The 2020 Election: Anxiety and Incrementalism

The 2020 campaign season has finally come to a close. And days after November 3rd has passed, the country is still reeling. About seventy percent of Americans - Democrats, Independents and Republicans - say the election caused a significant amount of anxiety and stress in their lives. That’s up from fifty percent four years ago.

How should we process those difficult emotions surrounding the election? Climate psychologist Renée Lertzman recommends practicing self-awareness and self-care.

“It’s very important for us each to know what our own thresholds are,” she says. “So knowing when it's time to sort of disengage and to take care of ourselves. To do what we need to do to restore our sense of being grounded, of being connected, of being in balance. So definitely, it’s a balancing act.”

Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode.

Guests:
David Roberts, Energy & Climate Change Writer, Vox
Renée Lertzman, Climate Engagement Strategist, author and founder of Project InsideOut
Eric Utne, Founder, Utne Reader; Author, Far Out Man: Tales of Life in the Counterculture (Penguin Random House, 2020)