Yesterday I attended a brilliant webinar on eco anxiety with Catherine Ward, Lucy G. (Head of Sustainability, DHSC) and Samantha Schofield (Environment Coordinator, NHSBSA) who have created a collaboration between Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and partner agencies, including NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Health Research Authority (HRA).
Not only did it make all of us on the call feel better by pointing out that eco anxiety is completely normal, it also provided excellent practical tips on how to help turn this fear into hope and action.
I took so much away and I know how important it is to talk openly about eco-anxiety and support our own and others’ feelings as we continue to experience and witness the impacts of climate change.
The whole webinar reminded me of Stephen Covey’s Circle of Influence and how we can use this concept to alleviate unhelpful feelings of anxiety which can cause helplessness and hopelessness, by encouraging us to focus the things which are within our influence (of which there are many). The more proactive we are within our circle of influence, the larger this circle gets 👍
Key take aways from the webinar for me were:
➡️Eco-anxiety is a rational response to a real and immediate threat. The alternative is denial.
➡️In a YouGov poll from Global Future (2021), 78% of people in the UK reported some degree of eco-anxiety, with 41% being very much or extremely fearful, and is equally experienced across all demographic groups.
➡️There are 2 key areas to focus on to help us to deal with eco-anxiety:
1. Looking after your own mental wellbeing such as:
💚Reframing eco-anxiety as eco-compassion or eco-empathy (I love this as it really talks to my passion for connection between all living things!)
💚Avoiding too much exposure to bad news (doomscrolling)
💚Spending time in nature
💚Visit nature projects which will help you feel reassured that nature can be healed
2. Taking action to support nature, such as:
🌳Learn more about climate change – especially on mitigation and adaptation
🌳Reduce your carbon footprint – I love ‘There’s no Planet B’ book by Mike Berners-Lee for practical advice on steps we can all take
🌳Support organisations who are helping nature – through volunteering and other support
The team have been generous in sharing their materials and most of the above is from their work. Thank you again for an informative, reassuring and helpful session.
Corporate Influencer Club
4moThank you Saint-Gobain