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Bellehumeur CR, Carignan LM. On proposing relational environmental metaphors to stimulate engagement and foster well-being in the midst of climate change. Front Psychiatry 2024; 15:1377205. [PMID: 38818020 PMCID: PMC11137305 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1377205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Messages regarding climate change that are intended to stimulate responsible engagement can impact our mental health in both positive and negative ways, which in turn can increase or limit the potential engagement being sought through those very messages. Increasingly alarmist environmental metaphors are being brought into question due to their possibly detrimental impact on mental health and well-being, and in their place, relational environmental metaphors are proffered to instill hopeful and constructive individual and collective engagement for responsible climate action. This article discusses how both alarmist and relational environmental metaphors interact with eco-emotions. It proposes, in light of concepts arising from Porges' Polyvagal Theory - on the psychophysiology of autonomic states created in contexts of threatening cues and feelings of safety and connection -, that relational environmental metaphors are preferable for stimulating responsible collective engagement and fostering global well-being in the midst of climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian R. Bellehumeur
- School of Counselling, Psychotherapy and Spirituality, Faculty of Human Sciences, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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Kałwak W, Weziak-Bialowolska D, Wendołowska A, Bonarska K, Sitnik-Warchulska K, Bańbura A, Czyżowska D, Gruszka A, Opoczyńska-Morasiewicz M, Izydorczyk B. Young adults from disadvantaged groups experience more stress and deterioration in mental health associated with polycrisis. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8757. [PMID: 38627525 PMCID: PMC11021532 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59325-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The recent polycrisis (COVID-19, Ukraine war, climate change, economic crisis) has been associated with mental health through cumulative stress, with young people being particularly vulnerable. We surveyed 403 college students from Poland to examine their psychological responses to the experienced crises. The results showed that polycrisis was associated with worse mental health of college students from disadvantaged groups (based on gender, sexual orientation, and financial situation) compared to other college students, in four areas: sense of proximity to the crises, stress caused by the crises, sense of responsibility for mitigating the crises, and experiencing everyday moral dilemmas regarding the crises. These young adults also suffered more in terms of negative affectivity, depressive symptoms, and subjective physical and mental health. Our findings suggest that when discussing public mental health perspectives, it is important to consider consequences of cumulative stress and its greater impact on young people from disadvantaged groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weronika Kałwak
- Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, ul. Romana Ingardena 6, 30-060, Kraków, Poland.
| | - Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska
- Department of Quantitative Methods and Information Technology, Kozminski University, ul. Jagiellonska 57/59, 03-301, Warsaw, Poland
- Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, 12 Arrow St, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Anna Wendołowska
- Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, ul. Romana Ingardena 6, 30-060, Kraków, Poland
| | - Karolina Bonarska
- Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, ul. Romana Ingardena 6, 30-060, Kraków, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Sitnik-Warchulska
- Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Management and Social Communication, Jagiellonian University, ul. Prof. Stefana Łojasiewicza 4, 30-348, Kraków, Poland
| | - Anna Bańbura
- Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, ul. Romana Ingardena 6, 30-060, Kraków, Poland
| | - Dorota Czyżowska
- Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, ul. Romana Ingardena 6, 30-060, Kraków, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Gruszka
- Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, ul. Romana Ingardena 6, 30-060, Kraków, Poland
| | | | - Bernadetta Izydorczyk
- Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, ul. Romana Ingardena 6, 30-060, Kraków, Poland
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Varutti M. Claiming ecological grief: Why are we not mourning (more and more publicly) for ecological destruction? AMBIO 2024; 53:552-564. [PMID: 38060140 PMCID: PMC10920496 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-023-01962-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Eco-anxiety, grief and despair are increasing, yet these emotions tend to remain private, rarely expressed in public. Why is it important and necessary to grieve for ecological loss? Why are we not-as individuals and societies-coming together to express and share our grief for ecological destruction? I address these questions from three angles. Firstly, I draw on recent literature on ecological grief and prior work on grief for human lives, to argue for the importance and urgency of grieving publicly for ecological loss. Building on this, I identify perceptual, cognitive, affective, ritual and political obstacles to ecological mourning; these obstacles point at critical intersections between emotions, practices, disciplines, public and private realms, which can turn into fruitful venues for further research, debate and action on ecological grief (and its absence). In closing, I propose a set of 'ecological skills' that might help us overcome these obstacles, and lead us to embrace ecological grief and mourning as acts of ethical responsibility and care for the planet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marzia Varutti
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences (CISA), University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland.
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Weihgold V. Moral submissiveness: social origin as a vulnerability for well-being on a warming planet. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1355736. [PMID: 38558780 PMCID: PMC10978707 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1355736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
In recent years, the emotional experience of climate change has been studied extensively from fields like psychology, theology, sociology, and philosophy. It is crucial to analyze these results for possible vulnerability with regard to well-being. While climate justice research raises awareness of the current (social) situation of the participants in relation to the experience of climate change, the research on climate emotions seems to overlook the participant's former social situation - their family of origin. Previous studies on injustice have shown however that it is precisely the way people were educated on emotion work that has a significant impact on their experiences and sense of control in the situation. Given the importance of this sense of control for mental well-being, I argue consequently that social origin is a vulnerability for well-being in the (emotional) experience of climate change, perpetuating climate injustice, based on this combination of studies from different epochs. Therefore, in the interest to protect well-being on a warming planet, it is crucial to raise awareness of the impact of social origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Weihgold
- International Center for Ethics in Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Centre Gilles Gaston Granger, Aix-Marseille-Univerity, Aix-en-Provence, France
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Mead J, Gibbs K, Fisher Z, Kemp AH. What's next for wellbeing science? Moving from the Anthropocene to the Symbiocene. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1087078. [PMID: 36874837 PMCID: PMC9982109 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1087078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Mead
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
| | - Katie Gibbs
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
| | - Zoe Fisher
- Regional Neuropsychology and Community Brain Injury Service, Morriston Hospital, Swansea, United Kingdom.,Health and Wellbeing Academy, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Haddon Kemp
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom.,Regional Neuropsychology and Community Brain Injury Service, Morriston Hospital, Swansea, United Kingdom
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