Lifting the Cloud Off Climate Change – Even for HSPs by Alex Arnold

Guest article by Alex Arnold

Vermont, USA, early March, I am looking out the window and there is no snow. Tears come up and in just a few seconds, I feel the whole world changing and this huge weight on my shoulders. There is sadness, anger, fear, and an intense frustration for not knowing what to do about it. Then there is judgment and guilt, because my pain is due to very selfish reasons: I love cross-country skiing, and the peace and magic of a cold snowy day (noticing the details of individual snowflakes is extra special for HSPs!). Now, well over a month before the “normal” end of winter here, I’m trapped inside and bored from going on the same muddy walk with my dog every day. So I cry some more.

As a highly sensitive person, you may relate to this feeling of being overwhelmed by so many emotions and thoughts that you don’t even remember what triggered you in the first place - especially when it comes to what is happening to our planet. You are not alone.

In fact, you are one of more and more people, including non-HSPs, experiencing climate anxiety, or eco-grief, or eco-distress. In the past few decades, we have had to come up with new words to describe the wide range and complexity of emotions that people experience in the face of climate change. Some of these terms are even recognized by the American Psychological Association ―not as diagnoses, but as very real responses to our changing environment.

According to Dr. Stowe, Co‑Director of the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements and Executive Director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, the most important impact individuals can have on climate change is by increasing "climate conversations". And now, we not only have new words, we also have new tools to do so. You may still be skeptical, but please read on, and I promise that even as an HSP, you’ll feel glad that you did.

Why are we stuck? If we are not careful, conversations on this topic can quickly take a turn for the worse: sharing the latest, most distressing news about yet another weather-related catastrophe or the alarming rate at which we are losing habitats and biodiversity.

We automatically notice and absorb all the negative news about the climate crisis. When we go in that direction, of course we are overwhelmed, especially as sensitives. Our brains are wired to react to such messages in one of three ways: fight, flight, or freeze. Neither of these options are helpful to the planet. This is why alarmist messages don’t work. At best, they fuel apathy, denial, or misdirected anger.

Yet there is hope. With fields like positive psychology booming in the last four decades, we have learned much about what works to engage people into sustainable action. What science tells us is that in order to be most motivated, collaborative, innovative, or productive, our brains first need to feel safe.

Yes, you heard right: you need to feel good before you can do good. According to Barbara Fredrickson‘s research, generating micro moments of positive emotions is how you create a spiral of positivity. Does this sound like a climate conversation you’re willing to have?

Try it for yourself: for 5 minutes, search the internet for “climate crisis” and read a few headlines, watch a few photos… Then pause for a moment and ask yourself: On a scale of 1 to 10, how ready are you to fight the war against climate change?

Now, as cliché as this may sound, take 5 minutes (or as long as you want!) to watch puppy or kitten videos. Then consider, on a scale of 1 to 10, how motivated you are to take a tiny step toward building a sustainable future where all living things and the planet are thriving?

Congratulations! You have just planted a seed of positive change.

This exercise seems rather small and insignificant, but confidence comes with small wins. By learning tools to manage stress and overwhelm, like with Julie Bjelland’s free “Tools to Help the Sensitive Thrive in a Chaotic World” course, you become able to have climate conversations that matter.

With practice and support, you can learn to focus on what you want, instead of what you don’t want, on what works, instead of what doesn’t work. You start noticing that using “climate change” instead of “climate crisis” makes a difference in the conversations and the feelings that arise in you and those around you.

What’s more, with the help of a climate coach (a coach who supports individuals to engage with the climate situation in a variety of ways, big or small), you can find (or rather remember) what truly matters to you, what your skills and strengths are, and what makes you feel alive. Through powerful questions, reflection and exercises, you might want to explore activities that truly resonate with you and that you are confident you are capable of achieving.

If you doubt that your skills or interests can make an impact, think again. In today’s global, virtual, complex world, everything is connected. You don’t need to be on the front lines, buy an electric car, get into politics, or become a vegetarian. You just need to be you.

And guess what, you’re encouraged to have fun along the way! In fact, as we’ve seen, it is when you make space for all the challenging emotions, when you allow yourself to take a deep breath, when you take care of yourself, when you do what you love, and when you surround yourself with like-minded people, that’s when you are the most courageous, optimistic, confident, inspired, and ready to take action.

To dip your toes into a topic that may have left you frozen or stuck until now, please check out my self-paced, online course “Lifting the Cloud off Climate Change”. You’ll find some vulnerability on my part, validation, a bit of science, and journal prompts. Dedicate an hour to extract a tip or a tool to apply right away, or spread it out over several days to find deeper insights from the suggested activities. If you want a thinking partner along the way, reach out to schedule a climate coaching session with me. Please mention that you heard about the course from Julie Bjelland’s blog.

---

Alex (she/her) Arnold, MS Psych, ACC, is a Personal Development and Climate Coach for sensitives who are struggling with anxiety and helplessness related to climate change. Learn more at www.climate-coaching.com.

---