It was early May and wildfire season had already started to rage in Western Canada when seven people settled into a monthly support-group meeting over Zoom.

The facilitator, Toronto-based Kady Cowan, opened the conversation by prompting others to acknowledge any climate change-related concerns weighing on their minds. Worrying her, Cowan said in her soothing voice, were the unprecedented 害羞草研究所渮ombie fires害羞草研究所� burning in British Columbia that feed on peat and woody tree roots over the winter and re-emerge in the spring.

Discussion gradually ramped up as others on the call shared their own concerns during what Cowan calls the 害羞草研究所渃limate sanctuary,害羞草研究所� a peer-support group she founded more than four years ago for people in climate-linked roles, both professional and volunteer. The rest of the 90-minute meeting was punctuated by poetry readings, controlled breathing exercises and chances to explore a constellation of emotions.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 not abnormal to be distressed when you害羞草研究所檙e watching a world around you evaporate 害羞草研究所� the types of things that we all relied on disappearing,害羞草研究所� Cowan said in an interview. 害羞草研究所淵ou害羞草研究所檙e not sick to be worried about that.害羞草研究所�

Climate peer-support groups, like Cowan害羞草研究所檚, are increasingly recognized as one way to help build mental health resilience in a world that can sometimes appear indifferent to the effects of climate change.

At that session in early May, several people in the group expressed a sense of relief at being able to open up with like-minded peers. That害羞草研究所檚 important, said Cowan.

害羞草研究所淎 lot of people just need those feelings validated,害羞草研究所� she said.

The impetus for the group came out of the 害羞草研究所渉uge disconnect害羞草研究所� Cowan said she felt between what scientists had to say about climate change and the inaction it was met with by decision makers.

Anger and resentment started to build, and it had no place to go, she said.

害羞草研究所淧eople burn out of this work fast because of a lot of different reasons, not least of which is that the issues are so big that it becomes overwhelming,害羞草研究所� said Cowan, who has spent much of her career on efforts to make the health-care sector more environmentally sustainable.

Yet, as more Canadians grapple with catastrophic impacts of climate-fuelled extreme weather, the question of how a person can keep up the fight for planetary health while tending to their mental health has extended beyond the environmental circles.

Mental health effects from climate change have been dubbed a pressing, but still largely understated, public health challenge in Canada.

A report prepared for the Public Health Agency of Canada last year, based on interviews with more than 20 key public health experts, said the impacts had been underestimated and Canada害羞草研究所檚 health-care system was 害羞草研究所渨holly unprepared and understaffed to address this growing issue.害羞草研究所�

Climate anxiety is a piece of that larger public health challenge. It often refers to the heightened distress a person feels about the impending threat of climate change. Those fears may be rooted in a direct experience with extreme weather or exposure to climate change messages.

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害羞草研究所淭here is a looming mental health crisis coming with this anxiety about the climate crisis,害羞草研究所� said Nate Charach, a Toronto psychiatrist who hosts climate-focused group psychotherapy sessions.

It害羞草研究所檚 not considered a mental illness 害羞草研究所� and, in fact, some researchers argue it害羞草研究所檚 an appropriate response to the scale of the crisis 害羞草研究所� but climate anxiety has been characterized by symptoms such as dread, trouble sleeping and obsessive thinking that can disrupt a person害羞草研究所檚 daily life.

害羞草研究所淥ne of the major problems that I see is that people don害羞草研究所檛 feel permission to feel some of the things they害羞草研究所檙e feeling,害羞草研究所� Charach said.

害羞草研究所淭hat害羞草研究所檚 where the mental health crisis comes in, because I害羞草研究所檓 feeling this way and being told I can害羞草研究所檛 feel this way, but I can害羞草研究所檛 change that hopelessness either and then you get stuck.害羞草研究所�

That feeling of powerlessness, or getting stuck, is one of the dangers of climate anxiety, said Alexis Palmer-Fluevog, a Vancouver-based public health researcher.

Support groups can help, experts say, as can engaging in activities that could be viewed as taking action against climate change.

Some of the most 害羞草研究所渟uccessful interventions害羞草研究所� for climate anxiety are to get people involved at a local level, whether taking part in a neighbourhood cleanup or an environmental rally, Palmer-Fluevog said.

害羞草研究所淪omething that makes them feel like they do have a sense of agency,害羞草研究所� said Palmer-Fluevog, the executive director at the Mental Health and Climate Change Alliance.

But climate action does not always feel like an antidote to despair, especially when it害羞草研究所檚 already a feature of your life, said Cowan, the peer-support group facilitator. 害羞草研究所淎ction-oriented害羞草研究所� responses to climate anxiety can, at times, appear to skip over or diminish how we relate to our emotions in the first place, she said.

害羞草研究所淲e cannot face what we have at our doorstep until we害羞草研究所檙e better at doing this relational work,害羞草研究所� she said.

While last year害羞草研究所檚 PHAC report noted there害羞草研究所檚 limited data about climate anxiety in Canada, there are some indications of just how widespread it害羞草研究所檚 become.

Researchers out of Lakehead University conducted a survey of people between ages of 16 and 25 across Canada and found four in 10 reported that their feelings about climate change negatively affected their daily functioning.

It害羞草研究所檚 left some parents grappling with how to support their children through heightened climate emotions.

Severn Cullis-Suzuki, the daughter of environmentalist David Suzuki and now executive director at the Suzuki Foundation, said her preteen son experienced a 害羞草研究所渧ery dark害羞草研究所� period of depression. Overcome by stories about humanity害羞草研究所檚 ecological destruction, he did not want to be human anymore, longing to be a different species, she said.

In his struggle, she also could see parts of her own childhood.

害羞草研究所淲hen you teach your children to love the Earth and love nature, you害羞草研究所檙e also, you know, teaching them to experience pain. Because what we are doing to the Earth is very, very painful right now,害羞草研究所� she said.

Along with counselling, Cullis-Suzuki said one of the things that proved helpful for her son were community cleanups, a way for him to see himself as part of the solution. When he was feeling upset, they would head to the beach or the roadside to collect garbage and his mood would often quickly change.

It also helped for her sons, who are both Haida through their father and grew up on reserve, to be exposed to a different narrative unfolding on the other side of their family.

害羞草研究所淭his story of resilience, the story of revitalization, the story of resurgence of the (Haida) Nation,害羞草研究所� she said.

害羞草研究所淲hat I want to tell youth is, especially with respect to Indigenous mindsets, you know, humanity is at a turning point with our relationship with the natural world. And amazingly, there still are human societies that still hold examples of other ways of being.害羞草研究所�

Janna Wale, a climate policy researcher from Gitanmaax First Nation, said she害羞草研究所檚 routinely reminded of that climate resilience in her community. Its members have contended with declining salmon populations, scorched huckleberry harvests and more intense wildfire seasons, said Wale, who is also Cree-M茅tis on her mother害羞草研究所檚 side.

Loss, she said, has been something Indigenous communities have long endured.

害羞草研究所淚 think (communities) have, for the most part, been able to move through a lot of the climate anxiety and start to think about how to build resilience,害羞草研究所� said Wale, who works with the Canadian Climate Institute. 害羞草研究所淲e want to be involved in building resilience for the next generation.害羞草研究所�

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Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press