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Bastian Allgeier

What are your preferred ways to fight climate change anxiety and just pure frustration with climate politics? I feel like I got a lot better dealing with this in general, but sometimes I really get hit hard again.

To be clear, this is not about ignoring it. Just dealing with it more effectively.

@mandrasch Thank you! I saw that book a couple times already, but always forgot to bookmark it.

@bastianallgeier Control what you can control. Make small changes. Try not to read the bad news. Read Viktor Frankl and Robert Maurer.

@charlesroper "Control what you can control" definitely is key. Also a big fan of small, continuous changes. Thanks for the recommendations.

@bastianallgeier Maurer's books are excellent on the topic of many small changes. His work has definitely stuck with me. 👍

@mariohamann I'm very much with you there. I'm constantly searching for my own role in this and don't just want to be a "useless web dev".

I tried to summarize this in a talk at @btconf last year youtube.com/watch?v=cYvhYX2Nce4 which was a lot harder than I thought. I guess the essence for me was to get unstuck somehow first.

@bastianallgeier @btconf Thanks for the link, looking forward to watch it!

Being knocked out the last few days (🤒), I've had time to think and find ways that reflect
(1.) what I want to do on this topic AND
(2.) what I think I'm good at.

The combination feels pretty good, because it feels like something I as a person can bring value to... hoping this will help me overcome the feeling of missing real value in the work I do, compared to the "real world problems".

@mariohamann @btconf I honestly think that's exactly the path forward.

@bastianallgeier Join a local activist group! It's also a good way to get off the computer once in a while :)

@bastianallgeier I am really bad at this, especially when looking around what's going on everywhere (ukrain, iran, china…). I'll keep this thread in view to hopefully get some ideas how to handle it better.

@mauricerenck I totally feel you. I've been mostly in a form of shock for a long time. The last year was better, but it's still extremely difficult.

Personal changes help me, but it's also a lot about shifting focus away from the negative and frustrating news to positive changes. It was very difficult for me at first, because it feels like ignoring reality. But it really doesn't have to mean that.

@bastianallgeier I try that, too. Leaving Twitter and Meta was a good step. "Unfortunately" I'm interested in all that media stuff, how it works, what impact it has, so that's a bit of a contradiction.

I really liked your talk last year in HH and I am again and again thinking about what we as tech savvy people can do.

Beside all that, it's good to know, that other people are struggling with this too, and that they found ways to handle it. So thanks for that thread and the encouragement :)

@mauricerenck I think it was @rauschma who said that it's also a form of activism to gather strength and inner calm again to look forward and I really liked that.

@bastianallgeier @rauschma That's a lovely way of looking at things :)
I ordered the book mentioned before, maybe that's a good starting point.

@bastianallgeier @mauricerenck
Right! That has two benefits:

* People who have inner peace affect others positively in many, often very subtle ways (at least that’s my experience).

* When and if they act, they are much more effective because their actions are not driven by fear, anger, etc. (which perpetuates cycles).

@bastianallgeier @mauricerenck With current crises, my impression is that all of the currently very visible chaos has always been there, just more hidden and/or ignored by western countries. The increased awareness has one benefit: It’s clearer what issues we are facing.

@rauschma @bastianallgeier Imho that's the really sad thing. All that what we're seing and fear today has been known for decades. I was in a greenpeace kids group in the 90s and am a NABU member and that topic was present all the time. But until some years ago "no one" cared. That makes it even more depressing. Makes you want to stand up and say "See?! We told you so!", but of course that won't help anybody.
The good thing is, now there is more pressure from the public, as more people are aware

@mauricerenck @rauschma I've also been in that position to feel completely alone and everyone else doesn't seem to care. But I can only say that this isn't true. There are so many people who think in similar ways and share the same fears but are silent for various reasons.

@mauricerenck @bastianallgeier
Very true! Some people have been warning us about climate change since the 1970s. 😢

As you mention, I’m also getting the impression that, during the last few years, more people than ever finally understand the issues we are facing (climate change, racism, gender equality, corruption, etc.), on a deeper (not only intellectual) level.

I have acknowledged many of them for a long time but my understanding has deepened a lot recently (since ca. 2015).

@bastianallgeier I've spent a lifetime putting problems on my shoulders. My therapist helped me get to a place realising there's only so much one can do.

Doing your best, while mentally and physically looking after yourself (taking breaks) is the most that can be asked of you.

tl;dr Learn not to be so hard on yourself, and know you're doing well.

@pie That's definitely some good advice. It's so important to find sources of strength and happiness and it's definitely easier to get yourself further down that spiral of doom than to find out of it.

@bastianallgeier I also think it comes down to the fact; it's a marathon not a race.

Nothing will happen overnight. No matter how hard you try.

Always here if you need to vent though <3

@bastianallgeier remembering that a tiny action is already better than none, and that you don’t have to be perfect.

Also joining a community of people with similar struggles, interests, goals. Like (sorry for the shameless plug!) the one we’re building here to figure out how journalism can contribute: republik.ch/klimalabor

www.republik.chKlimalaborAuf dieser Seite finden Sie jederzeit alles Wichtige im Überblick.

@jeremystucki Good points!

The project is very interesting. Thanks for sharing!

@bastianallgeier I share your anxieties and we as a family and for my agency we looked for things we could do beyond the usual suspects. Disillusioned by the opportunities (politics, media, etc.) we found that supporting the DUH (duh.de/) seems to be a surprising effective method to peaceful enforce change. Of course the law studying of our younger daughter inspired us to try this way.

Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V.Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V.: Wir setzen Umweltschutz durchDie Deutsche Umwelthilfe verbindet Naturschutz mit Verbraucherschutz und setzt sich für den Erhalt unserer natürlichen Lebensgrundlagen ein.

@yves Interesting! It's one of those organisation names that always keeps on popping up, but I can't really tell what they are doing :) I have to read some more about them.

@bastianallgeier I think the most important thing is to keep checking the status quo. Am I doing enough? What can I change for the better? A lot of things I didn't think about a few years ago, I wouldn't do anymore.

As designers and developers, I think we have more opportunities but also more responsibility to change things for the better.

@bastianallgeier For my part, as a web designer, I try to design and develop as sustainably as possible. Every image, every video, every little animation has an impact on the carbon footprint of the product I am responsible for.

To put it in the words of Victor Papanek:

"There are professions that do more harm than that of the designer - but many are not."