‘Courage without the certainty of a happy ending’: the emotion regulation of environmental activists

Figures & data

Table 1. Emotions related to the ecological and climate crisis, activism, and emotion regulation strategies.

Emotions related to the ecological and climate crisis	Emotions related to activism	Emotion regulation strategies
Grief/sorrow/sadness, pain, fear, anxiety, anger, depression, frustration, worry, confusion, feel paralyzed, sense of hopelessness and powerlessness. Living in ‘climate truth’. Feeling alienated from others Guilt- feeling like a hypocrite, but also grateful about being privileged- not worried about the future on a personal level-positioned to have hope-denial. Grateful to be alive now, joy-surrendering to the moment- acceptance but not apathy- feeling courageous.	Have no choice, but to take action-privilege means obligation do their part/make sacrifices. Sense of legacy. Underlying mental health problems/trauma creates the need for action/activism- need to feel needed and important. Activism provides energy, sense of nourishing, empowerment, confidence, and assertiveness- feels life-enhancing. Provides sense of purpose. Feel excited about what the future might bring/new beginnings. Experiencing socially rewarding and meaningful relationships/joy/love	Taking action to heal
	Burnout- take on too much responsibility, fighting and proving worthy for the movement, exhaustion, resentfulness, negative energy, anger, feeling underappreciated, feeling self-righteous. Culture of ‘depressed servitude’ Difficult experiences related to conflict around leadership/lack of leadership and taking action vs. self-care/”inner work”.	Healing to sustain action