Happy New Year!

I don't think anyone would be surprised to learn that 2025 is a year of change. It's represented by the number nine which indicates endings and beginnings. One week into the new year, and North Americans are already seeing changes in their leadership with the resignation of Canada's Prime Minister and the soon-to-be inauguration of the new President in the U.S.

Many people are not comfortable with change. Often change means letting go of something which can lead to feelings of grief. According to Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, the director of the Trauma Stewardship Institute in the United States, people do not handle grief well, so they often turn to over-consumption to numb the pain. This could be consumption of food, brand items, gambling, tv watching, alcohol, drugs, etc. You name it. People do their best to avoid the pain instead of feeling it. Feelings of grief and sadness are natural human emotions, yet more and more people are turning to mood medications to avoid such feelings. This is evidenced by the massive increase in recent use. Mood medication consumption increased 3,001% from 1991 to 2018 in the United States, and the startling stats about the number of increasing fentanyl overdoses is frightening. Society is escaping its pain and not in healthy or productive ways.

Academic scholars, Sean Blenkinsop (a former professor of mine) and Estella Kuchta (2024), have taken an ecologizing perspective when they propose that healing the planet also involves healing ourselves. Imagine if we could do both at the same time? They suggest that we need to shift away from individualism where we just focus on our own needs to that of focusing on our relationships with each other and all- our- relations as Indigenous people of Turtle Island believe. It is a deeper way of being in the world and unites us as we once were before the corporate-capitalist model changed our lives and undermined our health, our relationships, and our planet.

Blenkinshop and Kuchta recommend pushing against societal barriers in our culture that separate us as united beings. We are all one, but we've forgotten that, and we see it in how we treat each other and how we treat the planet and her beings. How do we get it back? What can you do to heal and overcome the anxiety you are feeling today?

Strategy # 1: GO TO NATURE! I realize this is a common theme in my posts, but it is for a good reason. It works! Western science is only just discovering the many health benefits of spending time in nature. More and more studies across the globe are touting its health benefits. Don't have a forest or park nearby? Well, according to Blenkinsop and Kuchta, ecopsychologists are exploring mental health advantages of people who do open- water swimming or take horticulture therapy. If you are in an urban area, walk through a greenhouse and feel the energy of the plants. Take a horticulture course, or go swimming in a lake. Kayaking, canoeing, or rowing are other great ways to get close to the water. Start a little garden in your backyard or on your balcony. Gardening is another wonderful way of connecting with nature and has been found to reduce depression, anxiety and even body mass index not to mention an increase in life satisfaction (Masashi Soga et al). Who wouldn't want more of that?

Strategy #2: CONNECT WITH PEOPLE! Put down your devices and find ways to interact with your friends, family, neighbours and community. Volunteer once a week; visit people in nursing homes, attend a spiritual service, participate in community events. They're always looking for volunteers to help out, and this way it's not a long-term commitment. Call someone on the phone whom you haven't spoken with in a long time. Do it old school, and pen someone a letter. Trust me; they'll be thrilled to receive a real letter from a friend or relative in the mail. Buy a stranger a coffee and see the brief joy you bring to another. It's contagious, for it will bring you joy as well. Say good-morning with a big smile to people you meet on the street. Hold the door open for the person behind you. Volunteer to walk your neighbour's dog. Shovel their driveway and notice their appreciation. These are all easy ways to start connecting with your fellow human beings. Remember that we have more in common than not. Let's start acting that way as well.

If we start to heal ourselves, perhaps we can also heal the beliefs and values that put us and our planet at risk. It's a win/win situation.

Credit to Dr.s Blenkinsop and Kuchta for the information provided in this post. If you're interested in reading their thought-provoking book, here it is: Ecologizing Education : Nature-Centered Teaching for Cultural Change. They present many interesting facts and suggestions that extend well beyond education.