Eco-anxiety and Hope

The following lists have been developed and used by eco-anxiety researcher Panu Pihkala, Ph.D. They have been used both in educational settings and in sessions about psychological well-being.  Please note that these are not comprehensive lists. All kinds of feelings and emotions may have dimensions related to environmental issues and experiences. For further reading, see the handbooks of ecological emotions by Panu Pihkala (2019, in Finnish: Mieli maassa? Ympäristötunteet ) and Glenn Albrecht (2019, Earth Emotions ). Lists that are used in environmental education, communication, and psychology should be edited to suit the context that they are used in.  It is always a good idea to ask people to invent words themselves for ecological emotions.   List 1: common ecological emotions care compassion frustration anger sadness curiosity relief joy shock overwhelm fear anxiety worry sense of belonging confusion awe wonder guilt melancho...

There are a lot of different emotions and feelings in relation to ecological issues. It would be highly important that people could recognize their emotions and encounter them constructively. It can be very helpful and relieving if there are opportunities to discuss these emotions in groups. The following set of questions are meant to help facilitators to lead group discussions about some of the important ecological emotions / feelings / moods. These questions have been formulated by interdisciplinary environmental researcher Panu Pihkala, Ph.D., who has used them in sessions related to eco-anxiety and ecological emotions in Finland. (Version 10.11.2020) Anxiety - What does anxiety feel like? What are the physical sensations? - Topic: Different forms of anxiety. What kind of major variations of anxiety are there? (feeling of uncertainty and/or tension; anxiety states; existential anxiety; practical or adaptive anxiety etc.) - How is anxiety different than fear? - What kind of variou...