Le stress en nous reflète le stress de la Terre en crise.

Notre mission est d'accélérer l'adaptation, la guérison et le changement grâce à la psychologie climatique, aux traditions de sagesse et aux soutiens communautaires.

SOUTIEN À LA DÉTRESSE CLIMATIQUE

La Ressource
Moyeu

Trouvez les outils, les histoires, les prestataires de services et la communauté dont vous avez besoin pour vous aider à renforcer votre résilience.

Le centre de ressources

À PROPOS DE NOUS

Fondée par la chercheuse et auteure, le Dr Britt Wray, nous visons à faire progresser le débat public sur le changement climatique et la santé mentale pour le bénéfice général de l'épanouissement humain et écologique.

En savoir plus sur notre travail

POURQUOI NOUS EXISTONS

La situation dans laquelle nous nous trouvons est impensable

L'ampleur du traumatisme et du stress toxique causés par la crise climatique est en soi inimaginable. Depuis des décennies, nous consacrons les meilleures réflexions à la résolution de cette crise, et pourtant, les émissions continuent d'augmenter, les catastrophes se multiplient et de plus en plus de personnes deviennent des migrants climatiques.

Nous avons besoin d’approches qui vont au-delà de la pensée technocratique et scientifique étroite et qui s’aventurent dans les possibilités ressenties, comportementales, psychologiques, somatiques, imaginatives et génératives de faire bouger les cœurs et les esprits.

We're building inclusive, community- minded approaches to respond to the destruction of living systems with proportional emotional maturity, responsibility, love and care.

Explorer

Explorer

En savoir plus sur

Lire

I find myself receiving the same questions over and over again, just formatted in different words, from the many people who write in to our Dear Climate Therapist column looking for advice. It’s a clear signal that so many people are quietly battling the same struggles, especially around how to keep showing up when day to day existence is like swimming through a full frontal moral injury attack from the powers that be, alongside concerns about how to navigate relationships with people who minimize or deny the planetary health crisis we are in.

These aren’t abstract questions. They’re here and now heart-questions. And the way we respond to them has real consequences for our relationships, our resilience, and our capacity to keep caring and making change through this moment and beyond.

Our latest column deals with these questions. But first, I’m excited to announce that we’ve just started a new collaboration with Atmos, a brilliant climate + culture platform, to bring you the Dear Climate Therapist column. This week, Caroline Hickman guides us through two readers’ questions that our growing pool of letters from readers demonstrate are critical concerns for many.

I invite you to sit with her words and wisdom (link in bio)

This week I’m sharing a searing guest essay by longtime oceans campaigner Nicolas Entrup, which is pinned to the upcoming UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) happening this month. With over three decades in the trenches of marine conservation, Nicolas brings a gritty and experienced perspective on the frustrating reality that the very institutions meant to protect life under water are being hijacked by petro-power.

Nick is helping to lead a global call to action: the #BecauseOurPlanetIsBlue campaign, which is gathering signatures from citizens around the world to demand a ban on all new offshore oil and gas exploration.

Please read the piece, add your name, and share it widely. Link in bio!

For many of us, it feels like we’re no longer just fighting climate change. We’re fighting climate erasure. Protections are being stripped. Science is under siege. The world we were building - all of the decades worth of research and momentum - is being stalled if not outright decimated. But what if the wisest thing we can do now is refuse to be flattened by these forces by finding new ways to roll with the undulating up and down nature of this ongoing - and long term - struggle?

In this week’s Dear Climate Therapist column, Leslie Davenport responds to a young public health student in Canada who’s wondering how to stay in the work without falling apart. Her question is so real and prescient: how do you balance acceptance with passion when everything feels so high-stakes?

Leslie’s response is a balm. She reminds us that burnout doesn’t come from caring too much, it comes from caring without support, without nourishment, without space to breathe. It means learning to move in seasons, remembering that passion without pacing and responding to what’s present is a fast track to collapse.

If you’re someone who can’t imagine doing anything else with your life, but are bone-tired and unsure how to keep going, this one’s for you. Link in bio!

If what you’re feeling around the blatant blockages to climate action isn’t grief or fear but perhaps white-hot rage, this is for you.

This week our resident climate-aware therapist, Caroline Hickman, responds to a reader who’s frankly, pissed. She writes about rage not as something to suppress or “manage” but as a vital emotional force that is important to have planted in one’s own garden of emotions. Like biodiversity in nature, we need a full spectrum of emotional responses to survive and thrive amid the constant assaults to life on this planet. Caroline wisely demonstrates how to stop judging one’s own emotions and to start listening to them instead, transforming anger into expression, and strengthening connection to what one loves without pretending everything is fine. It’s an invitation to feel fully human at an inhumane time. Link in bio!

To keep the celebrations for Earth Day going, I thought I’d share an enlivening conversation I had with Leah Thomas, founder of Intersectional Environmentalist, author of a book by the same name, and bonafide online sustainability and climate justice powerhouse (@greengirlleah). I got to meet Leah for an event we did together a couple months ago at The Great Northern Festival, a winter wonderland in Minnesota that uses art, dialogue, and outdoor experiences to deepen the culture of climate care.

Read on for our chat about how climate distress intersects with systemic injustices, channeling rage, and how to cultivate a form of hope that isn’t naive, but active, strategic, and real. We also get personal, sharing what keeps us going, what helps us navigate the heaviness, and how time spent in nature is a total lifeline in this work.

I hope this convo brings you into the room with us. Link in bio!

This week’s Dear Climate Therapist column covers an urgent and timely topic. A parent writes in alarmed by the rise in online radicalization of young men, and wonders how polyscrisis distress might be intersecting with their son’s growing vulnerability to misogynistic and authoritarian ideologies.

It’s a powerful, necessary question: what happens to a generation of boys and young men when they don’t see a future they want to live in? And how do we as parents, caregivers, educators, clinicians, neighbors respond before the algorithms get to them first?

Our resident climate-aware therapist Kyle Hill reflects on the psychological concept of the extinction burst—the backlash that erupts when a harmful system is finally being challenged. He offers thoughts on our collective responsibility to guide young people toward solidarity, connection, and care, instead of letting despair be weaponized.

This is an important one. Read it an the link in bio!

How do you approach and tend to your love for someone whose beliefs are actively harming the future you’re fighting for?

Oof. Such a timely dilemma in this polarized mess of a society.

That’s the heart of this week’s Dear Climate Therapist letter wherein a reader is gutted by the fact that their conservative family brushes off the climate crisis as “exaggerated”. They’re torn between staying connected and cutting ties. And they’re asking: how do I live with this? Our resident climate-aware therapist Leslie Davenport’s response is beautifully grounding. She doesn’t sugarcoat the pain, but offers real strategies for navigating these emotional landmines.

If you’ve ever felt the ache of climate division in your family or relationships, I hope you’ll feel seen. Link in bio!

There’s a breaking apart happening—not just in political fractures, but in something harder to name: the slow erosion of trust, the disorientation of not knowing which way is up, what’s real, or where we go from here.

This week’s Dear Climate Therapist takes on questions that so many of us are asking right now: Is my climate distress too much? Or is it the world that’s gone off axis, leaving us stranded without a map? Caroline Hickman, this week’s therapist, reminds us: Feeling deeply isn’t maladaptive. It’s a sign of being awake. It’s about seeing clearly and refusing to let panic distort what’s true so we can find ways to stay steady in the shifting.

Read this week’s Dear Climate Therapist column at the link in bio and, as always, let us know what’s moving through you.

Fascists and oppressors thrive on chaos, flooding our attention with crisis after crisis, hoping to distract us, as they destabilize the structures we once thought were solid. Their goal is mass disorientation, where all that's left for the average individual is the ability to dissociate from reality in order to stay sane, which prevents the people from organizing. Well, we're not falling for this tactic that is designed to overwhelm, exhaust, and erode our ability to resist. This week, I’m excited to share a powerful guest essay from the inimitable Andrew Boyd, aka @the.tragic.optimist, on the art of discerning attention which he calls "selective denial". It's a treatise on how to stay engaged and focused on what you care about changing most, without being totally consumed by the pervasive muck that clogs our ability to feel well. Read on at the link in bio for his insights and darkly funny wisdom.

This week, a grandmother’s letter cuts straight to the heart of a deep and often unspoken struggle—how to face the climate crisis with young people in an honest way that takes accountability and shows compassion for the difficult position this puts the next generation in, without being drowned by guilt or despair?

Her words reflect a tension many older generations are grappling with. As Leslie Davenport, our resident climate-aware therapist, reminds us: this mix of guilt and grief can be reframed as a starting point for connection and meaningful action — the most powerful acts of love we can offer. Head to the link in bio to read more!

Have you noticed an intensification of nostalgic aesthetics and what’s been called “nostalgiacore” as a possible coping response to the polycrisis, particularly amongst young people?

Thanks to Atmos and journalist Daphne Milner for drawing these connections.

As I shared in this article: “I don’t want to write it off as being only some kind of retreat from reality or escapism because there’s certainly a place and a time for this kind of comfort-seeking,” Wray says. “It’s just that we cannot hang out under the covers forever. We need to find ways of breeding up more hardcore existential resilience so that we can actually engage in transformative actions with others to build a better world rather than just hide away from the scary system in which we’re living.”

Read full article over at @atmos 🪐

This week in Gen Dread, a reader shares a deeply conflicted feeling: the horror of knowing the devastation and suffering to come in the days leading up to Hurricane Milton, mixed with a hope that if the wreckage were intense enough, maybe this disaster would finally wake people up to the climate crisis.

It’s an uncomfortable tension—one many of us carry but rarely name out loud. Our climate-aware therapist, Caroline Hickman, responded with compassion and insight, inviting us to see this as a reflection of external, systemic failures rather than something shameful. She spoke of the need for “a dream and a nightmare” in order to hold the weight of anguish while still daring to imagine a better way forward. Head over to reach the full exchange on Gen Dread at the link in bio!

After last week’s U.S. election, the reality of what’s ahead is setting in, with climate-denying leaders threatening critical protections for our environment and the rights of LGBTQ+, women, migrants’ and more marginalized groups. In a world fixated on speed and desensitization, it’s critical to carve out spaces to genuinely feel the depth of what’s unfolding before us. We invite you to share how you’re processing, what’s helping you feel supported, and how you’re navigating differing views around you. Head over to Gen Dread (link in bio), read how others are doing, and leave a comment if you feel compelled.

Election emotions are intense right now, and we honour yours. This week on Gen Dread we start with that and then hand the reins to Matthew Green, global investigations editor at DeSmog and co-host of the Pocket Project’s Climate Consciousness Summit that’s happening November 15-21. Matthew interviewed Lindsey Gulden, a former ExxonMobil employee about her courageous journey from industry insider to whistleblower. Initially, Lindsey believed she could contribute positively to climate solutions from within the company. However, a growing awareness of Exxon’s deceptive practices, like promoting false solutions and waging a billion-dollar disinformation campaign, revealed a far graver reality. Armed with her insider knowledge, Lindsey now feels compelled by a moral duty to expose the industry’s betrayal and abuse of the public social good, and calls for collective resistance to fossil fuel industry disinformation. Link in bio.

This week in our Dear Climate Therapist column, an instructor asks for advice on supporting students grappling with the emotional toll of climate science studies. Our resident therapist, Kyle Hill, shared powerful wisdom: instead of relying on superficial self-care, we must embrace mutual care. Grief, anxiety, and fear should be acknowledged in community—not faced alone. Drawing from Indigenous teachings, Kyle reminds us that we’re all part of a vast web of kinship, connecting us to each other and the earth. Healing happens together. Link in bio.

✨New guest post on Gen Dread today!✨ Jade S. Sasser, Associate Professor at UC Riverside, explores a big, complicated question that so many are asking; one that we’ve covered through a variety of angles before: how are people thinking about having kids in the climate crisis?

In her powerful new book, Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question, Jade delves into the intersection of climate change, race, and reproductive justice. She challenges us to rethink how we build our families—focusing on equity, collective action, and the importance of addressing vulnerability in marginalized communities.

“Climate change heightened people’s feelings of social vulnerability,” she says, “exacerbating mental health challenges, and making people rethink their plans to have children.” Read Jade’s piece at the link in bio.

Last handful of days have reignited in me why I am so obsessed with doing this heart centered climate work. Got to film with @bigpictureranch for their ambitious documentary about regeneration in the climate crisis, speak amongst redwoods with the delightful and inspiring @spencer.r.scott and @nschwanz from @solarpunkfarms , scheme about climate distress offerings with the talented @raeoquirrhdial , lead a training in climate distress skills for mental health clinicians at @stanford , interview rhetoric expert Genevieve Guenther about her stunning new book THE LANGUAGE OF CLIMATE POLITICS @cwclub and have dinner with the mighty @justinjpearson amongst other incredible climate leaders and I’m just….in awe. There are so many good people out there charging a brighter way through this struggle we are all in as the atmospheric physics around us change in ways we’d much rather them not, and I am recharged and grateful.

Do you know the term solastalgia? The Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht came up with it in 2005 to describe the impacts of the mining industry on the people who lived nearby. The term conveys the sense of loss people feel when their home is being threatened or destroyed. It’s since become a ubiquitous concept in the climate and mental health space, and certainly in some ways, in some situations, it can be a useful and valuable addition to our lexicon.

But as @jemaima_tiatiasiau explains, as with so many Western paradigms, it excludes and misrepresents many people in the Global South – Pacific Islanders in particular – and fails to capture some of the crucial dimensions in which they experience being alive. Jemaima is a professor at the School of Māori Studies and Pacific Studies at the @universityofauckland - she is of Samoan descent and her work centres around Pacific peoples’ mental health and wellbeing, including the systemic injustices that contribute to their struggle for emotional equilibrium.

On Gen Dread today, Jemaima explains why we need a more expansive understanding of life and loss (link in bio)

Today is #nationalindigenouspeoplesday in Canada. Climate justice is intimately entangled with Indigenous rights; there’s no sustainable future without honouring and centring the original caretakers of these vast and varied lands – their history, their story, and their wisdom. If you’re looking to listen, learn, and unlearn today, here are some books by Indigenous authors that help to illuminate why this day is so vitally important.

We chose these books by Indigenous authors because they represent different regions of the country, they made us think, made us pause, and helped us start to unlearn the very whitewashed version of history many of us grew up learning in Canadian schools. Today’s a good day to pick up one of these books and explore the ways generational trauma, residential schools, the spiritual realm, and systemic racism have shaped the stories of this land and its people.

In honour of #juneteenth we are turning the spotlight on @leahpenniman - a Black Kreyol farmer, mother, soil nerd, author, and food justice activist from @soulfirefarm in Grafton, NY. Swipe to read, or read the caption below:

There’s an astonishing essay by Leah Penniman called “Black Gold”, which appears in the 2020 anthology @allwecansave : Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis. The essay begins with a teenager, Dijour Carter, refusing to get out of a van as it pulls up and parks at Soul Fire Farm in New York. Why? He doesn’t want to get his sneakers dirty. Penniman says, “Almost without exception, when I ask Black visitors to the farm what they think of when they see the soil, they respond with ‘slavery’ or ‘plantation’...for many of our ancestors, freedom from terror and separation from the soil were synonymous.”

But Dijour eventually joins his peers, taking off his shoes and finally allowing his feet to touch the soil. Penniman then says:

“Dijour, typically stoic and reserved, broke into tears during the closing circle at the end of that day. He explained that when he was very young, his grandmother had shown him how to garden and how to gently hold a handful of soil teeming with insects. She had died years ago, and he had forgotten these lessons. When he removed his shoes on the tour and let the mud reach his feet, the memory of her and of the land traveled from the earth, through his soles, and to his heart. He said that it felt like he was ‘finally home.’”

On June 19, 1865, slaves in Galveston, Texas were given the news that they were freed by then-president Abraham Lincoln. In the US, Juneteenth is a necessary "Second Independence Day", so today we honour the deeply sacred and spiritual connection Black people originally had to land and nature, and we recognize the horrific and violent ways colonialism and capitalism exploited, perverted, and destroyed that connection. True freedom means living in reciprocity and reverence with the nature, and we continue to work toward a world that makes it safe and life-giving for Black people everywhere to reconnect with the lands they call home.

[Image credit: Leah Penniman]

It's Independent Bookstore Day! We deeply appreciate the vibrant community of indie bookstores and the diverse stories they bring to our lives. The convenience of ordering from online giants is nice, but the relationship among readers, writers, publishers, and independent booksellers is vital today. We’d love it if you’d consider purchasing Generation Dread from Bookshop.org today. Shop local, support indie, and keep the love of reading alive! (Top link in bio under "Books")

#indiebookstoreday #independentbookstoreday #bookstoreday#indiebookstore #bookstagram #shoplocal #bookstore #books #shopsmall #independentbookstore #booklover #bookshop #bibliophile #buylocal #reading #supportindies #localbookstore #booknerd

In celebration of Earth Day this week, National Academies Excellence in SciComm asked Britt to give us an insider's perspective on her experiences communicating the mental health impacts of climate change. If you're a climate communicator, what resonates with you?

I had the pleasure of speaking at the 2024 Planetary Health Summit and 6th Annual Meeting plenary session this week. My talk, "Leveraging Emotions: Eco-Anxiety, Planetary Health Action, and the Power in Feelings" delved into and addressed the immense pressure faced by frontline climate and planetary health professionals.

#pham2024 @sunwaycph

Why is climate change a threat multiplier - and how is it affecting our mental health? Our own Britt Wray discusses eco-anxiety in this amazing @bbcstoryworks #Advertisement feature presented by @gchalliance

#TheClimateAndUs series streaming now at the link in our bio (Under ‘Resources’)

As we come to the end of #blackhistorymonth we want to revisit one last Gen Dread guest whose work echoes and helps evolve the legacy of African American activism.

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò is a Nigerian-American philosopher and professor at Georgetown University. In his recent book Reconsidering Reparations, he makes a case for the U.S. government compensating Black people with cash, land, and other resources for the harms they endured during slavery. You may have heard this argument before – but Táíwò’s version insists on climate justice as the central lens of reasoning.

“The possibility of keeping justice alive in our time hinges on our response to the reality of a warming planet,” he says in the book. “As climate impacts accelerate, we can expect them to perversely distribute the costs and burdens of climate change, disproportionately impacting those who have been rendered most vulnerable given the accumulated weight of history.”

Because colonialism and slavery have radically skewed who now has the most resources to be the most resilient as the planet warms and who does not, any response to the climate crisis must not only take that reality into account – but correct for it in the rollout of its solutions. The colonized are typically the most vulnerable to climate-related disaster, whereas the colonizers are the least vulnerable.

Swipe for more, and read the full conversation at the top link in our bio.

.pro-gallery-wix-wrapper {display: block !important;} .pro-gallery-wix-wrapper .gallery-item-container {opacity: 1 !important; display: block !important;}

@unthinkable.earth

​We're building inclusive, community- minded approaches to respond to the destruction of living systems with proportional emotional maturity, responsibility, love and care.

​

Follow us

We're building inclusive, community- minded approaches to respond to the destruction of living systems with proportional emotional maturity, responsibility, love and care.