Climate change and wellbeing

Drs. Caroline Gerin-Lajoie & Kerri Ritchie

The wildfires continue across Canada, most recently in Manitoba, and in the past few years, we have had fires from Newfoundland to BC. Climate disasters have increased. When disasters threaten or cause damage to the land we live on, this can have a big impact on our planet and on our souls. Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone discuss how we can coping through these types of events in their 2022 book Active Hope: How to face the mess we're in with unexpected resilience & creative power.   

In the face of disasters there are 3 different ways that people tend to respond:

1. Business as usual - for some people, if they and their loved ones are not in immediate danger, it may distant, because they are coping with so many other worries and concerns in their own lives and there is no room for any additional anxiety or fear.

   
   

2. The great unravelling - people can become psychologically paralyzed with anxiety and fear about the events that are happening in the country, and the world, and how these events can threaten the stability of all of our lives.

   
   

3. The great turning - occurs when people shift in their way of thinking. The focus becomes on the sustainability of all living beings, the ecosystem, and the planet.

   
   

Irrespective of the approach we use to get through what is happening around us, an antidote to despair is active hope. In particular active hope means finding some aspects that you can control and from that engaging in actions that align with your hope. For example, we can pay attention to recycling and composting, how might we reduce our own carbon footprint. We can look for opportunities to help clean beaches and parks or learn more about activities individually, as a family, or in community that can make small and meaningful changes.

What your ideas and plans to make your difference?