Stress & Safety Ratio: Our apathy is Nature’s enemy
The first pillar of "A Climate Activist Guide for Regular People"
Welcome back to our four week mini series.
As a follow up to my recent post, A Climate Activist Guide for Regular People: 3 Pillars of Participation, I offer the first Tree Pillar — The Stress & Safety Ratio: Our apathy is Nature’s enemy. My hope is that you use this practical framework in daily life as we — regular people — become advocates and activists for Nature.
My personal experience
When I began intentionally learning about the collapse of Nature, the onslaught of tragic news was entirely overwhelming and, in accordance with our nervous system’s brilliant design, I shut down. I cried a lot and felt swallowed up by hopelessness. “I can’t do anything to change it.” Sound familiar? It’s the voice of overwhelm that happens when the nervous system experiences too much, too fast.
Then I’d hear some good Nature news and would feel a sense of comfort and relief. “Maybe everything is okay after all. I’m sure other folks will take care of it.” The problem diminished and my mind would start tinkering with more trivial things.
But then I’d hear more alarming news and nosedive right back into the sludge of my overwhelm. This loop kept me stuck in the eddy of my apathy for a few weeks. And, at this moment in time, there is no enemy of Nature more malicious than our apathy.
So what’s the antidote? The Stress & Safety Ratio — a concept adapted from the field of neuroscience.
The reasoning
Thanks to my background in neurobiology and the nervous system, I was able to make sense of what was going on from a body/brain perspective. That said, you likely already know this from your lived experience. Here’s the gist of it.
When it comes to Nature’s abuse, there are two sides of the same apathetic coin:
1. Everything is going to be fine
2. There’s nothing we can do to stop it
And apathy inhibits change.
In order to be impactful in our advocacy, our brains require the ‘just right’ ratio of stress and safety. Too much safety and our brain doesn’t experience the necessity of change. Too much stress and we collapse. If you’ve ever heard of ‘good stress’ or ‘eustress’, they both refer to this well-balanced cocktail.
Three things to know about the ratio:
We have to experience both stress and safety at the same time
It is entirely unique to your particular nervous system
It dynamically changes moment-to-moment
Said another way, we have to hold ‘both/and’, you may need more or less of either safety or stress than the person next to you in this moment and the amount needed may be different a moment from now.
I’ll state very clearly that, especially with rampant climate anxiety and the likelihood of climate related trauma already experienced (directly and/or vicariously), most folks’ nervous systems need loads of more safety.
When you hit the just right ratio of stress and safety, it feels like, “There is a need and here is what I can do to meet it.” It’s the felt sense of agency, readiness and vitality. It’s the embodiment of stubborn hope and the kinetic energy that gets shit done. It empowers us to be as useful in our activism as possible.
Here’s what you do
Start by becoming aware of your inner experience as it relates to Nature’s injustice. Notice your body sensations, thoughts and emotions.
Once you can identify your sensations, thoughts and/or emotions, use it as a guide of what ‘flavor’ of information about Nature to take in at that moment to optimize your advocacy’s effectiveness.
Though it can be experienced in many ways, here are two examples:
If you notice you’re feeling emotionally neutral, there is slack in your muscles and you are thinking, “It’s not as bad as Leah is saying,” those are good indications to take in a small dose of hard-to-hear news about Nature’s abuse. Touch into suffering to give a signal to your body/brain that action is needed.
Conversely, if your body feels listless, emotionally you feel powerless and have thoughts like, “nothing is ever going to change,” it’s time to take in a large dose of good news about victories on behalf of Nature.
The disproportionate dosage is on purpose. Generally speaking, we need three to six times the amount of good to hard news. From a nervous system view, it’s significantly easier to get overwhelmed than it is to come out of it so take in hard news in very small quantities.
I’ve started to do this both before and after engaging with conversations about Nature activism, as well as news/media. That way I know what ‘flavor’ my nervous system needs in order to maintain both the effectiveness and sustainability of my advocacy.
Resources
Here’s a short list of resources I look to for good Nature news:
Alaina Wood — The Garbage Queen — Short videos of global good climate news headlines each week
Sam Bentley — Regularly published short videos highlighting innovative Nature solutions
Imagine5 — A storytelling platform with positive stories at the intersection of culture and climate
Happy Eco News — Good eco news articles spanning Nature, design, society, business and more + you can sign up to receive the top five good news eco stories every Monday
Outrage + Optimism — A weekly podcast covering science, business, finance, politics and culture of climate change and Nature advocacy
The Daily Climate / Good News — Publication dedicated to all things climate with a ‘Good News’ specific section
Hard-to-hear news isn’t hard to find (especially when it’s ablaze like LA) but when it comes to learning, the legitimacy of the source is critical so here are a few I recommend:
NASA — Resources to understand evidence, causes, effects of Nature’s abuse and exploitation
DeSmog — Independent, global news outlet of accurate, fact-based information
United Nations — The UN’s Climate and Environment section
Be free to add other resources you’d recommend in the comments.
Onto Tree Pillar #2: Individual Agency: You can do it yourself
P.S. If you feel stuck in either apathetic state and want to clear the way so that you can fully engage and advocate, let’s explore working together. Find out more at clearthewayforlove.com.