Stop Calling It “Climate Anxiety.” It’s Climate Dread.
Stop Calling It “Climate Anxiety.” It’s Climate Dread.
The phrase “climate dread” better legitimizes the real and tangible threat coming toward us.
cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/7482593
Mark Freed experienced growing dread due to the increasing wildfires near his home in California. He felt a sense of helplessness and searched for safer places to live, but still felt disaster was inevitable. Experts define dread as being heavier than anxiety since it involves a tangible threat. With climate change, people dread future extreme events and the consequences of inaction. Constantly focusing on doom and helplessness can cause paralysis. Taking small climate-friendly actions and community support can help transform dread into hope and empowerment. While dread spreads awareness, constant focus on it harms well-being. Therapists recommend acknowledging valid emotions while reconnecting with life's meaningful aspects through nature or hobbies. For Freed, routine and spending time with his dogs now makes life livable despite managed dread.
Stop calling it anything, and start working on it. This name calling fever is what's slowing us down.
No it isn't. We the average person can't do anything meaningful to stop this. The time to start working on it was 40 years ago.
No one can stop this alone anyway. You act only if you can do it on your own? It’s time to act collectively, organize people around you.
Not for the collapse of capitalism but to make it softer and working already on getting up without going into capitalism again
Fair enough.
Finding a name or phrase that describes a shared experience is the definitely not slowing us down. To me and many others it actually gives power and motivation
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