FERNWOOD FITNESS - PULSE eMagazine - Issue#7 - Flipbook - Page 52
The moment of connec琀椀on with the reality
of the climate crisis has been labelled by
Psychologist Dr. Sarah Anne Edwards and
Lindy Buzzel as “Waking up Syndrome”;
a consciousness raising that is extremely
destabilising. We feel a rush of complex and
painful emo琀椀ons that can feel overwhelming
and impossible to process. For many of us the
enormity of the climate crisis is too much,
and rather than turning towards the emo琀椀ons,
we turn away. Paradoxically it’s when we avoid
and deny how we feel that it becomes most
painful. Unfortunately avoiding our climate
emo琀椀ons does not mean a climate emergency
is not occurring.
Labels such as “eco anxiety” and “climate
anxiety” are becoming more prevalent, however
they are o昀琀en misconstrued as a pathology
or a clinical condi琀椀on. It is crucial to stress
that climate distress is a normal and healthy
response to the frightening ecological threats
we are facing. Climate psychology research
consistently tells us that we should be feeling
distress; that if we are not feeling some level
of fear or grief, we are in denial. Research tells
us that rather than suppressing our distress, we
need to open up to these emo琀椀ons and accept
them as an inevitable response to the climate
crisis. Australian Climate Scien琀椀st Joelle Gergi
describes this beau琀椀fully:
“When we are finally willing to
accept feelings of intense lossfor ourselves, the planet, and
every child’s future- we can use
the intensity of our emotional
response to finally propel us into
action. We must have the heart
and the courage to be moved by
what we see. Because the truth is
that life as we know it hangs in
the balance; every fraction of a
degree of warming matters.”
This message is reinforced by psychological
associa琀椀ons across the world; the Australian
Psychological Society (APS), the Royal
Australian and New Zealand College of
Psychiatry (RANZCP), the Climate Psychology
Alliance (CPA), Psychology for a Safe Climate
(PSC) and the American Psychological
Associa琀椀on (APA) to name just a few.
The emo琀椀ons associated with the climate crisis
are so unique and complex it can be di昀케cult
to make sense of them. This is problema琀椀c,
as the labelling and understanding of our
emo琀椀ons play a signi昀椀cant role in our capacity
to understand, process and regulate. Australian
Environmental Philosopher Glenn Albrecht
has created a climate vocabulary; new words,
for a new world. He describes terms such as
“terrafurie” (protec琀椀ve anger and rage targeted
to those who command the forces of earth
destruc琀椀on), “solastalgia” (the grief experienced
through lived experience of environmental
change) eco paralysis (feelings of powerlessness
to do anything meaningful to posi琀椀vely a昀昀ect
climate change), “琀椀erratrauma” (the moment
when you experience sudden and trauma琀椀c
environmental change such as, a bulldozer
demolishing bushland or a 昀椀re destroying your
local area), and” terradread” (the experience of
angst, nausea and despair when empathising
with those who will exist within a future state
of climate faced with the constant risk of
catastrophe). These terms help to validate and
make sense of our emo琀椀onal responses.