In this episode, I will be exploring the mental health impacts of environmental change. I will dip into the research of writers such as Tori Tsui, Lesley Head, Glenn Albrecht, and Samantha Walton, to briefly explore terms such as eco-anxiety, environmental grief, solastalgia, nature cure, and radical hope.
(Content warning for the sensitive: I briefly mention some of the triggering elements of climate and conservation narratives including political resistance, hyperbolic news headlines, natural disasters etc., as these are required for context within the discussion. But these are not dwelled upon as the main focus is how we can develop resilience and better handle the mental health impacts of these changes.)
Please note, I looked up the pronunciation of the surname Tsui and I hope I have it vaguely correct. Apologies if not.
Thanks for listening! Resources are listed below.
Kirsty Fox
#HopeInTheRisingTidePod
Links, books and related content:
Books: please order these from your local indie bookshop if possible, or get them 2nd hand or through a local library. Links provided below are for UK suppliers, so if you’re overseas, I suggest you pick an alternative to save the carbon footprint of your book being shipped extra miles!
Hive UK sell new books and you can designate a portion of the sale to a local bookshop. World of Books (WOB) sells 2nd hand and nearly new books.
Hope and Grief in the Anthropocene: Re-conceptualising human-nature relations, Lesley Head
Everybody Needs Beauty, Samantha Walton
Other resources:
Young people’s climate anxiety revealed in landmark survey
Solastalgia: A New Concept in Health and Identity by Glenn Albrecht
There are several other essays and papers by Glenn Albrecht, which can be found on Google Scholar. If you find one you want to read which is only accessible if you’re a student, let me know and I’ll try to get a PDF for you.
Glenn Albrecht has also written a couple of books on the topic but I have yet to read these.
Why soil is one of the most amazing things on Earth - BBC Ideas video
(For if you’re interested in why soil exposure is so good for us. See also, Lucy Jones’ great book Losing Eden)
Right to Roam’s info graphics about ‘access deserts’ where people struggle to reach areas of nature.
Hope and despair dialogue from The Neverending Story - if you need some inspiration to be a warrior not a worrier!
Here’s that dialogue which I mention from The Neverending Story, featuring villainous wolf G’mork and our Fantasia hero Atreyu.
G'mork : Foolish boy. Don't you know anything about Fantasia? It's the world of human fantasy. Every part, every creature of it, is a piece of the dreams and hopes of mankind. Therefore, it has no boundaries.
Atreyu : But why is Fantasia dying, then?
G'mork : Because people have begun to lose their hopes and forget their dreams. So the Nothing grows stronger.
Atreyu : What is the Nothing?
G'mork : It's the emptiness that's left. It's like a despair, destroying this world. And I have been trying to help it.
Atreyu : But why?
G'mork : Because people who have no hopes are easy to control; and whoever has the control... has the power!
Atreyu : Who are you, really?
G'mork : I am the servant of the power behind the Nothing. I was sent to kill the only one who could have stopped the Nothing. I lost him in the Swamps of Sadness. His name... was Atreyu.
Atreyu : [the ground shakes again and Atreyu is knocked down. He grabs a knife shaped piece of broken stone and stands up, ready to fight] If we're about to die anyway, I'd rather die fighting! Come for me, G'mork! *I* am Atreyu!
Recommended nature podcasts
Trees a Crowd hosted by actor and nature advocate, David Oakes.
Coffee with Conservationists hosted by wildlife photographer, George Steedman Jones.
Imagining Tomorrow with sci fi writer, Emma Newman, and Friends of the Earth.
Marine Conservation Happy Hour hosted by academics, Dr Scarlett Smash and Dr Craken MacCraic.
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