CLIMATE CHANGE & PSYCHOLOGICAL RESILIENCE Olive Dempsey MA, CPCC Green+Leaders Program Energy and Environmental Sustainability Team

What is the relationship between climate change and our mental health? Why does our psychological resilience matter? How can we cultivate it?

“Ambient Stressors”

Climate Change and (y)our Mental Health Ecological Guilt Threat to our belief in a reliable future Scope and scale of the problem ‘Bliss-ease’

Why Psychological Resilience?

“Dangers to their survival move living systems to evolve. When feedback tells them-- and continues to tell them-- that their old forms and behaviors have become dysfunctional, they respond by changing.” Dr. Joanna Macy

Cultivating Psychological Resilience Within psychology…resilience refers to inner strengths and coping resources for necessary adaptation to situational demands.

Cultivating Psychological Resilience Acknowledge & accept what’s happening Reframe positive vs negative emotions Connect with others Get involved/take action Nurture relationships with nature

Acknowledge & Accept The bravest thing is to take this first step: get real… Dr. Susanne Moser, Getting Real About It: Facing the psychological and social demands of a world in distress

Reframe Positive vs Negative Emotions “Touching the place of our pain is also touching the place of our caring” Dr. Tara Brach, Psychotherapist, author, meditation teacher

Connect with Others “There is a long tradition in health and social work of ‘using groups to help people’, creating safe, non-judgmental spaces where people can explore a common problem and work out a personal solution.” CarbonConversations.org

Get Involved & Take action “Emerging evidence shows that individuals who are actively involved in climate change adaptation or mitigation…experience appreciable health and well- being benefit..., ” The US Global Change Research Program

Nurture Relationships with Nature “Attention [to nature] is that doorway to gratitude, the doorway to wonder, the doorway to reciprocity… it broadens the notion of what it is to be a human person, not just a consumer…” Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, environmental biology professor & director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment

Resources Climate_Change_Full_3_23.pdf Climate_Change_Full_3_23.pdf kimmerer-the-intelligence-in-all-kinds-of- life/ kimmerer-the-intelligence-in-all-kinds-of- life/8446