Turn the Tide on Climate Anxiety: Sustainable Action for Your Mental Health and the Planet

by Megan Kennedy-Woodard, Patrick Kennedy-Williams, Arizona Muse - Founder and Trustee of Dirt Foundation for the Regeneration of Earth (Foreword)

It's hard to watch the news, scroll through social media, or listen to the radio without hearing or seeing something disturbing about the climate emergency. This can trigger all sorts of emotions: worry, anger, sadness, guilt, and even grief but also often over-looked positive emotions like motivation, connection, care, and abundance that support mental health and climate action for sustainable longevity.

Written by psychologists with extensive experience in treating people with eco-anxiety, this book shows you how to harness these emotions, validate them, and transform them into positive action. It enables you to assess and understand your psychological responses to the climate crisis and move away from unhealthy defence mechanisms, such as denial and avoidance.

Ultimately, it shows that the solution to both climate anxiety and the climate crisis is the same - action that is sustainable for you and for the planet - and empowers you to take steps towards this.

Genres: Nonfiction, Climate Change, Mental Health

224 pages, Paperback

Published January 21, 2022

Reviews

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful and important book. A lot of people are suffering from anxiety linked to the climate in some way or another. This book explains how to deal with those kinds of thoughts and feelings. There is background information that is easy to follow and helpful assignments to complete.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to read. Opinions are my honest thoughts.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really informative read for anyone who is struggling with their anxiety or worries about climate change.

This book has some excellent advice. I particularly love all the little exercises to complete. They really help you focus on how you are going to make positive changes.

As a psychology graduate I was already familiar with alot of the terminology they use in this book. However, everything is explained super simply for people who have never heard of the psychological concepts this book discusses.

This book does a great job of reassuring you, without being patronising. The advice in this book is sound advice based on lots of psychology research and theory.

There were quite a few spelling errors in the e-arc I read. Difficult wasn't spelt right once. I hope they aren't in the final copy!

Apart from that, I highly recommend this book to everyone from those who are just learning about the climate crisis to fully fledged environmentalists. I think there is something that everyone could take away from this book.

[Rohan Bhargava · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd highly recommend this book for anyone struggling to cope with climate changes and everyone in the climate sector. Simple and straighforward, but packed with useful insights and excercises. I'll be keeping this book close by as a critical resource for when times are tough.

[Roger Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful book exploring the psychological, emotional and behavioural impacts of climate change. I suspect different people will take different things from it. For me, what it says about the dangers of allowing oneself to feel overwhelmed by despair were particularly powerful. The authors argue that one can both accept the negative emotions such as fear and grief, but also allow oneself to feel positive about the climate work and about the many areas of success and progress. Some helpful reminders were that guilt is particularly unhelpful in this context - we don't have to feel bad about being imperfect; that we are not alone, we can only make change alongside others; that self-care is important - we will be more effective if we look after ourselves; and that we should not try to do everything - better to find ways of taking action that fit our skills, temperaments and values.

[Fern A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant book that provides a reset button on climate anxiety to help change it to positive action.

Climate anxiety has become a very real thing that impacts a vast amount of the global population. As climate disasters increase and loom, it can be easy to worry about what will happen and if we are as both individuals and a collective doing enough to prevent it. This book therefore comes at a perfect time when many people are finding it difficult to know how to deal with fears and put them into something that will make a positive change.

This is not a book about climate change itself, nor does it tell you not to worry, instead what is provided is a practical guide full of wisdom, information and activities for the reader to enable them to feel in control of their emotions and harness them in a positive way. It shows too how climate anxiety can be a good thing, allowing global networks to form, letting people care and work out what is important to them. This book packs a lot into just over 200 pages.

What I really appreciated about this book is it does not treat the reader as unintelligent or patronise them for having what they may feel may be negative emotions. Instead it gives (evidence backed) things to try such as connecting with others, working out what small steps can be taken and also a reminder to take breaks too and not be harsh on ourselves. It also has a fantastic section that equips the reader to work out what might be triggering their anxiety such as doom scrolling or engaging with internet trolls.

This is a book that can be returned to time and time again as required. An important read for anyone worried about the future of the planet and unsure what to do next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Nays · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to climate anxiety, and how to deal with it. It features a lot of exercises designed to help people manage their anxiety and empower them to create change. I really liked this book, and as someone who has been through CBT therapy a lot of these exercises were familiar to me- but it was great to have the reminder! This book is one part summary of the scientific literature and one part therapy workbook, and it struck an excellent balance in giving the reader the facts and then offering tangible ways for them to deal with these facts productively and compassionately. I'd really recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about climate anxiety!

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review- thanks to the authors and publisher!