4 Common Negative Emotions driving your Climate Anxiety and how to FLIP them into something Healthier and more Sustainable for you and the Planet

Author: Natalie Roberts, Relationship and Mindfulness Coach

When you picture in your mind’s eye burning Amazonian rainforests, starving polar bears in the Arctic, beaches and oceans littered with rubbish, mountains of unrecycled plastic, indigenous people uprooted from their homes to farm cattle and grow cash crops… what emotion arrives in you most quickly?
 
Overwhelm? Worry? Anxiety? Panic? Anger? Guilt? Grief? Shame? Apathy? Numb?
 
When we experience these negative emotions, our brain and subsequently our body is in stress mode. This is not a mode conducive to good decision making, healthy relationships or effective, lasting change – the very outcomes that will resolve the issues that extend from global governments to the dinner table and the very issues I know those of you reading this are so passionate about.
 
As a Relationship Coach, clients often ask me how they can escape these negative emotions that have often plagued them for much longer and in relation to many more issues than the planet – the planet has simply become the next in a long line of situations that trigger them. They know that feeling like this is costing them their happiness, health and their closest relationships….and in many homes, green issues and recycling have become the latest daily battleground!
 
For the most part, our society focuses on managing symptoms and it’s certainly a place to begin, as we’ve seen with the success of programmes such as Blue Planet to raise awareness and influence our behaviours in relation to single use plastic. The problem is that managing symptoms only gets us so far and often not very far at all. As we’re beginning to see with recycling, it simply hides the real and bigger problem.
 
Unravelling and resolving causes can create lasting and sustainable recovery and flourishing for individuals, families, communities and ultimately the planet. It turns hopeless into hopeful and powerless into empowered.
 
A better planet is dependent on better relationships and though it can be really tough to admit, it begins with the relationship closest to home; with yourself.

So can I ask you a couple of questions?

What’s the truth? How’s your relationship with YOU?

On a scale of 0 of 10… 0 being it’s dreadful and 10 being it’s so good I can’t stop smiling… where are you? ...and what’s going to happen if you keep feeling like that?

Ask yourself the questions again if you need to!
 
If you picked anything less than an 8, this quick guide can assist you to make some immediate and potentially lasting changes that go beyond managing symptoms. I’m exposing four dangerous and scarily common habits that create negative emotionality and how you can flip them into something healthier and more sustainable for you and the planet… ready to get started?

1. What you focus on is what you experience and we have a habit of focusing on what we don’t want or can’t do, which can create overwhelm, anxiety and panic.
   
   ​FLIP IT… Focus on what you CAN do and ARE doing. Minimise overwhelm by making one change at a time and integrate that before beginning another. Several small steps can effect as much change as one big one. Celebrate each change you succeed with as a healing action for you and the planet before you tackle the next. Don’t worry if some don’t work for you… e.g. I tried shampoo bars, but just not for me and there’s loads of others ways I can make a difference.
   
   
2. We expect too much of others and that creates disappointment, anger and resentment when expectations aren’t met.
   
   FLIP IT… STOP expecting others to join in (even if that means a solo effort at home!) and don’t get angry or annoyed with others who don’t agree or see what you see. Share what you’re doing if others ask but don’t make others do what you’re doing – let them arrive in their own time or find their own way. Everyone is on their own journey with these issues and no one likes to be made to comply – do you? Anything that looks like forcing or persuasion is invariably met with an equal or greater amount of resistance. You’ll be surprised how many people you’ll inspire by quietly getting on with your own changes!
   
   
3. We’re drowning ourselves in the story. The extent of the problems and, for many the grief that comes with it, can cause paralysis, the very opposite of what we want and need to make a difference.
   
   FLIP IT… Read and watch LESS. It’s OK to do that and I found I recovered and felt more positive very quickly when I did. It doesn’t mean I’m ignoring the issues, but I’m making a choice about what I feed and nourish my mind with. Reducing the amount you read and watch about the environment will lower stress and enable you to focus on what you’re doing to help. Watch and read the news less. Snooze groups and pages for a month on Facebook and see what difference it makes; then decide which ones or how often you’re going to check back into. Curate your newsfeed to encourage a positive outlook, which is healthier for change-makers like you!
   
   
4. Our mind is an expert at living in the past and the future – left to its own devices, it swings us between the two most of the time, unless we learn to master it and live more in the present moment – the only moment that actually exists!
   
   FLIP IT… practice mindfulness however it works best for you – silence, walking, sport, hobbies, nature, meditation, spending time with family – whatever brings you to the present moment, when you’re nowhere other than HERE AND NOW. To really make a difference, the planet needs us to be the best version of ourselves. The extension of a mindfulness practice is a mindful, happy and joyful life, where we can live more and more in the present moment, trusting that we can handle the inevitable uncertainty of life.

 
These dangerous habits don’t just apply to making changes to help the environment – they show up in all areas of our life and you can use the same flip strategies to confront all sorts of issues in your life.
 
When we convert negative emotionality into positive, we can react and respond from a more loving and peaceful place inside us. LOVE not fear is in the driving seat then and we can write a whole new story about ourselves, our relationships and our world from there.

Questions? Head for my coaching caravan on the Dean Meadow at GreenFest. I’ll be there all day and at 2.30-3.30 I’ll be leading a Mindfulness in Nature workshop. If you’ve never had a go at being mindful or you want to start flipping dangerous habit number four, come along and join in (all ages welcome)!

Are you feeling stuck in your relationship, unable to resolve challenges that are impacting you and your family? Natalie is an award-winning, accredited Master Coach and mentor, assisting individuals and couples to resolve issues and thrive in their relationships.
www.natalieroberts.com
m: 07977 585072
e: natalie@natalieroberts.com​