The first book to tackle the growing phenomenon of eco-anxiety. Written by a psychoanalyst, with a foreword from Caroline Hickman from the Climate Psychology Alliance, this book offers emotional tools and strategies to ease anxiety by taking positive action on a personal and community level. A Guide to Eco-Anxiety outlines a manifesto for action, connection and hope. Showing how to harness anxiety for positive action, as well as effective ways to reduce your personal carbon footprint. The most powerful thing we can do to combat climate change is to talk about it and act collectively. But despite it being an emergency, most people don't bring climate change into conversation in everyday life. The book explores the health impact of experiencing eco-anxiety, grief and trauma, and signposts recommended treatments and therapies. It also tackles practical issues such as: why it's important to reduce plastic waste; parenting and the choice to have a family; which is more effective to bring your carbon footprint down, go vegan or fly less? The book will cultivate a pragmatic form of hope by offering a dynamic toolkit packed with practical ways to connect with community and systemic support, self-care practices to ease the symptoms of anxiety, and strategies to spread awareness and - crucially - bring about change.

Gen Z's first "existential toolkit" for combating eco-guilt and burnout while advocating for climate justice. A youth movement is reenergizing global environmental activism. The “climate generation”—late millennials and iGen, or Generation Z—is demanding that policy makers and government leaders take immediate action to address the dire outcomes predicted by climate science. Those inheriting our planet’s environmental problems expect to encounter challenges, but they may not have the skills to grapple with the feelings of powerlessness and despair that may arise when they confront this seemingly intractable situation. Drawing on a decade of experience leading and teaching in college environmental studies programs, Sarah Jaquette Ray has created an “existential tool kit” for the climate generation. Combining insights from psychology, sociology, social movements, mindfulness, and the environmental humanities, Ray explains why and how we need to let go of eco-guilt, resist burnout, and cultivate resilience while advocating for climate justice. A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety is the essential guidebook for the climate generation—and perhaps the rest of us—as we confront the greatest environmental threat of our time.

“Generation Dread is a vital and deeply compelling read.”—Adam McKay, award-winning writer, director, and producer (Vice, Succession, Don’t Look Up) “Read this courageous book.”—Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything “Wray shows finally that meaningful living is possible even in the face of that which threatens to extinguish life itself.”—Dr. Gabor Maté, author of When the Body Says No When we’re faced with record-breaking temperatures, worsening wildfires, more severe storms, and other devastating effects of climate change, feelings of anxiety and despair are normal. In Generation Dread, Britt Wray reminds us that our distress is, at its heart, a sign of our connection to and love for the world. The first step toward becoming a steward of the planet is connecting with our climate emotions—seeing them as a sign of our humanity and empathy and learning how to live with them. Britt Wray, a scientist and expert on the psychological impacts of the climate crisis, brilliantly weaves together research, insight from climate-aware therapists, and personal experience, to illuminate how we can connect with others, find purpose, and thrive in a warming, climate-unsettled world.

It's hard to watch the news, scroll through social media, or listen to the radio without hearing or seeing something disturbing about the climate emergency. This can trigger all sorts of emotions: worry, anger, sadness, guilt, and even grief but also often over-looked positive emotions like motivation, connection, care, and abundance that support mental health and climate action for sustainable longevity. Written by psychologists with extensive experience in treating people with eco-anxiety, this book shows you how to harness these emotions, validate them, and transform them into positive action. It enables you to assess and understand your psychological responses to the climate crisis and move away from unhealthy defence mechanisms, such as denial and avoidance. Ultimately, it shows that the solution to both climate anxiety and the climate crisis is the same - action that is sustainable for you and for the planet - and empowers you to take steps towards this.

From meteorologist and Peabody Award–winning journalist Bonnie Schneider, an innovative look at how climate change is already threatening our mental and physical health and practical tips for you to tackle these challenges head on. The impacts of climate change have become dire. Rising temperatures, volatile weather, and poor air quality affect our physical and mental health in dangerous new ways. From increasing the risk of infectious disease to amplifying emotional stress and anxiety—even the healthiest among us are at risk. Bonnie Schneider has tracked environmentally-linked physiological impacts throughout her career as a TV journalist, meteorologist, and the founder of Weather & Wellness©—a platform that explores the connection between weather, climate change, and health. In Taking the Heat, Schneider provides crucial advice from science experts and medical professionals to help you: -Cope with the mental anguish of “eco-anxiety” and other climate change fears for our planet’s future, particularly expressed by millennials and Gen-Z -Identify health hazards caused by extreme heat and air pollution that disproportionally affect low-income and minority communities -Uncover the science behind longer and stronger allergy seasons and learn new ways to reduce your risk of adverse allergic reactions -Detect the increased threat of dangerous pathogens lurking in unexpected places and why we may face future pandemics -Understand how seasonal fluctuations of sunlight, heat, and humidity can not only factor into feelings of depression and anxiety but also can trigger flare-ups for certain auto-immune diseases -Discover how meditation and mindfulness practices can ease the psychological stress that often occurs in the aftermath of devastating natural disasters -Explore how the Earth’s rising temperatures may rob you of restorative sleep and impair mental sharpness -Learn why increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere may reduce the availability of what you choose to eat; learn sustainable solutions—from food to fitness - And more! Anchored in the latest scientific research and filled with relatable first-person stories, this book is the one guide you need to navigate the future of your own health—mind, body, and spirit, in a rapidly changing environment.

Christians often don't know how to respond to the climate crisis and messages of possible destruction caused by human activity. Frances Ward shows how Christians can live and act with hope and faith in God in the face of eco-anxiety.

This imaginative and empowering book explores the ways that our emotions entangle us with climate change and offers strategies for engaging with climate anxiety that can contribute to social transformation. Climate educator Blanche Verlie draws on feminist, more-than-human and affect theories to argue that people in high-carbon societies need to learn to ‘live-with’ climate change: to appreciate that human lives are interconnected with the climate, and to cultivate the emotional capacities needed to respond to the climate crisis. Learning to Live with Climate Change explores the cultural, interpersonal and sociological dimensions of ecological distress. The book engages with Australia’s 2019/2020 ‘Black Summer’ of bushfires and smoke, undergraduate students’ experiences of climate change, and contemporary activist movements such as the youth strikes for climate. Verlie outlines how we can collectively attune to, live with, and respond to the unsettling realities of climate collapse while counteracting domineering ideals of ‘climate control.’ This impressive and timely work is both deeply philosophical and immediately practical. Its accessible style and real-world relevance ensure it will be valued by those researching, studying and working in diverse fields such as sustainability education, climate communication, human geography, cultural studies, environmental sociology and eco-psychology, as well as the broader public. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367441265, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.