The starting point for this conversation guide was a specific situation – feeling overwhelmed when reading the news. However, the questions and materials can be adapted for climate distress in general, or in other specific circumstances.
The Conversation Starters below are questions or ideas to help us talk about our experiences, beliefs and feelings. Sometimes the topic in question is a little abstract or might be something we’re not used to talking about. Describing our personal experiences can help uncover some of those beliefs and feelings. Putting our experience into words and sharing it helps us take a step back and think about things we may have taken for granted. Listening to the experiences of others helps us realise we’re not alone, or to see things from another perspective. Usually, one or two conversation starters are plenty for one meeting.
Personal experiences of climate distress
Background
Climate distress is a general term. It refers to distressing feelings caused by exposure to the climate crisis. What that distress feels like might be different for each of us. The emotions and situations people find distressing might vary, so our first question aims to bring those personal experiences into the room. Some people might not have had this experience or might describe it in different terms, and that’s okay.
Conversation starters
Have you felt overwhelmed by the news? Describe what that was like for you.
Reconsidering how we think about distressing emotions
Background
Psychotherapist Rosemary Randal and her co-creators of Living with the Climate Crisis, say it is important to recognise that our feelings are valid and a normal response in these circumstances.
It’s important to recognise that these distressing feelings are normal. They originate in the threats that surround us. They are an appropriate response and don’t mean there is something wrong with you.
They also say:
It’s important not to deny this kind of pain. Listening to it and giving it space is usually the best way to move past its intensity and live with its beat more creatively. It will never go away completely but if you see it as an opportunity to reshape your life and live differently you will gradually find a place that can still hold hope, meaning and joy.
Rosemary Randall and others, The Carbon Conversation’s Guide to Living with the Climate Crisis Participan’s Handbook
Conversation starters
Allow participants to reflect on the quotes for a moment before responding with their thoughts.
Do you tend to push emotions away? What would it be like to listen to your emotions instead?
Coping in the moment of distress
There are things we can do at the moment to calm ourselves and create a little space to be able to listen to our feelings instead of pushing them away. Suggested practices include:
- validate your experience
- create a breathing space
- notice and name what is happening
- treat yourself with kindness and compassion
Conversations starters:
It is possible to experiment with the breathing space, or naming feelings together or in pairs, if that feels appropriate.
Participants might like to rehearse validating their feelings in pairs or individually, creating a script they can use in the future.
Ideas for building a new practice:
Background
It might be hard to imagine how the techniques could be used in a moment of panic or anxiety. It can take time and practice before something becomes a useful habit, or something you can call on in a moment of distress.
Prepare and practice when not feeling overwhelmed. Experiment and find something that helps you.
Experiment with small steps in a safe place to develop the skill or belief before beginning to practice in gradually more challenging situations. Building a habit takes time, patience and repetition before it becomes a part of you.
Is there something that worked in the past, in a different but comparable situation? Perhaps something you are already interested in or that fits with your philosophical or spiritual outlook? (maybe self-compassion or mindfulness for example).
Conversation starters
Allow participants to respond to the ideas for building a new practice. Does it fit with their experience with new habits or changing how they react to things?
Can you think of a time when you felt emotional distress and were able to cope? What helped then? Could it be useful in this situation?
Acknowledgements
The materials produced by Rosemary Randall and others for Carbon Conversations Living with the Climate Crisis have been extremely helpful in creating this guide.
The publication Coping with Climate Distress produced by the Australian Psychological Society has also been a great source of inspiration.