Individuals

The Climate Journey 9 Waypoints

Where are you on the map today?

Chart your understanding, processing and response to the climate and nature crisis.

From initial unawareness and denial, through awakening, grief, meaning-making, activism and ultimately to regeneration and compassion.

Each stage builds on the one before, acknowledging the emotional, cognitive and relational aspects of the crisis. This journey is non-linear, deeply personal, and shaped by many factors, such as cultural background, belief systems, lived experience, profession and proximity to climate impacts.

We may cycle through stages many times or sit with conflicting feelings simultaneously.

The nine waypoints represent the inner and interpersonal shifts that can accompany climate awareness.

1. Unaware

A state of ignorance or not having been exposed to the realities of the climate crisis.

Psychological lens: This may be shaped by life circumstances, age, privilege or marginalisation, cultural narratives or disconnection from nature/society. There may be a general sense of unease, but the source is unclear.

2. Denial or Disavowal

Encountering information but pushing it away, consciously or unconsciously.

Psychological lens: A natural protective response to overwhelming or threatening information. May appear as apathy, minimisation or defensiveness. Can be reinforced by societal, political or cultural norms. Occupation, meeting of basic needs and familial expectations can create a sense of personal and collective interest to remain safe in a bubble of denial. This may be affirmed by the public promotion and normalisation of disavowing behaviours on a large scale via politics, media and particular industries (often using propaganda).

3. Awakening / Realisation

An initial awareness or confrontation with the realities of the climate crisis.

Psychological lens: Feelings of shock, disorientation, disbelief, anxiety or grief may emerge. This stage often triggers a sense of loss of safety and a rupture in how we view our (assumed) future or our place in the world.

4. Emotional Engagement

The emotional weight of climate awareness sets in.

Psychological lens: Deepened experiences of eco-anxiety, ecological grief, guilt, helplessness, rage, despair, isolation, blame and/or ‘othering’. For some, this may be a moment of overwhelm or emotional shutdown.

5. Meaning-Making & Identity Shifts

Individuals begin to reflect more deeply on their values, identities, and roles in the face of the crisis. “What does this mean for me and how I live?”

Psychological lens: This can involve existential questioning, shifts in worldview and a re-evaluation of values, purpose and priorities. It can bring discomfort and clarity, and be both destabilising and growth-oriented.

6. Seeking Support & Connection

A desire to find belonging, validation and shared understanding. A turning point toward seeking community and psycho-social support. A relieving outward focus after a deep inner reflection.

Psychological lens: A critical stage for reducing isolation and fostering a sense of strength-in-numbers. Therapeutic support, peer connection, community dialogue and climate-aware spaces become important. This connection-centred stage supports collective regulation. Group work helps metabolise emotions and re-establish hope.

7. Adaptation via Engagement or Action

Turning emotional response into meaningful action, whether personal, political or professional. Embarking on personal behaviour change experiments, committing with enthusiasm and motivation, or from a sense of obligation as the need to adapt to the new normal becomes apparent.

Psychological lens: A sense of purpose can emerge, and purpose coupled with action can help alleviate distress. However, burnout, urgency and injury to morale may arise if not well-supported. Balance and boundaries are not yet fortified.

8. Integration & Sustained Resilience

A more grounded way of living and engaging with the climate crisis, where grief and hope, despair and courage co-exist; a long-term relationship with climate-awareness and activism.

Psychological lens: Ongoing emotional processing, cultivating boundaries and discovering embodiment practices. Placing joy and care alongside the commitment to activism/engagement. Holding grief and hope together.

9. Regeneration & Compassion

An evolving, maturing stage of connection and compassion for self, others and the more-than-human world.

Psychological lens: Deepened emotional literacy, embracing interconnectedness, humility and care, feeling a sense of belonging to the Earth. At this stage, a regenerative mindset takes root, nurturing individual and collective wellbeing through rest, creativity and mutual care. It is the possibility of renewal even amidst loss; an ongoing emotional and ecological regeneration. Here, engagement is not rooted in fear or urgency, but in love, imagination and a sense of kinship with life.