Coping with the Climate Crisis - Ro Randall

Psychotherapist Rosemary Randall describes how many of us protect ourselves from the frightening truth of climate change by splitting off the facts and putting them in a box where they don’t trouble us. As the climate crisis moves higher up the public agenda many people are finding that this old defence is giving way and they are having to face the frightening truths that they have avoided.

When you’re feeling overwhelmed and despairing about the future it’s hard to imagine that you could ever reach a place where these feelings do not dominate your life. Psychotherapist Rosemary Randall talks about the process of coming to terms with the climate crisis using a model of loss and grief which shows how it’s possible to find your way towards action that feels appropriate and a life that still holds meaning.

Psychotherapist Rosemary Randall talks about climate anxiety or – as she prefers to call it – climate distress: the feelings of shock, fear, anger, grief, sorrow, guilt and shame which often overwhelm people as they let the truth of the climate crisis into their hearts. These are natural and appropriate reactions to fully understanding a very difficult reality and Rosemary offers pointers to how to cope.

Knowing how to support people who are suffering acute distress about the climate crisis is essential. Psychotherapist Rosemary Randall offers guidance on how to create space, offer safety and warmth, and listen and respond reflectively to people who are struggling with the enormity of the climate crisis.

Psychotherapist Rosemary Randall argues that the competing narratives of hope and despair that have emerged during the climate crisis both carry a desire for magical solutions and avoid difficult political work. Drawing on her experience in the consulting room, she suggests that we need to step past these narratives and face the work that needs to be done.

Psychotherapist Rosemary Randall draws on research conducted with Paul Hoggett to describe the arc activists often follow in facing the climate crisis, from the first epiphany of realisation, through immersion in the terrifying facts and emotions, to a phase of frenetic action which can lead to crisis and burnout, and finally to a place of ‘sustainable activism’ where involvement in climate action is balanced by a respect for other aspects of life and a capacity to still find joy in living and relationship.