The cheering and clapping are deafening, and the positive energy in the room is palpable.
“Joy is an act of resistance, and we’re here to resist today,” says emcee Josiah Edwards, his voice drowned out as the audience rises to their feet.
You’d never guess what this full house of 200 people have in common: They’re scared.
“We’re here to talk about what it’s like to be in this fight for climate justice,” Edwards continues, preaching now. “So we can have a home in 10, 20, 30, 100 years for our kids, our families, and our communities to enjoy. Isn’t that right?”
More cheers.
Edwards was leading a workshop/support group at Loyola Marymount University one recent evening to mentally and emotionally support people who are worried about the climate crisis. The idea is that coping with a global crisis is easier when you’re not doing it by yourself.
That makes sense to psychologist Maria Nazarian, who treats climate-anxious clients and attended the event.
“Connecting with other people who are experiencing similar emotions, not necessarily to just commiserate, but to help each other understand and to feel heard sometimes, and not to feel like you're alone, is really helpful,” she says.
The night, run in part by a group called Climate Mental Health Network, included yoga and meditation, activity stations that encouraged attendees to talk with each other, a panel discussion of mental health experts and climate activists, plus a documentary that interviewed young people about how they cope with climate concerns.
Several recent surveys have demonstrated that the majority of U.S. residents are concerned about the climate crisis. That is a lot of people trying to cope.
“It's not just about telling people to go to a therapist,” says Sarah Newman, who co-founded Climate Mental Health Network in 2021. “The one-on-one therapy model is not accessible, nor scalable, to respond to the magnitude of this crisis. We could train every psychiatrist, every therapist in the United States, and it's still not enough people to help people who are struggling with climate mental health issues.”
Instead, “we have to think about how we can help people connect with peers within the community. … For people to understand they're not alone with these feelings, with these emotions, with these experiences.”