Ecological emotions: questions for discussion

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 various emotions/affect/feelings may be hidden behind anxiety?
(eg. fear, horror, complicated grief, paralyzing forms of guilt, overwhelm, shock / trauma, feeling insignificant or inadequate, feeling helpless)

- What kind of anxiety is crippling or paralyzing?

- What kind of anxiety can in turn lead to positive changes?

- Have you encountered people who feel eco-anxiety (or climate anxiety), or have you read their stories online? What did you think of those encounters or stories?

- What can be done if you suffer from anxiety?
(eg. talk to a trusted person, practice self-regulation, seek medical help if necessary etc.)

- Should eco-anxiety be rather called “eco-fear”? Why, or why not? Do we need both terms and feelings?

Fear and worry

- What does fear feel like? What are the physical sensations?

- How does worry feel like? What are the physical sensations?

- What good can fear do?
(helps to identify hazards, inspires activity to prevent damage)

In other words: what are the adaptive and life-serving functions of fear and anxiety?

(an important point: Fear and anxiety as fundamentally healthy reactions, which should not, however, be allowed to dominate life)

- Where is the line between healthy worry and rumination?

- How is worry related to concern and love?

- What can be the disadvantages of fleeing from fear (in other words, of “fear of fear”)?

- What do many people seem to fear in relation to the ecological crisis?

- Have you felt “eco-fear”? If, what are your fears?

- Have you felt “eco-worry” or climate change worry?

- Climate fears: what exactly are we afraid of in relation climate change?

- How could we avoid feelings of sudden (unhelpful) fear, panic, or dread?
(calming down by using various techniques, such as deep breathing; understanding the sense of urgency, but remembering that the world will not collapse immediately; proactive preparation, cognitive reframing etc.)

- How can fears be addressed in a way that reduces their crippling power?
(for example, talking to others in a safe space; in some cases, exposure therapy)

- How could we strengthen our sense of security and manifest that we are committed to taking care of each other?

Despair

- How does despair feel like? And what are the physical sensations?

- What various meanings people have for the word despair? How about in other languages?

- What is the difference between despair and complete hopelessness?

(My own view: despair is a natural feeling, and complete hopelessness in turn means a loss of sense of meaning in life; a different matter is “un-hope”, “hopelessness” in the sense of calm acceptance)

- If someone says “There is no hope!”, what feelings can be associated with this?

(eg. despair, hopelessness, anger, bitterness, grief, disgust, cynicism, depression)

- What important can despair tell or show?

 (eg. it can be an indication of caring; it can lead to strong motivation for action [“desperately”]; it can help channel emotional energy)

- What is the relationship between despair, fatigue and depression?

- Have you felt “eco-despair”? 

- How could “climate burnout” or emotional exhaustion be avoided?

- Have you met people who are so down because of the ecological crisis that they can be said to suffer from eco-depression?

Grief

- What kind of forms of grief and sadness do you recognize?

(eg. bereavement, mourning, deep sadness, melancholia, bittersweet feelings, longing etc.)

- How do these various forms of grief and sadness feel like?

- How does the society around you react to grief, or its various forms, in general? Are there public rituals or practices of grief, and if, what kind?

- Are some people in your community or society given more permission to feel and show grief than others? (for example, are men ever allowed to cry in public, or is that deemed unmanly?)

- How does grief serve life?

(by helping us to encounter losses and changes, and to value that which we still have)

- What kind of forms of ecological grief do you recognize?

- How could these forms of ecological grief be constructively encountered?

- How does the society around you react to ecological grief or climate grief? Is it recognized? Is it regarded with understanding? Are there rituals or practices for ecological grief?

Enthusiasm / a desire to alleviate problems

- What things or experiences cause feelings of empowerment?

- What examples of empowerment do you know (or can you find in the media) about ecological action?

- How can enthusiasm be kept up?

- Have you encountered or felt “eco-enthusiasm”? If, what kind?

- What do you think, do people usually have a desire to alleviate ecological problems? Why do you think about this the way you do? (role of experiences, but also of prejudices and psychological projections)

- Why might people have difficulties in realizing their desire to do good?

- Is it easy or difficult to maintain (ecological) enthusiasm? Why / why not?

- Familiarize yourself with the wide extent of social and environmental action globally (see Hawken, Blessed Unrest). How could these kind of inspirational sources be kept in mind?

A feeling of interconnectedness and belonging

(a sense of community)

- When have you, either as individuals or as a group, felt feelings of community and belonging?

- What kind of forms of environmental action cause feelings of community and belonging?

- Have you felt a feeling of interconnectedness also with more-than-human world or non-human others? What kind of different experiences of this do you recognize?

Guilt

- How does guilt feel? What are the physical sensations or reactions?

- What kind of guilt is crippling? And what kind of guilt is motivating or “animating”?

- How much and what kinds of ecological guilt do you recognize in the world?

- What do you think, is it good or reasonable to feel eco-guilt? Or is it paralyzing or unfair? And in what circumstances?

- Blame. Have you encountered blame in relation to ecological issues or climate change?

- Why do you think that many people react to environmental communication by saying: “Don’t blame us?”

- In your view, how is the burden of eco-guilt currently distributed between various organizations and individuals? Do you think someone has too much or too little eco-guilt or climate guilt?

- If someone has overly much eco-guilt, how could this situation be alleviated?

- Is it possible or desirable to have a good conscience in ecological matters?

Shame

- How does shame feel? What are the physical sensations or reactions?

- What kind of shame is crippling? And what kind of shame can cause positive changes?

- How much and what kinds of ecological shame do you recognize in the world?

- In your view, how is the burden of eco-shame currently distributed between various organizations and individuals?

 - What do you think about climate shame? Who should be ashamed of their behavior in relation to climate crisis?

- What may help a person or a group to move forward from paralyzing eco-shame?

- Is a sense of honor possible or desirable in relation to environmental behavior and identity?

 

Powerlessness, helplessness

- How do these emotions feel like?

- Where do these emotions come from? What causes them?

- Familiarize yourself with the many studies which show the prevalence of feelings of powerlessness and helplessness in relation to the ecological crisis. How does this information make you feel?

- Some scholars have suggested that it is important to notice a special feeling in relation to the ecological crisis and the many challenges of the contemporary world: feeling inadequate, “not enough”. What do you think of this feeling? Do you recognize it? How is it different from guilt, shame, and powerlessness?

(PP: it is based on self-evaluation, and is a combination of feeling that one is not enough [cf. shame] and has not done enough [cf. guilt]. However, the problems are structural, and while individuals should not let themselves completely off the hook, it is important to understand the contextual and structural factors which often cause overly strong feelings of inadequacy.)

- How can feelings of powerlessness be alleviated?

(community action; self-compassion; clipping huge problems into smaller, more manageable ones)

  

Anger

- What variations of anger can you think of?

(frustration, irritation, rage, fury, hatred etc.)

- How do these various kinds of anger feel like? What are the physical sensations?

- What kinds of anger are productive in a given situation and what are not?

- How does the society and community around you react to various forms of anger? Does it give some people more right to show these feelings than to others?

- What would you call such anger which is productive and non-violent?

- Have you experienced how people have channeled their climate rage into civil action? What do you think of this phenomenon?

- What good ways of channeling anger productively can you think of? And what kinds of behavior help when you need to vent anger in a safe manner?

- Why are so many people frustrated about the climate crisis?

How could these frustrations be alleviated?

Disgust

- How does disgust feel like? What are the physical sensations?

- What varieties of disgust are there?

- How can disgust serve life? And what problems may be related with disgust?

(1: by helping to avoid toxic things; 2: if certain people become treated with disgust in an unethical manner)

- How can disgust be related to environmental problems and issues?

(disgusting pollution; disgust in intergroup relations because of pressures in environmental politics)

Compassion

- How does compassion feel like? What are the physical sensations?

- How do you see the relations between compassion, empathy and sympathy?

- Is it difficult for you to feel self-compassion? Why / why not?

- Why do you think that psychologists and spiritual leaders emphasize the significance of compassion, both towards others and towards oneself?

- How could compassion help environmental communication and (grassroots level) discussions?

- Does compassion extend between species?

 

Pride

- How does pride feel like? What are the physical sensations?

- What different kinds of pride exist?

- What is the relation between feeling satisfaction because of one’s actions and feeling pride?

- What is the relation between pride and honor?

- Have you felt pride in relation to environmental behavior? If, how often? If not, why?

- Is “eco-pride” endorsed or even allowed in your community or society?

- Would we need various words for different shades of eco-pride?

 

Joy

- How does joy feel like? What are the physical sensations?

- What different kinds of joy exist?

(ranging from milder forms to delight and bliss)

- Have you felt joy in relation to the environment / ecological issues / environmental action? If, how often, and what kinds of? If not, why?

- Have you felt relief in relation to environmental problems?

- Have you felt refreshment in your connection with more-than-human world? How is this related to joy?

- What is the relation between sadness and joy?

(having channels open for sadness helps also to keep them open for joy)

- In your opinion, is there enough joy in various forms of environmental activism?
If not, how could joy be increased?

 

Hope / meaningfulness

- How does hope feel like? What are the physical sensations?

- You are discussing with two of your friends. One says that hope is an emotion and another says that hope is a virtue. Discuss these various views and terms related to them.

- What is the relation between hope and optimism?

- Is it possible to hope without desiring a certain outcome?

- How is having hope different from hoping?

- What is the relation between having hope and meaningfulness?

- What do you think about hope and the ecological crisis? In your view, what kinds of hope or hoping are needed or desirable and what are not?