Gen Dread is taking a little break

Motherhood

Hey there!

Welcome back to the corner of the internet where we talk about climate emotions, their intensity, and how to work with them for more personal calm as well as justice-oriented actions. If you haven’t yet signed up, you can do so for free by hitting that yellow button right there:

This week’s post is not like all the others because I’m officially on maternity leave. That’s right, this “baby doomer” is having a baby very soon! If you’ve been following my work for a while, you’ll know that I’ve publicly grappled with my deep concerns about bringing a child into a world filled with climate chaos, via radio, book writing, and a forthcoming film. Some Gen Dread posts have also looked at this issue from a societal and less personal perspective. I have oodles of things to say about the growing (understandable) phenomenon wherein people are choosing to not have kids due to the climate crisis, how to navigate one’s own dilemma, and what parenting our next generation in the years ahead will require. Before getting into all of that though, I seriously need to put the computer away for a while and take an actual break from my various work projects as I get ready for this huge new chapter. Gen Dread will certainly be coming back into your inbox with more resources, interviews, articles, research updates, and more — however that date is so far more fluid than set.

Tons of people are feeling the full breadth of climate feelings these days, from anger, grief, hopelessness, and anxiety to a deep sense of moral injury. For those of you looking for resources in order to help you cope, I thought I’d leave you with a list of Gen Dread posts that are aimed at helping readers better understand and process their own feelings. Depending on what you’re looking for, the other posts may totally be worth checking out as well, but fall into the categories of: interviews with broad ranging climate voices, analytical takes, eco-anxiety research summaries, or “big ideas” pieces. Whereas these ones are more wellness based:

1) Resources for working with Climate Emotions

2) Why activism isn’t *really* the cure for eco-anxiety and eco-grief

3) What are "emotional methodologies" for dealing with tough climate feelings and how can they help?

4) A therapist's tips for dealing with uncertainty that the climate crisis creates

5) The Goldilocks zone of eco-anxiety and the deep weirdness of climate futures

6) A therapist's tips on how to shift away from too-certain visions of eco-collapse

7) The power of meaning-focused coping

Upcoming climate and racial justice focused mindfulness retreat:

Lastly, I’d like to plug an upcoming mindfulness retreat hosted by Earth Holder Community, the climate and racial justice initiative of Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village. Here is a link to the upcoming Earth Holder Community 6-week Online Retreat called "THIS IS IT!" Embodying Racial & Ecological Justice in the Face of the Climate Emergency, running Sept 26 through Nov 7, 2021. There are scholarship/reparations funds available (all such requests in past have been honoured).

I’m looking forward to reuniting with you further down the line!

Sending joy,

Britt