of learning and inspiring and healing. Sign up if you're interested to know more - https://conservationoptimismsummit24.eventbrite.co.uk
We do not say 'don't worry' - anyone who is not worried probably doesn't understand the data! But we do say that there is real hope, that the worry and hard work is worth it. We need not despair; we can do this 🤗
Thanks so much for your comment and insight into this topic Jon! Being environmentally conscious can really take its toll, so I'm hoping that this conversation can have a similar effect on others as it had for me. I think the more good news that comes out of the environmental movement, the more drive we all get to keep going. That's why movements like Conservation Optimism and all the 'environmental good news' posts on social media are so motivating and important. Doom and gloom sells newspapers and drives web traffic, unfortunately, but good news stories are little slices of therapy in themselves!
I actually spoke at the very first Conservation Optimism Summit many, many moons ago when I was working for Wildscreen. My session was on how art can work hand in hand with conservation. I would love to come again but I'm waaaaay up in the north of Scotland with the seals, ospreys and dolphins these days and it's a bit harder for me to get down there. I wish you all the best with it though and hope I can attend again someday!