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Climate Anxiety

Not sure if I have experienced a full climate anxiety attack as this article describes but the very visible effects of climate change leave me feeling blue. The lack of fall foliage, flowers blooming ahead of time or not at all, the ceaseless rain leading to dreary days and ashen skies, untimely snow, crazy heatwaves - and the complete unpredictability of how the day or the week will shape up to be. 

I do notice all of these things and experience a sense of sad hopelessness about them. To overcome, I do the small things that I can - reduce my consumption footprint in every way. Small format stores with limited inventory make me feel way more comfortable than some national chain with endless aisles. When shopping online, I leave things in my basket for days until there is enough to ease the guilt getting stuff delivered to me. 

She understands how privileged she is; she describes her anxiety as a “luxury problem.” But still: The plastic toys in the bathtub made her anxious. The disposable diapers made her anxious. She began to ask herself, what is the relationship between the diapers and the wildfires? “I feel like I have developed a phobia to my way of life,” she said.

The notion that such anxiety is a "luxury problem" is not lost on me. I have seen poverty up close growing up in India. Every choice I have and am agonizing over is a huge privilege to have in the first place. Not knowing where your next meal is coming from is what can and should induce stress and anxiety. It is not on par with whether the two largely useless things I am ordering online can arrive together in one box with way extra packing materials or two such boxes. Yet there is something to be said for having "developed a phobia to my way of life". That is a relatable idea for me. 

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