Ecological emotions & eco-anxiety: Finnish activities


In this blog, I give a brief overview of the many initiatives that have been taken in Finland since 2017. I have personally taken part in many of these efforts. For the initial history of eco-anxiety discourse in Finland, please see this another text. A news story is also available.

(Version 7.7.2020: basic information added. More to come.)

Education
Many initiatives have been taken, such as the “Hope and action” –project, which has developed activities for encountering ecological emotions and for increasing agency. Ecological emotions are finding their way into Finnish curriculums. There has been increasing discussion in environmental education (and sustainability education) about emotions and affect.

Social and health sectors
Awareness of eco-anxiety and climate anxiety is steadily growing, but much still needs to be done. Many health professionals distance themselves from eco-anxiety and/or see it mainly as pathological. On the other hand, many organizations have started to produce good materials and continuing education about eco-anxiety. A project led by The Finnish mental health society (Mieli ry) is a prime example. A few discussion groups, which met 4-5 times, have been organized. A national report about Climate anxiety is available also in English. A new NGO, Tunne ry, focuses on ecological emotions.

Wellbeing and resilience
Various kinds of workshops and public events have been organized in order to increase awareness and resilience in relation to eco-anxiety and ecological emotions. These include public lectures in libraries and universities, workshops for environmental NGOs, and workshops for students (especially those of environmental sciences).

Surveys
An open online survey about eco-anxiety was produced by health organizations (Nyyti ry and Mieli ry) in Spring 2019 (n=538). The results are briefly discussed in English here, with a more extensive overview in Finnish by psychologist Elina Marttinen available here. A major national survey about climate emotions was produced by Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, in summer 2019. Climate psychology researchers Panu Pihkala and Kirsti M. Jylhä took part in the preparation, and Kantar TNS performed the survey (n=2070). On average, 25% of Finns recognized some kind of climate anxiety in themselves, and of people between 15 and 30 years, over 33%. This survey produced very much interesting information about various emotions, stronger symptoms, people’s views about the causes of difficult emotions, and habits that help people with their difficult climate emotions. Academic publications are forthcoming, but this brief summary by Sitra offers some information.

Media.
There has been much media interest for eco-anxiety. Especially younger reporters have contributed to the rise of substantial journalism on these issues. Formats have included television programs, radio programs, printed media and internet media. While most of these items are available only in Finnish, the following resources can be accessed through GoogleTranslate or related software.
* YLE national broadcasting company: stories of climate anxiety by young adults, Spring 2019
* A comprehensive account of a personal case of eco-anxiety by a young reporter Minea Koskinen, 2018

Arts
Many artists had explored ecological emotions already before the rise of the national discussion in 2017-2018, but these efforts have greatly increased since those times. Finnish artists who have contributed to these themes include many novelists/writers (such as Emma Puikkonen, Ilja Lehtinen and many poets), painters, photographers, performance artists, mixed media artists, and those working in land art/environmental art. Here are links to some of these artists:
Mustarinda community
IC-98
Henna Laininen
Marika Tomu Kaipainen
New Perfomance Turku Festival 2019
Henriikka Kontimo
Maria Huhmarniemi (and colleagues)

Research
The national discussion about eco-anxiety and climate anxiety has sparked research interest on numerous fields. Many master’s theses include substantial discussion about eco-anxiety, climate anxiety, or ecological emotions.
Education: Kinni & Muotka 2019
Psychology: Saine 2019, Sangervo 2020 (forthcoming)
Significant life experiences of environmentalists: Samsten 2019

For articles in English, see:
Pihkala 2018, Pihkala 2020
Harmoinen, Koivu & Pääsky 2020
Lehtonen, Salonen & Cantell 2019
Aarnio-Linnanvuori 2019
Cantell et al. 2019
Lehtonen et al. 2018
Ratinen & Uusiautti 2020
Wolff et al. 2020
Saari & Mullen 2018

Activism
Since the Autumn 2018, there has been a significant rise in public environmental activism in Finland. Fridays 4 Future has many Finnish adherents. Extinction Rebellion (XR) has national and local organizations in Finland. Both young and old Finnish climate activists have called for more resources to encounter eco-anxiety and climate anxiety, and they have organized, often with support from various experts, workshops and other means to process emotions together.

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Spectrum Line of Ecological Emotions

This activity helps people to share their emotions and thoughts about the ecological crisis. If wanted, you can focus explicitly on climate change. Length : minimum 60 minutes, preferably 90-105 minutes. It is important to move towards empowerment near the end, and to provide enough time for this. Number of people who can attend : preferably around 20. For experienced facilitators, it is possible to include a quite large number of people. Requirements for the facilitator : Please do not lead this activity if you have not done inner work about ecological emotions yourself. You also should have at least basic experience of facilitating group work. If you are not very experienced, it is wise to guide this with a colleague. However, you do not need to be a professional therapist to facilitate this activity. Further ideas and tips More information and tips about facilitating this kind of work can be found at: - Carbon Conversations Facilitator’s Guide, Rosemary Rand
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Mind map of ecological emotions

In brief The exercise enables people to create a mind map of their own ecological emotions (or emotions related to broader sustainability issues). A brief list of emotion words is used in support of the activity. Topics Very often we have used this exercise with a focus on climate change emotions (in brief: climate emotions). However, the mind map tool can be used with many framings. It can be drawn in relation to a specific issue of concern, such as a wildfire or flood that is causing distress. Naturally it can also be used for non-ecological issues, such as emotions about a pandemic. To whom? The major group that we have used this with is educators, but the exercise can be used with people of different age and profession. With the educators, the aim is to increase their emotional skills and also to enable the possibility that they would offer this exercise to their students. As with all emotional exercises, it is important for the educator to try this exercise first o
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Climate Emotions playlist

  Music is one of the most important means for encountering climate emotions for myself, together with spending time outdoors, socializing with others, and doing embodied practices.   This playlist is an emotional journey. The atmospheres (a suitable word for the the topic, huh?) are more important than the lyrics, but some tracks have also been selected because of their lyrics. The playlist does follow roughly a process of crisis. There are fluctuations of sorrow and anger, but also of hope and beauty – as in our lives amidst the ecological crisis.   I would recommend listening to the playlist first without reading my comments about the songs, but many methods are suitable here.   1. Moby: Why does my heart feel so bad (reprise version) Reprise: the heart feels so bad again. The playlist starts with the situation where many people have found themselves in: asking why does it feel so bad. Especially when I started my work around eco-anxiety in the early 2010s, people h
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