Most of us worry about climate change, and sometimes that worry turns into anxiety or depression. By 2022, about 7% of U.S. adults will be found to be experiencing at least mild psychological distress from climate change, according to the Yale Climate Change Communication Project, publisher of the site. Climate journalists may be particularly vulnerable to experiencing climate distress because they often encounter difficult and emotional stories in their work.
With this in mind, the Yale Climate Connection editorial team sat down via Zoom for an honest conversation about the mental and emotional toll of reporting on climate change. We also discussed how we cope individually and how we support each other as a team.
This roundtable discussion has been edited and condensed.
Sam: In this summer where we've seen a lot of hurricanes, a lot of wildfires, a lot of heat waves, how are you approaching your mental health?
pearl: I've been thinking about this. I tend not to do much outside of work and taking care of my family. All I want to do now and forever is create a life outside of these two realms. A constant refrain in my head is “more like Sam” so having more hobbies, just to make sure I create an identity outside of my work and family. [Editor’s note: Sam is an avid knitter, painter, gardener, and just general hobby-collector.] I feel like we do a great job, and a lot of times, if you're doing something meaningful, you can let it take over who you are. I'm still proud of it. But I also knew that in order to better protect myself, I also needed to have an identity outside of myself.
Sarah: I think that's a really lovely way to put it, Pearl. I have very strict boundaries on when I work and when I don’t work, which helps. My laptop shuts down at the end of the day and I don't work evenings or weekends. This makes me someone who is 100% non-considerate about climate change, which I don’t think is healthy for anyone on the planet. Like you said, I have my own interests. I have had a decades-long fascination with classical music and playing classical music.
The other thing for me is that it feels really good and healthy to contribute to people's understanding of climate change and to be part of a team that's bigger than me. It helps me to feel like I'm part of the solution. What about you, Sam?
Sam: I think the whole power I've felt over the last year is that climate change has become a part of my personal life. Like, yeah, I'm going to turn off my computer at 5 o'clock and then I'm going to go for a walk – oh wait, I can't go for a walk because the air is filled with wildfire smoke!
That's the new thing I've been trying to figure out. Yes, I have many hobbies. I like spending a lot of time with friends. I like being outside. I love spending time with my friends’ kids because they are like wonderful little vehicles that make us see the world in a different way.
Sarah: Like you said, Sam, we think about climate change at work, but we also experience it directly in our personal lives. That was really important to the three of us last summer. This can be incredibly burdensome.
Sam: Yes. Yes.
Sarah: We're seeing this too among journalists covering COVID-19, who are talking about incredible burnout because they're writing about people dying and doing all kinds of things for work, but they're personally doing it for their families Worrying with friends.
pearl: As a perfectionist, it can also be difficult to feel like you’re doing enough. Climate change is part of every aspect of our lives. It's hard for me not to go out and think, “Okay, am I doing enough in my home? Do I have enough biodiversity in my yard? I ask myself those questions all the time. That's really important to me.” It's hard to break because you're reminded of it, or at least I'm reminded of it, in everything I see, everything I'm involved in, so that makes this job very difficult.
Sam: Yes, totally agree. This can be difficult because there is so much to struggle with. There is so much to save. There are many things to do. We see this a lot in stories. Time is of the essence, right? It’s hard to say “rest time is okay”.
Sarah: I always think of that saying: “Saving yourself is saving the world.”
pearl: Well, it depends on who you are. [Everyone laughs.]
Sam: So one change I made over the summer was to develop a relationship with a talk therapist. I was talking to her in March while I was researching the story of climate death. She said: “Why you Does it have to be the person in this story?
I think then I realized that I felt a lot of pressure, not necessarily climate-specific but journalism hellscape-specific, to do a good job. Stable journalism jobs are not common. Only a small percentage of people do it and have the resources to do it. I have the resources, privilege and staff position to do this. We need more people to do this.
Sarah: Yes, that's a very wise point. I thought it might be useful to talk about how we as a team try to look out for each other because we are one of the privileged few who are full-time climate journalists. This is extremely rare in this country.
Sam: Yeah, we had a really nice reporting conversation last November about last summer. I think we can probably all agree that summer can be the most difficult time because there is so much extreme weather and misery. So I think the first thing we did really well was create a foundation to talk openly about these things and be able to be human at work.
This really gave us a good baseline for developing a written team mental health plan. Yeah, this summer we're talking about trying to do less, trying to try fewer new things in the middle of hurricane season, and trying to have some plans for the organization before the summer instead of during the summer. I, in particular, find this really difficult – my brain doesn't want to think about the future when it's stressed in the present.
Sarah: One thing I really appreciate that we discuss in the program is how important it is to take time to decompress after difficult situations and how that is part of the job. So we had time to prepare for a difficult interview with someone severely affected by climate change. So you need to spend some preparation time leading up to the interview, but then have time to reflect and decompress as a person. Just acknowledge that time is part of the job It's really important.
Sam: completely. One of the things I worry about very much in this job, especially in the reporting part of the job, is that the reporting doesn't make people's lives worse. I don’t want to hurt the source anymore who has been through terrible things. I'm really grateful that we have the job security of full-time employees again, like “this is part of the job.” I can take the time to do this really well, for this person and for myself, so that I can turn on my computer the next day and do something else related to climate change instead of just saying,” Ahhhhhh”! ! ! ” [Everyone laughs.]
pearl: Before coming up with this year’s plans, we decided to create a work environment where it was okay to be vulnerable and okay to cry. I think it's a great model, especially for this type of work, but I don't think it's as general as it should be. I feel like if I was having a hard time I wouldn't be afraid to call either of you and talk about it, and I don't feel like I'm at risk of losing my job or that either of you have a negative opinion of my ability.
This is really important because while you do need a strong support system in your personal life, sometimes it's hard to talk to them about what's going on in your work environment because they're not as involved in it as you are. So when someone you know is going through a very, very similar situation, it's really comforting to know that I have that support. We all support each other.
Sarah: Yeah, I mean, the Army doesn't send soldiers into war without sending medics. But there are many journalists in the world who don’t have such a doctor, or they are in a very small team, or they are just on their own.
pearl: What I learned from covering last year’s hurricane season is to look for signs and make sure you’re mentally prepared to prevent slipping into crisis mode. I mean, we're going to learn a lot of new lessons this year. Nothing is perfect. We will not get through this unscathed. But hopefully every year we're learning new ways to do this better and protect our contributors to make sure they're okay.
Sam: We have a few minutes left. Do we have any advice for readers who may be struggling with climate change?
Sarah: What I'm saying is find someone who cares as much as you do. and work with them.
pearl: Yeah, I think I underestimated the importance of this. And have a sense of community. I think the society we live in is a very individualistic, isolationist society. You need to have supportive people around you.
Sam: I also think what all the research finds is that what helps people get through a crisis is strong social connections. I really try to be a part of my community. It makes me feel safer. I know many people. I try to make connections. We got a major tornado warning, and I texted my friend across the block and said, “Do you have a basement? How are you? Do you want to come over?” And I was like, “Maybe just come over? Because like, I'm so boring. [Everyone laughs.] Feeling like I'm participating in community solutions as well as community building – I find a lot of comfort in that.
pearl: I think this applies to everything in life. No matter what crisis you are going through or what feelings you are going through, it is important to have others by your side. I learned this the hard way—having a child without a good support system around me—took me into depression. Having that in your life is so important for everything.
Sarah: Everyone in the world learned a lesson during the lockdown. We hate that. We know why: because we can't see each other.
Sam: Social animals. OK As always, thank you for being so open. I think it's something that people should be talking about more, so I'm glad we're doing it.
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