Freaked About Climate Change? 7 Ways to Cope

Podcast listener Trevor from British Columbia imagined the future of our planet. Buckle your seat belt, because it wasn’t pretty. Trevor reports, “I saw the great forests I grew up around all burned. I saw superstorms and heat-stroke deaths claiming hundreds of thousands every year. I saw food shortages turning people violent and mass migrations whipping up xenophobic fervor and fascist autocracies. All I can see is destruction on the scale of what happened to the indigenous communities in North America after 1492.” 

“How,” he concluded, “can I not despair?”

After I peeled myself off the floor, I looked into the research. Then I peeled myself off the floor again. The very first study I found, in the uber-prestigious journal Nature, linked increased global temperatures to suicide. My floor and I can’t take much more of this.

Climate change is a perfect storm (no pun intended) because it hits human nature square in the gut: when faced with dire threats, we humans tend to react in one of three ways. In the first option, we deny. When prospects seem dire and hopeless, some of us cope by sticking our heads in the sand. We protect ourselves from going numb and hopeless by whistling through the superstorm.

The second option? We despair. It’s hard to find hope or feel personally effective when the speed and scale of the crisis seem so overwhelming. Indeed, who can truly comprehend the disappearance of coastal cities and not feel helpless and insignificant?

Thankfully, human nature allows us a third option: we double down. With denial or despair, our flame is snuffed out. But sometimes tough situations act as an imperative—instead of burning out, our flame burns brighter. 

I won’t pretend to solve climate change in 15 minutes or less, but this week, let’s talk about seven ways to deal with your climate change despair. 

7 Ways to Cope with Climate Change

1. It’s okay to feel horrible.
2. But remember that worry isn’t an action.
3. Don’t give up on small steps, but don’t rely on them, either.
4. Keep a lid on the zealotry.
5. Focus on what we’ll gain.
6. Get to know your neighbors.
7. Remember humanity is scrappy.

Here they are in more detail. 

Tip #1: It’s okay to feel horrible.

It’s absolutely understandable to feel whipsawed and powerless. Not only that, feeling awful is actually a necessary...

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