Hitting a new low point

[Awhina24]

For the last few months, I'm so anxious that I can barely remember to eat, I have nightmares almost every single night, wake up drenched in sweat and my digestive system is a mess.

I feel absolutely frozen in fear, have constant knots in my stomach and burst into tears near daily.

A few years ago I accidentally fell pregnant and now have a 4 year old despite never really wanting children. Now I'm scared constantly for my child's future. I didn't realize how bad climate change would get in my lifetime, every day seems to bring a new disaster or bleak looking report on how bad things will get. My husband does not share my concerns, nor do most my family. I have no idea how to talk to any of them about it.

I go to therapy and while my therapist does not dismiss my concerns she says I need to find ways to accept uncertainty and my beliefs about the future.

I'm terrified that there is no liveable future, that myself my child and family will die in a famine or be killed in some violent manner, or die of heatstroke or in a fire in just a few years time. We live in Melbourne and I'm dreading the coming summers. Even if I try to distract myself with gardening, hiking, craft, playing with my child, reading, housework or volunteering I'm constantly thinking about ecological collapse and feeling like humanity is doomed.

I struggle to maintain any sanity throughout the day. Right now I'm shaking and want to throw up. I want some kind of hope. I want my family nearby (they all live in another country). Often I want to go to sleep and not wake up.

I'm on medication but I don't think it's really helping much beyond numbing some feelings at times.

[therising]

Hi Awhina24

My heart goes out to you as you face the challenge of being such a truly beautiful highly conscious deeply feeling person.

There are so many people, from all walks of life, working so incredibly hard on having a positive impact when it comes to climate change. Their approaches can all be different. Some (including scientists) will only report on positive ground breaking work. Some will only speak of what we can do to make a positive difference. Others are more inclined to use scare tactics. Kind of like 'Here's how bad it's going to get...You need to wake up!'. So, they give us alarming information to 'wake us up' with. Such tactics can be terrifying. I'm not a fan of these tactics, especially when I consider how much fear/terror they put into our children. As a mum, I hate this approach.

When some people began their journey as environmentalists, they felt exactly how you feel, which is what led them to become intensely driven pioneers of positive change. They began their quest for change partly out of fear. They pushed and pushed for change until changes began being made. There are still pushes and changes happening today. While we've seen CFCs banned, recycling bins introduced into households, climate summits bringing world leaders together (holding them accountable), alternative energy resources being explored, produced and invested in, the world has already changed for the better. I like to think there are even greater positive changes on the horizon. I like to visualise such changes as incredible, amazing, inspirational and ones that are going to see this planet breathe a great sigh of relief. Btw, I'm someone who can at times suffer through my imagination so I have to be incredibly careful and conscious when it comes to the kind of imagery I see through my imagination. I also have to be careful and conscious with what I let people put in there.

If your fear goes on to be felt as some driving force, leading you to become and environmental activist (someone who acts on behalf of the earth you love), so important to steer clear of people who conjure terrifying imagery. Find groups/resources that inspire.

[geoff]

Hello Awhina24, this fear you are having is one that has been going from the past generation to the next and then to the next and so on, as I remember my grandmother saying exactly the same and it is always a fair comment, because the future is not what we know, just as my grandmother the same applied.

Imagine how she would have felt about talking on a mobile, having an air fryer, let alone gas for cars and being able to talk on skype, the same will apply with us as what the next generation does is beyond us.

With what happens, we slowly become accustomised to it and then adjust.

Geoff.

Life Member.

[therising]

Hi Awhina24

Should add, I just watched a new segment where a climate change expert was interviewed. I felt angry by the end of the interview. While it was an interview that was about 'preparing for the worst', I waited and waited for the woman being interviewed to say something along the lines of 'While all that sounds a bit doom and gloom, this is what's happening behind the scenes when it comes to scientists/activists working to make a positive difference' but, nup, that was it. That's where the interview ended, throwing back to the interviewer announcing with a sad voice 'Well, that sound dire'. Again, I was so angry when it came to how anxiety inducing and depressing that segment was with a serious lack of balance. As I thought of you, I felt for you so deeply as they only offered half the story. It was never balanced with anything positive. Nothing at all. It becomes our choice, after such horrible news broadcasts, to research the positives our self.

As my son looks forward to studying marine biology at uni, he remains a passionate person longing to make a positive difference to our oceans. There are so many out there like him, people who refuse to sit back while a positive differences needs to be made. Such people are an inspiration to us as well as being great leaders.