Eco-psychology: NEW Free helpline, handbook, for climate change mental illness

After thirty years of Green-Blob disaster porn, there are casualties.

Psychologist Susie Burke tells the story of a woman who came to her for counselling after having her first child. Not because she was suffering from post-natal depression, but because she was “struggling with the enormity of what she had done.” She felt she had brought her child into a “world she knew was going to be a lot harsher and a lot less safe,” Burke told DW.

“She came to me when she was overwhelmed by this distress; questioning whether she had done the right thing. The fear she had for his future was really huge.”

Look out for the new hotline (Can someone find this number?)

Burke is an Australian psychologist and academic who specializes in eco-psychology. She treats people suffering mental illness as a result of climate change, and also recently set up a free hotline called the “Climate Change Psychological Support Network,” where Australians can call a qualified psychologist to talk through their feelings about environmental change.

Look out for the handbook:

‘The Climate Change Empowerment Handbook’ is a handy guide on how to take happy people and make them stressed:

Engage in climate change communication

Engaging in more serious conversations with climate dissenters, deniers, doubters, or the disengaged, is also very valuable, for those who are willing to take this on.

The book has advice like “use fear”, “be emotive”:



FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Fear Appeals

When climate change is framed as an encroaching disaster that can only be addressed by loss, cost and sacrifice, it creates a wish to avoid the topic….

Use vivid and emotive stories

Build emotional arousal… Use vivid imagery…

… move beyond ‘what’s in it for me?’ to ‘what’s best for humanity?’

The book advises that “Action is the best antidote to despair and helplessness….”. Mature adults, on the other hand, know that pointless action is the best path to hell.

To cure panicky snowflakes, instead, they could try talking to people who are not panicking — like skeptics.

We’d be happy to help. Instead of talking about feelings and framing their pain, we’d suggest they look at some proxies, feel the history, gaze at graphs and learn some logic and reason. It’s a long term solution. Never again will they fall for gullible voodoo, fake science and make-work rent-seeking propaganda.

REFERENCE

More info at the APS site.

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