The Nature Coaching Cure to Eco-Despair is Right Outside

By Julie Elledge, PCC Coach, CEO & Owner

Climate change is a growing threat to mental health according to the American Psychiatric Association. The surprising consequences of events like drought and extreme weather events include mind stress and distress, high risk coping behaviors like increased alcohol use, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress¹. According to the CDC, ⅔ of people are at risk for cancer due to the ramifications of environmental disasters like wildfires and hurricanes, and human-caused disasters like air quality and pesticides.

Available to discuss is therapist, coach, and founder of coach-training program Mentor Agility, Dr. Julie Elledge. “Each of us as individuals have no control over the big picture of global climate change. It’s overwhelming and can cause existential despair.” How can you find the bandwidth – let alone hope – in a bleak situation? Below, Julie’s tips for coping with eco-despair:

Humans are pack animals who want to connect. Foundational to our nature coaching approach, we take advantage of the inextricable relationship between our survival, nature, and storytelling. Our tendency to use nature as a source of inspiration for our storytelling habits plays out in remarkable ways. Storytelling strengthens every aspect of our health, wellness, and well-being.

With the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks in our backyard, our unique nature coaching perspective returns magic, hope, and joy where the best solutions for human problems come to fruition. We incorporate all of the following tools and techniques and more into an enjoyable adventure for personal growth and self-advocacy.

These guiding activities are something that individuals can do on their own to focus on their relationship between nature and the self or with others. Both have significant advantages. Here is just a taste of what is possible when you fortify your relationship with Mother Earth.

Power up wellness like a battery

a man sitting on the mountain watching sunset

Nature is not just outside of you, it is inside too. Intention, attention, and the senses come together as a power source for the mind, body, and spirit. Nature wakes up our natural somatic intelligence opening new gateways into knowing ourself. For example, walking barefoot on the earth’s surface promotes physiological changes and wellness such as reduction of pain and inflammation and improvement in sleep, immune response, and wound healing. Sun gazing at sunrise or sunset does more than relax you, it harnesses your healing power. Throughout many cultures and traditions the sun has been worshiped. Sun gazing has emerges as a form of meditation that reduces stress and boosts energy levels.

Just like our computers and smart phones jump to life when they’re plugged into a power source, how we use our senses with intention and attention gives us energy like a power cord. We recast sluggish fixed thinking into a more creative mindset. Of course when you take the lunch break and sit under a park bench to listen to the wind blow the leaves above your head, turn off your phone!

Ask your self how can you positively impact the natural world?

What we can control is our work on an individual level. What do you have the capacity to do? Recycling, joining an action-based group in your community, running for office, writing articles to educate the public. How can you show up in the world in a way that you’re personally prioritizing, uplifting, and supporting the natural world? Pour your energies into that.

Unite action and purpose to create hope

When we focus on the actions we’re taking on an individual level, that boils down anxieties and ultimately puts them within your control. Now that you have the idea take action. You’re creating hope. In order to manage despair, we have to feel hope. That is what will keep us moving forward and taking action.

Turn to the natural world for inspiration

Humans have evolutionary reasons to seek out nature because of instinctive bonds (biophilia in scientific terms). The psychological benefits of spending time immersed in the natural world are countless, including stress reduction, heightened awareness, boosts in endorphin and dopamine production. These experiences feed our health, imagination, and creativity, and are regenerative for anyone coping with anxiety.

Transform your wonder list into a to-do-list

When was the last time you sparked wonder? Just planning the trip does wonders for the soul. Making the list, booking your trip, and imagining yourself exploring new landscapes moves your attention away from stress and anxiety. The world is filled with curiosities and marvels waiting to be explored. To release your mind from the anxiety and stress that goes along with eco-despair, give your mind permission to experience wonder when you travel to new and exotic places in nature. This movement of attention away from stress and anxiety into the joy of what is possible is a fundamental strength for human flourishing.

Tell a story of wonder!

For as long as humans have mastered fire, the evidence of our ancestors expressing their experience through symbolism has been a companion. Creating psychological distance through story is a critical survival technique that also helped humans thrive. When you tell others a story, you’re spreading awareness. Make it a story of wonder, and you inspire them into action!

Solve a problem with a story

Story gives the mind room to play with different scenarios such as taking different perspectives and trying novel ways to solve problems without taking on the risk of failure. The science of climate change may be compelling but until the heart is engaged, action will not happen. An engaged heart is the key factor in changing our ways and storytelling is the only way to make that happen. Oscar Wilde made the relevant statement, “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” Through the subtleties of oral storytelling we receive the bounty of connection with others, exploration of our own perspective and continual adjustment to the way we see the world.

Give your feelings the gift of beauty

When words escape us, humans have found ways to bring aesthetics together with the heart to express our experiences in profound ways. Like a secret decoder ring, anthropologists unlock the symbolic meaning of human artwork that tell the story of our ancestors 30,000 years ago. Today, as our ancestors felt thousands of years ago, nature beckons the human mind to capture our experiences through creative expression. For example the earth begs to be sculptured (ie: sandcastles) or moulded (ie: pottery and carving). The internet is filled with selfies of individuals who take snaps of themselves in awe inspiring places.

Great art moves people into action bypassing language barriers because they tell a story all on its own without words. For example, oration alone could not persuade Congress to protect what is now Yellowstone National Park in 1870. The beauty and grandeur captured by artist Thomas Moran and photographer William Henry Jackson were the critical persuasive factors that set into motion the wheels of government to make Yellowstone the first national park in the world.

Bring nature into your home and work

For most of human history, our close relationship with nature both challenged and supported our well-being. When we began to move our lifestyle indoors, we brought its benefits with us. Indoor plants, windows gazing upon natural landscapes, architectural design reminiscent of nature, and artwork carry Mother Nature into our indoor spaces. When we gaze upon these likenesses in our homes and at work, our heart rate slows, blood pressure lowers, and we recover faster from stress and anxiety.

Pet your dog, or cat, or parakeet

In these times of uncertainty and isolation, our pets become a source of comfort and support. And of course, emotional support animals are a nature coaching approach to cope with eco-despair.

Your dog for example may understand a few chosen words, but their real superpower is interpreting your tone of voice, body language, and gestures. When you gaze deeply into their eyes, your canine companion is gauging your emotional state and trying to decipher what you need. So feel free to snuggle up and get close to your pet for your douse of love and affection. The emotional and physical benefits you’re experiencing are very real!

Tune into Nature’s Masterpieces

Many of us are recovering from the madness of illness caused by the pandemic. The teeth of this monster unleashed upon the globe sink deeply our physical well-being as well as our mental health. During the pandemic, 4 in 10 adults in the US have reported symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders. That is up from one in ten adults prior to January 2019. Our ability to co-exist with nature impacts the spread of disease like COVID-19 to jump species.

On a brighter note, as the human population receded indoors, our interconnectedness with nature put on a show! The animal kingdom reclaimed landscapes they had not inhabited for decades. CNN reported dolphins taking a day trip up Venice’s Grand Canal. Scientists are reporting changes to birdsongs as the world became quieter with less traffic. Small demonstrations of wildlife change based on human behavior offers a sign of hope that what we do matters.

Biomimicry is an approach to problem solving that honors the wisdom of the natural world. The practice of imitating nature as a solution to human problems is as old as humanity. So why wouldn’t we seek out nature for our clues?

We have always looked to the heavens to explain our existence. Our technology has both dispelled our creation stories and at the same time unfastened new metaphors for solving problems nature’s way. The ways in which we can influence climate change are within ourselves. Of course we need nature to look more deeply inside ourselves and unlock the mysteries of the universe.

Dr. Julie Elledge // Jackson Hole, WY

Founder and CEO of Mentor Agility and creator of the Hero’s Journey® Change Model, Dr. Elledge is a highly experienced coach and renowned educator specializing in the use of storytelling in coaching. She is a licensed family therapist and professional coach in national practice with numerous credentials including the prestigious International Coaching Federation (ICF), the National Board Certification for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBC-HWC), and Board Certified Coach (BCC). Dr. Elledge is recognized as an expert in creativity and organizational dynamics and has created education and training programs for Apple Education, Twentieth Century Fox, NOAA, BP and INEEL. Using her gift for storytelling she has pioneered the areas of creativity, financial well-being, and nature in coaching.

Mentor Agility

Based in Jackson Hole, WY, Mentor Agility is the leading voice in storytelling and coaching. They aim to advance the coaching industry through unique and transformational educational programs. They believe that every person has a unique story to tell: They give coaches the tools to help clients define, re-story, and advance their lives. Mentor Agility offers certification programs and Specialized CCE Certifications that are approved by both NBHWC and the International Coaching Federation.