Eco anxiety in Perth

[Bookgirl]

Hi, we are in the middle of a horrible heatwave here and its causing me a lot of anxiety thinking about the future and generally just stressing out about it all.  Just seems so insurmountable and i feel overwhelmed.  My 15 year old son gets angry at me for being pessimistic but its hard to be optimistic when its over 40 degrees for a long time.  I just feel like i am sinking right now.

[Eagle Ray]

Dear Bookgirl,

Rather than googling about eco-anxiety, perhaps it would be better to look for stories about people who are being positive and pro-active. While some scientists may be crying, others are getting on with practical solutions and approaches. Your mind is intensely latching onto anything that suggests it confirms your worst fears. In science this is known as a confirmation bias - looking for data that supports an existing belief or perspective. It means you are only focussing narrowly on that which you think confirms the worst case scenario you are imagining. Your mind is catastrophising which creates more anxiety leading to more catastrophising in a never ending cycle.

You need something to ground you and bring you back into a balanced perspective. Yes, climate change has begun to be disruptive in various ways and will continue to present challenges, but there will be increasing adaptations over time. The doom scenario that your parents gave you as a child is playing out over and over in your mind.

It would really help to get to the root causes of your level of anxiety. It may be partly how you were brought up, a disposition you inherited and even physiological factors such as the hormonal imbalance issues I mentioned before can contribute to major anxiety. I can’t know the definitive answer to all that drives your anxiety, but that is something you can take responsibility for. You can discuss it with your psychologist and GP and do some research and self-reflection. Sometimes patterns like anxiety can even get passed down intergenerationally until someone along the line changes the pattern.

Importantly, your son right now needs you to be his mum - a wise, guiding parent. Your parents may not have always provided the greatest feelings of security from what you have described, and most likely not intentionally either as so much behaviour is unconscious. But you can become conscious and have agency in your own life in terms of how you view and respond to things. Understanding why you are reacting the way you are may be the beginning of finding the key to unlocking the anxiety trap you are stuck in. Ultimately you have to quest to understand yourself, engage your own curiosity about what is happening for you and why.

You can do that Bookgirl. It takes courage to break patterns but there is a different reality out there that is far less pessimistic than the one that is currently in your thoughts.

Best wishes,

ER

[Bookgirl]

My main issue is that it is on average 28 degrees here in Autumn over the next 7 days. Nobody is talking about it in the media and its not normal at all. Its 6 degrees over the average. No one is explaining it. Its like if we say nothing then no one will notice.  Its like a heatwave in Autumn. I can't read the news or look at the weather now but if i go outside i know how warm it is. In the Eastern States its autumn as normal. Here its not. I just despair over it all. My son made me sit down and write down a list of things I appreciate yesterday. He is a treasure. Its my birthday today and i feel so depressed about life in general. I am terrified of what winter will bring. My sister got ugg boots for mothers day and i thought what is the use of that? What if its never cool again in WA? Its hard not to catastrophise when everything is bleak at the moment in terms of the facts.  I came to work today but can't really concentrate. I am trying but its so hard at the moment to feel any hope.

[Eagle Ray]

Hi Bookgirl,

Yes, it is very warm, above average weather forecast for the next week for this time of year. And, yes, climate change is absolutely real. I'm not denying any of those things. But it is not true that no one is aware or addressing it. I have just read a report on a farmer's website that specifically refers to the record warm days in Perth in May. Articles on the ABC website, the UWA website etc have indicated that this trend was expected. It is about coming to terms with reality.

As I have mentioned, there are people working on alternative, more climate-wise approaches, technologies, initiatives etc. We are going to face changes whether we like it or not. Part of life is accepting that some things happen that are bigger than we can control as a totality. But what we can develop some control over are our own responses and also the things that are within our scope to do, contribute etc.

I was diagnosed with an autoimmune liver disease that progressively destroys the bile ducts in late 2020. I was initially given a poor prognosis and told I would most likely require a liver transplant in 10 years. I could have given up, believing everything is terrible now, my future is doomed, and collapsed in the face of it. But I went about my own extensive research, found my prognosis was not necessarily that bad, and through the research found a practitioner who had the knowledge and expertise to stabilise my liver readings. I had to make a choice for hope. If I didn't, then I most likely would have deteriorated my condition to a point it would have become a self-fulfilling prophecy and I needed a liver transplant.

What I am trying to say is you have to own your situation and take responsibility for emotional responses. No one else can do that for you. I understand that emotional responses can be involuntary, and anxiety is very much like that. I have Complex PTSD and I have strong fear responses in relation to people and frequently believe I am in danger. But I have worked on it enough now that I have an observer self that can see when it's happening, and I'm gradually learning to go in to comfort the frightened child part of myself. Little by little you can begin to direct your own responses and bring them more into the voluntary realm.

You may find some benefit in looking into approaches that see how we are made up of different parts. One of these approaches is Internal Family Systems. In this approach there are no bad parts, just parts trying to do a job within us. A part that is especially vigilant is protecting something in us, very often linked to early life experiences. If you can start to see and acknowledge the role this part is playing in your reality, you may begin to be able to do something about the current level of distress and anxiety you are feeling. When a particular part is super active and feeling strong emotions, we often take this to be the whole of us when it is just a part. I listened to a good podcast on this topic this morning  - The CPTSD Podcast with Tabatha Bird Weaver talking to Terry Baranski - Your Inner Parts and Healing From CPTSD, Parts 1 & 2.

I have suggested multiple avenues now that you can investigate in relation your anxiety responses. It really comes down to you exploring options and questing to find answers, seeking professional help where necessary. Your son is right to look at gratitude and when we can truly feel gratitude it can melt a lot of the tension we carry. When we fully allow gratitude it allows us to move away from contracting around fear and instead feeling expansion in our heart. See if you can feel that difference, even just a little, which is a starting point. For me, yesterday, hanging out the washing, I found mushrooms growing up in my lawn. The spores survived the dry spell and new life is emerging. I am grateful for their presence.

Wishing you all the best,

ER

[Bookgirl]

I know i need to work on things myself and i will try. Just having a bad spiral at the moment. I am listening. It just takes me some time sometimes to come out the other side of the spiral and start being more logical and less emotional. Its hard to change 50 years of thinking. 55 years today in fact. Its like hard wiring you are trying to rewire. I have people around me now who support me where i didn't before which helps and before i never used to tell anyone my thoughts. When pessimism is so ingrained in you its hard to be positive. But i am trying.

[Eagle Ray]

Hi Bookgirl,

Happy Birthday! I hope you managed to do something nice for today. I know you are trying and I know it’s really hard. I only understood the world as scary from the beginning of life and I’m only just starting to really adjust to a less fearful way of being, so I realise it is monumental to shift a lifetime pattern. It’s really good you have support as it makes such a difference.

There is a book called It Didn’t Start With You by Mark Wolynn. It looks at how patterns get passed down via epigenetics across generations. From what you’ve described your parents had a strong tendency towards an anxious, pessimistic view of things. You likely took a lot of that on just by absorbing their way of being, but it’s also possible for tendencies to be transmitted via epigenetics which relates to not the genes themselves but the protein packaging on the genes which can switch gene expression on and off. The good news with that is genes that have been switched on in relation to a particular tendency can also be switched off again. Essentially that’s what I’m trying to do with my fear responses. We are now understood to be way more malleable beings than was once thought. I haven’t read the book yet but I’ve listened to interviews with Mark Wolynn and it sounds very interesting. I know it includes things on patterns of obsessive thoughts being passed down. So I just thought I’d mention it in case it is helpful. He focusses on how to break the inherited family patterns.

If it makes you feel any better, I’ve had Splendid Fairy Wrens hopping about my garden the last two days. I saw Emu Wrens yesterday too. We’ve had more rain here than you have so things are coming back to life. I saw a little Quenda (Southern Brown Bandicoot) when on a walk across the road this afternoon and I have a Western Ringtail Possum climb over my roof at dusk and dawn everyday.  So although it’s been tough for the animals, they are still about and showing they have been resilient.

Take good care,

ER

[Bookgirl]

I love fairy wrens.  I guess my issue is because all of this change seems to have happened all of a sudden. Last year was ok and this year isn't.  I am trying to take it day by day.  I know i can't change anything. I guess its part of the grieving process. I am in denial and anger stage at the moment. I don't want it to happen but it is and it will regardless of what i say or do. Maybe this weather will be the thing that will finally get governments doing something. Will get those old politicians to care about something other than making money or war.  

[Eagle Ray]

Hi Bookgirl,

Yes, Fairy Wrens are delightful. I have watched them snuggling together on a branch. They can be very affectionate but also feisty too. Last year I actually had an Emu Wren land on my elbow while I was lying down on a bench having a rest by the river.

I know the change in weather may seem sudden, but it’s been going on for sometime. In 2011-2014 there were very big impacts in the landscape then in south-west WA. That’s when I first was really impacted myself and felt quite shocked by what I saw. As someone who goes into nature a lot and photographs it, I experienced very directly what was happening. But I went through the realisation and awareness, then a kind of grieving and acceptance. But even in the decades before that the reduction in rainfall in the region is evident. So I’ve accepted now this is how it is, things will change and humans and other creatures will have to find ways to adapt. I find by orienting towards the positive things people are doing, it is far more encouraging. And things have changed significantly over recent years. The uptake of electric vehicles continues to increase, a vast number of people and businesses now use solar panels, and some even if not all resource companies are changing aspects of their practices. It’s unfortunate the failure of governments to take decisive action sooner, but it is beginning to happen more. The economic realities of not addressing climate change are hitting home more (something insurance companies have been ahead of everyone on) and it means a realisation that all aspects - social, economic, health etc are dependent on the issue being addressed.

I think in life we have to break things down into chunks we can manage, as taking on entire global issues is too overwhelming. Often there are things we can focus on locally to support climate initiatives in manageable ways. Even something like going to Farmer’s Markets and supporting local producers where fewer emissions are involved in the transport of goods and farmers with sustainable practices often sell their produce. Climate change solutions require thinking creatively, and there are such people out there who are quite inspiring with various new initiatives, inventions etc. Craig Reucassel has covered some great initiatives in his documentaries on the ABC. One of the best antidotes to feeling stressed is being creative and curious about what is possible.

Life is such a valuable gift, so if you can get up each day and see a world of possibility as opposed to a world of gloom, it is possible to really live and get the most out of life. It’s important not to put pressure on yourself, such as trying to save the whole world. But more focusing on what smaller things you can do that make a difference and finding ways to enjoy this moment now. When we can find peace in this moment, we automatically start to create more peace and hope in future moments.

Take care,

ER

[Eagle Ray]

Hello again Bookgirl,

I was just reading the thread Store Your Happy Memories Here that Croix started in the Staying Well section. It is a place to share memories you recall with fondness and peace. Croix suggested I share there sometime ago and it was very helpful at providing a sense of calm. I just thought I’d mention it in case you may find it helpful. There’s no pressure to contribute. I just thought it may be a helpful way to find some peace for you as going into happy memories can help bring all the good feelings associated with them.

[Bookgirl]

I will have a look.  I struggle in the mornings when i wake up so it may be something i can do to help.  I think what has happened is that climate change has been very abstract and it was happening to people "over there" and now its here and its all become very real all of a sudden.  I came to work today even though i feel awful. Am trying to push myself rather than just lay in bed and ruminate.

[Eagle Ray]

Hi Bookgirl,

I think you are describing how I felt a decade ago when I too went from the abstract to the reality which was after a particular visit to the Perth Hills in March 2014. I was very aware of what was happening in the landscape where a great deal of vegetation had died. I did go and visit there in subsequent years and there had been a reasonable recovery a few years later. So I think this is the cycling that we will see as ecosystems do their best to adapt.

But I get the initial impact of seeing climate change in action. For those of us who are highly sensitive people, we feel it as much as know it. But I think feeling sad for what's happening and coming to terms with the reality and then focussing on positives is the only way to move forward. At the moment I can see mosses coming up after some rain here and that the birds are quite active and enjoying some moisture in the environment again.

Sometimes the best antidote to rumination is doing something, so I wonder if even writing a list of things you can actively do may be helpful? Your son's idea of writing down things you feel gratitude for is a great one. I just mentioned the "Store Your Happy Memories Here" thread as by going back into a happy memory it often automatically reignites the good feelings you had at the time and can shift you out of a depressive, ruminative state. It can actually shift the autonomic state in your body. But you may have your own strategies you can develop that really work for you.

Take care and I hope you can find some things that bring you some peace,

ER