Understanding climate-related emotions and finding support
Climate change brings with it a wide range of emotions. People may experience grief, anxiety, powerlessness, despair, guilt, inspiration and hope. Thankfully, mental health concerns related to climate change are starting to be recognized more.
Naming climate-related emotions
There are existing words and frameworks that help describe the emotional and psychological impacts of climate change. Having shared language for these experiences can help make sense of what people are feeling.
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The Climate Mental Health Network has developed this great climate emotions wheel, available in multiple languages, along with excellent book lists and resources that focus on climate-related mental health in more depth.
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Isaias Hernandez has published an article about climate emotions and developed a scale that helps describe the range and intensity of these experiences. I have found that language for these feelings can reduce confusion and self-doubt.
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An additional resource is the making it in the Anthropocene conference and website. As their website notes:
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The Anthropocene (n): is a unit of geologic time, like the Holocene, used to describe the most recent period in Earth's history when human activity has started to have a significant negative impact on the planet's climate and ecosystem.
Climate change, systems and lived experience
Climate-related emotions rarely exist on their own. They are often intertwined with broader systemic and personal concerns, including economics, racism, institutional structures, accessibility, ageism, heteronormativity, patriarchy, religious beliefs and cultural expectations.
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You may feel impacted by:
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Ethical concerns, particularly for autistic and neurodivergent people with strong value systems
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Forest fires, heat domes and extreme weather
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Changes to local food systems and farming due to altered microclimates
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Water access and environmental degradation
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Work or advocacy related to climate-affected projects
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Economic pressures connected to environmental change
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Urban and rural living challenges shaped by climate impacts
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Decisions about children, fertility or delaying parenthood due to uncertainty about the future
These experiences affect daily life, identity and decision-making; they’re not just abstract worries about the planet.​
Support opportunities
​Some people find it helpful to journal, create art or engage in reflective practices when exploring climate-related emotions, thoughts and felt senses. Others benefit from talking with someone who understands how climate concerns intersect with mental health, identity and systems.
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Therapy can provide a space to:
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Talk through climate-related emotions without minimizing or escalating them
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Explore somatic responses, thoughts and systemic influences together
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Reduce isolation by naming shared experiences
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Develop tools that support regulation, rest and meaning-making
For many, having a safe place to express how climate change has affected them personally is where healing begins.
You are welcome to reach out to work with me, or to connect with another practitioner through the Climate-Aware Therapist Directory.
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