Zoom Chat and Resources - Climate & Mind: Why Our Emotions & Psychology are Essential to Climate Change - January 9, 2022
Featured Speaker: Andrew Bryant
Resources from the Talk:
- Climate & Mind Web Site. Climate & Mind is managed by Andrew Bryant, a clinical social worker and psychotherapist (and our speaker!). About the site: We aim to explore how climate change impacts our thoughts, emotions, and behavior. We bring together resources and ideas from a range of disciplines (including social work, psychology, public health, education, anthropology, disaster mental health, and more) to help improve understanding and discussion about how humans cope with climate change and other ecological crises.
- PDF of Andrew's Presentation. A PDF of the PowerPoint presentation Andrew used to facilitate our discussion.
- Zoom Recording. Recording of our 90 minute discussion (including Andrew's presentation).
- Original Meetup Site. The Meetup site that has the original description and attendees for our Meetup.
Seattle Climate Change and Drawdown Seattle Resources:
- Zoom Recordings and Resources from All Conversations (Drawdown Seattle)
- Join the Basecamp Climate Solutions Conversations for ongoing discussion
- Seattle Climate Change Meetup Group (For future Meetups)
Resources Shared by Participants in the Chat:
- Eco-Grief Around the World. Environments are changing across continents. Journalist Mélissa Godin shares stories of ecological grief from Malawi to Australia for The Frontline.
- Gen Dread. Newsletter on Substack focused on Eco Grief. We all need tools for how to cope with our dangerous climate reality and cultivate resilience in these times.
- The Work That Reconnects Network. The Work that Reconnects helps people discover and experience their innate connections with each other and the self-healing powers of the web of life, transforming despair and overwhelm into inspired, collaborative action.
- Joanna Macy and Her Work. Joanna Macy PH.D, Author and Teacher, is a scholar of Buddhism, systems thinking and deep ecology. A respected voice in movements for peace, justice and ecology, she interweaves her scholarship with learnings from six decades of activism.
- 99 Good News Stories from 2021 You Probably Didn't Hear About. If you were asked to list the top global news stories of 2021, off the top of your head, what would they be? Chances are you’d come up with some combination of COVID-19, economic woes, political conflict, Afghanistan, natural disasters, and maybe some space billionaires and Free Britney thrown in for good measure. Oh, and don’t forget the Suez Canal!
- The Ministry for the Future. The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will affect us all. Its setting is not a desolate, post apocalyptic world, but a future that is almost upon us. Chosen by Barack Obama as one of his favorite books of the year, this extraordinary novel from visionary science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson will change the way you think about the climate crisis.
- Our Next Discussion: On the Ground in Glasgow at COP 26: Reflections of a Climate Activist. Presenter: Luke Henkel. Luke, who is studying his Master's Degree in Environmental Justice in Scotland, was lucky to be in Glasgow for last year's COP 26 Summit. In this session, Luke will share his experience being their on the ground, in the streets, and at some of the public sessions. Join us for a spirited talk with plenty of time for questions.
Full Chat Log:
00:24:14 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Here is where we will share the recording, the presentation, and curated chat. You can find all previous conversations here as well: https://drawdownseattle.org/conversations/
00:31:37 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Is there a name for a “fear of climate”?
00:33:25 Brooke (SF, CA): link between covid and climate?
00:34:13 Brooke (SF, CA): all goes hand in hand seems
00:34:34 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://gendread.substack.com/
00:35:16 Brooke (SF, CA): ah CBT think feel act
00:46:36 Sarah H: Andrew, do you notice different levels of concern among different age groups in your practice?
00:47:31 Carlyn Saunders: Any studies conducted with children (<18)?
00:49:36 Kurt Hanish: I used to be more anxious about it than I am now, so now I feel more guilt about not being anxious enough.
00:50:06 laurazeffer: Fear/concern/anxiety for sure, but also the RESENTMENT of all the businesses/persons/lifestyles/political decision makers etc that young people must feel in addition.
00:50:28 Thor Olson: Do you find the concerns about climate change are intertwined with asset inflation, income inequality, and similar problems?
00:53:40 Paul E Litwin: I swing from working hard in climate activism and feeling positive about change happening to complete pessimism and hopelessness. Is this common?
01:03:40 Amy Theobald: Can you say more about "bargaining" with respect to climate grief?
01:04:23 Suellen: One of the powerful things about working with Joanna Macy and participating in the Work that Reconnects is being able to express and listen to climate grief (and anger and fear and emptiness) within a community
01:04:26 laurazeffer: That would be me!
01:04:49 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): I definitely have climate guilt too!
01:05:32 Suellen: Work That Reconnects website:
01:05:38 Suellen: https://workthatreconnects.org
01:06:43 Thor Olson: Everyone I studied with in geology back in the 1980's went through a decade or so of depression. We saw this as the price of seeing the future.
01:06:59 Suellen: https://www.joannamacy.net/main
01:11:17 Annie Phillips: Great question, Scott. I was wondering when he would get there.
01:13:12 Suzanna Litwin: When Katherine Hayhoe said that we not only have a climate footprint but also a climate shadow, that stopped me in my tracks.
01:14:54 laurazeffer: Like all the flights I took in life… big giant sigh… True Suzanna. Shadow.
01:25:49 Primo: @Thor, Are there any sources/papers/talks/data we can read more this about and what we can expect if we continue on this path (from what you just shared)
01:26:13 Marcia Rorty, PhD: I’m wondering what Thor envisions 100 years from now the brings hope?
01:26:14 Thor Olson: Email me and I will respond.arolah@yahoo.com
01:26:41 Thor Olson: I have a story to tell.
01:26:59 Primo: I have ears to hear and listen more about it.
01:27:54 Thor Olson: 360-770-3163
01:28:20 Thor Olson: Have to warn you. It is a tough story to tell even if it has a happy ending.
01:29:33 Primo: I am ready for a mental shift and build a new narrative.
01:31:32 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): @Primo: On the narrative front, I highly recommend several resources to help on that front - Future Crunch.
01:31:33 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://futurecrunch.com/
01:31:49 Jae Geller: I am out saving trees by pulling ivy while listening
01:31:50 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://medium.com/future-crunch/99-goodnews-2021-2492e4fcacfb
01:31:52 Primo: Thanks a lot!
01:34:21 IeRM P. Schmidt-Pathmann: Denial is key. It seems that especially in politics there is a lot of denial which results in not addressing the actual problems and thus making the problems worse and escalating the mental health crisis originating from failure of politics and polices grows exponentially. Let’s be honest, between media, politics, policies, and special business interests who is watching out for the fast growing phsychological damage caused?
01:36:48 laurazeffer: Thank you, Andrew- so helpful to feel, think and discuss.
01:38:04 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Here is a Science Fiction narrative of the future from one of the more popular science fiction writers today: https://www.amazon.com/Ministry-Future-Kim-Stanley-Robinson-ebook/dp/B084FY1NXB
01:46:12 Primo: My condolences to you Thor wow im speechless
01:47:13 Paul E Litwin: The next meetup: https://www.meetup.com/SeattleClimateChange/events/283165483/
01:47:15 IeRM P. Schmidt-Pathmann: Thank you great session!
01:47:25 Robert Haynes: Thanks to Andrew for a great talk.
01:47:34 Shannon Markley: Really appreciate your work and this presentation.
00:31:37 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Is there a name for a “fear of climate”?
00:33:25 Brooke (SF, CA): link between covid and climate?
00:34:13 Brooke (SF, CA): all goes hand in hand seems
00:34:34 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://gendread.substack.com/
00:35:16 Brooke (SF, CA): ah CBT think feel act
00:46:36 Sarah H: Andrew, do you notice different levels of concern among different age groups in your practice?
00:47:31 Carlyn Saunders: Any studies conducted with children (<18)?
00:49:36 Kurt Hanish: I used to be more anxious about it than I am now, so now I feel more guilt about not being anxious enough.
00:50:06 laurazeffer: Fear/concern/anxiety for sure, but also the RESENTMENT of all the businesses/persons/lifestyles/political decision makers etc that young people must feel in addition.
00:50:28 Thor Olson: Do you find the concerns about climate change are intertwined with asset inflation, income inequality, and similar problems?
00:53:40 Paul E Litwin: I swing from working hard in climate activism and feeling positive about change happening to complete pessimism and hopelessness. Is this common?
01:03:40 Amy Theobald: Can you say more about "bargaining" with respect to climate grief?
01:04:23 Suellen: One of the powerful things about working with Joanna Macy and participating in the Work that Reconnects is being able to express and listen to climate grief (and anger and fear and emptiness) within a community
01:04:26 laurazeffer: That would be me!
01:04:49 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): I definitely have climate guilt too!
01:05:32 Suellen: Work That Reconnects website:
01:05:38 Suellen: https://workthatreconnects.org
01:06:43 Thor Olson: Everyone I studied with in geology back in the 1980's went through a decade or so of depression. We saw this as the price of seeing the future.
01:06:59 Suellen: https://www.joannamacy.net/main
01:11:17 Annie Phillips: Great question, Scott. I was wondering when he would get there.
01:13:12 Suzanna Litwin: When Katherine Hayhoe said that we not only have a climate footprint but also a climate shadow, that stopped me in my tracks.
01:14:54 laurazeffer: Like all the flights I took in life… big giant sigh… True Suzanna. Shadow.
01:25:49 Primo: @Thor, Are there any sources/papers/talks/data we can read more this about and what we can expect if we continue on this path (from what you just shared)
01:26:13 Marcia Rorty, PhD: I’m wondering what Thor envisions 100 years from now the brings hope?
01:26:14 Thor Olson: Email me and I will respond.arolah@yahoo.com
01:26:41 Thor Olson: I have a story to tell.
01:26:59 Primo: I have ears to hear and listen more about it.
01:27:54 Thor Olson: 360-770-3163
01:28:20 Thor Olson: Have to warn you. It is a tough story to tell even if it has a happy ending.
01:29:33 Primo: I am ready for a mental shift and build a new narrative.
01:31:32 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): @Primo: On the narrative front, I highly recommend several resources to help on that front - Future Crunch.
01:31:33 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://futurecrunch.com/
01:31:49 Jae Geller: I am out saving trees by pulling ivy while listening
01:31:50 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://medium.com/future-crunch/99-goodnews-2021-2492e4fcacfb
01:31:52 Primo: Thanks a lot!
01:34:21 IeRM P. Schmidt-Pathmann: Denial is key. It seems that especially in politics there is a lot of denial which results in not addressing the actual problems and thus making the problems worse and escalating the mental health crisis originating from failure of politics and polices grows exponentially. Let’s be honest, between media, politics, policies, and special business interests who is watching out for the fast growing phsychological damage caused?
01:36:48 laurazeffer: Thank you, Andrew- so helpful to feel, think and discuss.
01:38:04 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Here is a Science Fiction narrative of the future from one of the more popular science fiction writers today: https://www.amazon.com/Ministry-Future-Kim-Stanley-Robinson-ebook/dp/B084FY1NXB
01:46:12 Primo: My condolences to you Thor wow im speechless
01:47:13 Paul E Litwin: The next meetup: https://www.meetup.com/SeattleClimateChange/events/283165483/
01:47:15 IeRM P. Schmidt-Pathmann: Thank you great session!
01:47:25 Robert Haynes: Thanks to Andrew for a great talk.
01:47:34 Shannon Markley: Really appreciate your work and this presentation.