Talk To Me: I lie awake at night worrying about climate change 

Psychologist Caroline Martin is here to answer your questions on whatever issues you are dealing with in life, from work pressure and stress to loneliness and grief

Picture: iStock 

I am deeply concerned about the growing climate crisis. I’ve two young children and worry about their future. I dream about moving into the countryside and becoming self-sufficient. My husband says I’m overreacting and correctly points out that neither of us has the skills to run a smallholding. Most days, I can put my anxiety to one side and get on with life but there are nights when I lie awake feeling helpless about lies ahead.

When we are faced with enormous threat to our existence and don’t know how to fix it, we naturally feel overwhelmed. This will manifest in various ways, some predetermined by previous life experience, our social context, our age and our gender. Some of us will get angry, perhaps deny the threat exists - others will feel great anguish and psychological pain and disengage. These are valid responses to a threat of this magnitude. Your grave concern and sense of helplessness fit because you are human and deeply appreciate the planet on which we live. We feel a sense of despair because we care intensely about our world that is threatened.

Unlike Covid, climate change has been more gradual - the pace has allowed us to adapt and become familiar with these changes. This has given some of us a false sense of security as the ravages of the climate crisis have remained to a large extent ‘far away’ temporally or geographically. Recently, the gravitas of the situation has been felt more locally with images of dried-up riverbeds in Europe, wildfires on Irish hills where wildlife roam, and coastal flooding.

The climate crisis is undoubtedly a call to action and we need to guard against overwhelm. The energy required to sustain these actions will soon be depleted if we do not practice gratitude regularly. It can feel counterintuitive to pause at a time of deep restlessness. However, intentionally pausing, being present, and bringing your attention to the beauty in your world is, in fact, radical. As you do so, you may notice your climate-conscious community widening, perhaps including your children, other family members and friends. You may find yourself being invited into other climate-aware circles. We need to talk about how important our planet is so that people care more. When we care, we take action.

Shifting our focus to gratitude ensures our reserves are maintained, it also creates a calm space into which others can step. We need to generate spaces that enable us to talk to each other. As Dr Randall Mindy asks in the Netflix movie, Don’t Look Up, ‘How do we even talk to each other? What’ve we done to ourselves? How do we fix it?’.

Without these spaces to explore and talk about the painful realities of the climate crisis, we are at risk of psychological numbing, preventing us from taking action. When we fail to acknowledge the extent of our turmoil, we can feel alone in our pain and out of step with reality. It is highly likely that you will find like-minded people in your community. Recent studies suggest we vastly underestimate the level of interest in others to take steps to address the climate crisis. This misperception that we are alone with our worries often stops us from taking action. When we become aware of the extent of effort and progress, we feel more hopeful and have a greater sense of belief in our own contribution.

So, while you may not be in a position to move house and start a smallholding, you can influence change. One of the most powerful ways is to have positive, constructive conversations with people in your life. These conversations help others see the situation with new eyes. Discussions about how climate change impacts you as a mortgage holder, a mother and so on will resonate with other parents and homeowners. Consider your areas of interest, perhaps you are a sailor, hiker, or baker, and talk to people you share those spaces with about how climate change affects each of these pursuits.

The US TV show personality Mister Rogers cites his mother’s advice when he encourages people to “look for the helpers” when faced with alarming images or information. Offering examples of companies, countries and individuals taking steps to tackle climate change helps ensure they do not panic and freeze.

Talking about what you are doing and what your children’s schools are doing is a powerful predictor of other people’s actions. Sharing our successes is key to increasing a collective sense of belief in our ability to influence change. Whether you join a community group, initiate an energy cooperative, sign up for a Greening FET course in a local ETB, or head to a nearby allotment, action your worry, connect to others and build your sphere of influence.

In the words of author and climate change activist Katharine Wilkinson: ‘It’s a magnificent time to be alive at a moment that matters so much.’

• If you have a question for Caroline, please send it to [e-mail]

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