Climate anxiety

[Lottie585]

I find myself looking at my newborn baby and my 2 year old and worrying about the life that they are going to lead in the face of governments who do not seem to think that more needs to be done to combat climate change. I try to reason with myself that a lot of mums in other generations may have felt that the world would fail their darling children too such as mums alive during wartime or historically when infant mortality rate was high. However, I think back to my wonderful childhood and I am fearful that my children will not have the same experiences I have been so lucky to have and worry about the state of the planet.
Am I alone?
How do others combat this feeling?

Thank you there are very practical ideas. I have emailed my MP ☺️.

Nobody here can help you. You need professional help.

The OP has already said she found some of the suggestions helpful.

Stop pathologizing a perfectly normal and rational reaction.

OP - one thing to appreciate is how lucky our children are compared to many others around the world. For example, if our children had been born in Palestine, they may well be dead by now. If they'd been born to a poor family in Africa or India, they'd be growing up without enough food, without sufficient health care and education and probably having to work while still children.
Going back to the issue of climate change, again, we're very lucky in this country in that our temperatures are usually quite low so the predicted 2 to 3 degree increase won't be life threatening. Yes, we'll see many more extreme weather events such as flooding, but again we're lucky to live in a relatively wealthy country that's preparing for this and investing in the future. I know this because, as I said, my DH is a climate change professor who advises the government. His focus is on preparing the country for climate change/extreme weather and adapting to it. A huge amount is being done by the government to ensure we're resilient to future climate change.
The areas that will suffer the most are places like Africa and the Middle East. They already suffer terribly with droughts and failing crops because of their extreme weather. This will get much worse in the future. Some places will simply become uninhabitable. We'll see a rise in refugees trying to move to cooler climates. These poor people will be greeted with hostility as they try to relocate.
My DH remains optimistic despite everything as he believes human beings are very adaptable and can find creative solutions to problems.

Thank you so much for your reassuring message and to your husband for the work he does. You have helped me put my fears into perspective today and I completely agree with you on all the other problems in the world. I find it very hard to watch the news. It sounds like your husband has a very worthwhile and interesting job. I have been watching the Earth shot prize this evening and it's lovely to see the positive creative solutions people are coming up with.

Look up Parents for Future - really supportive group of parents across the country facing the climate crisis with community, creativity and collective action.

Thank you so much for your reassuring message and to your husband for the work he does. You have helped me put my fears into perspective today and I completely agree with you on all the other problems in the world. I find it very hard to watch the news. It sounds like your husband has a very worthwhile and interesting job. I have been watching the Earth shot prize this evening and it's lovely to see the positive creative solutions people are coming up with.

I can't worry about climate change when war is more likely to affect our children. To some extent they're interlinked but I don't get climate activists who ignore what eg Russia is doing. What is war doing to the climate? To dolphins in the Black Sea? What about getting behind defence spending to deter war as part of the climate issue?

I agree with a lot of what @SallyWD says. Rather than despairing about your children’s future, remember that they are already incredibly fortunate and have huge advantages. They live in a country that is wealthy, generally safe and law abiding. They have at least one parent who cares deeply for them. They have a warm bed to sleep in, a home to live in, running water in the taps, safe and reliable electricity supply. They have access to free healthcare and education. They already have way, way more than billions of children around the world. While we are all vulnerable to the huge upheavals, your children - and mine and most of us on here - are best placed to weather the storms to come.

I totally forgot about the ozone layer! That was massive a few decades ago!

I find it helps to know you at least are doing something to lower your carbon footprint. Be part of the solution, even if you by yourself don't have that much impact. If everybody did it, there would be a tremendous impact. It starts with individuals.
Some suggestions; buy used goods whenever possible, improve the energy efficiency of your home, walk and take public transport as much as you can. If you drive and can afford it, get an electric or hybrid vehicle.
Lead by example. You can also join environmental action groups or donate to them.

I get you totally and my dh in particular has suffered from “climate anxiety” - he still does but is better at dealing with it these days and getting on with life

he has thrown himself into a small (and not very effective if we’re honest) pressure group- he’s met some good friends that way and he finds discussing it all with them cathartic

you’re 100% right to be concerned and the vast majority of people seem to have their heads entirely in the sand. However it’s governments and big corporations that need to actually do something, what you and I do will make virtually no difference which makes it all the more depressing

am not worried at all by climate change as most of it is overblown hyperbole with little of what you hear in the news having any basis in science or reality.

Oh dear. What news do you watch?

Please read some climate science using sources such as the IPCC, Nature Journal, almost any university in the world

Who works for government and big corporations? SMEs?

People.

Make the change from within.

A handful of people in a company of 140 employees are responsible for starting all the climate action in my company. With good communication, it is not difficult to get people on board.

This cartoon feels appropriate at this point:
https://www.climateinteractive.org/blog/the-no-regrets-climate-approach/

Worry is an attitude of mind with which many people struggle. The thing being worried over can vary from year to year (I remember when it was the Cuban missile crisis, and I lived through extremely dark days of the Troubles in NI) but for most of us the act of worrying itself is the most damaging aspect of it, rather than the thing being worried over.

See if you can get some help to stop or at least lessen your propensity to worry. It will pay dividends in the future.
best wishes to you and your family xx

This isn't the thread or the section for you

Maybe go off and read the Light again, down your rabbit hole

You are quite right

however from my conversations with people we are a long way off changing mindsets especially as, as another poster mentions, there are also huge downsides to trying to achieve an unobtainable Net Zero, most notably living standard, freedoms and prosperity for the population
I don’t necessarily agree with this but it is certainly what a lot of people think

OP, I recognise I am very privileged to be able to do so but dh and I have chosen to make changes to our lives to massively lessen our personal carbon footprint. Specifically, moving to a house (we were moving anyway) which we could get properly insulated, then put in 14 solar panels and a heatpump and switch off the gas. Switched to electric car. Invest in wind power (look up Ripple) which gives us lower energy bills. Feeling like we are doing the right thing personally definitely helps with the general anxiety.

ps OP these threads tend to get taken over by climate change deniers which isn’t helpful, happy to PM

It's a scam. Don't fall for it.

Exhibit A @Clearinguptheclutter 😂😂😂