Sarah

Sarah, 23. french

Sarah is a particular and vibrant young woman. She has a contagious laughter that seems to radiate all around her. Her eyes, underneath long, bright blue eyelashes, sparkle with energy. We met in a Café in Montpellier on a warm Autumn day, 2019, to talk about Climate Change & Mental Health.

>"Do you feel like Climate Change affects your day to day life?"

She sips at her coffee and lights a Cigarette. Her fingers shake a little.

"Yes it does. I am thinking about not bringing Children into this world because of all these environmental problems. I have stopped eating meat and i only buy second hand clothes. Oh and i try to drive and fly as little as possible.

You see i did my Masters in crisis Management, and i have worked with local politians about droughts and floodings. I have been confronted with a wide spectrum of outcomes, and i know that we need to act. We need adapted policies in order to respond to adequatly to the ecological issues we are facing."

She pauses for a moment.

"People can do some things but the most important thing is to fight capitalism and fight the huge companies, they are the ones that pollute. So i do some things for me because i can, but i think i am not the biggest part and i must change these companies"

>"Does climate change affect your emotional well beeing?"

She smiles at me and sighs.

"Honestly i don't want to think about it too much in my free time. It's everywhere you know, on social media for example. Of course i want to read because i need to know what is happening, but it's also stressful, and scary and sometimes i just want to chill and have a good time. I think that's why young people have problems reading articles about it, because it distresses us and don't exactly makes us feel hopeful, so sometimes we don't want to read, hear or think about it.

In Class we discussed about how things might be in 2050, it's not far away and we will face migrations, economic crises, political changes and lots more.. it doesn't look good. That's the reason why i don't have much hope; and that encourages negative emotions."

> Do you feel included into society through groups/ events related to ecological topics?

"Yes, through my Masters i made connections with people that share similar Views and thoughts, i can say that i identify as an ecologist. I feel like i belong to a large group of people that are aware. "

She lies back in her chair and lights another Cigarette.

"But it has also my some relationships more complicated, for example when it comes to my Family. To my choice to be a vegetarian they say 'She is young, that's why she thinks and acts like that, it will pass'. I have similar issues with them when it comes to feminismn."

>Where did you get your information from?

" At first from courses in my Master degree. I have also questioned myself a lot and looked around for information.

And i did learn a lot in my social circles as well.

I am also trying pass on information and make people more aware, but it's hard because it's a topic where people often feel guilty. They always want to show to you that you are not doing enough, because they are doing less and they dont want to feel guilty about doing less. So they tell you what you are not doing, they tell you all the reasons why it would be pointless to even do anything. I actually think young people are quite aware of problems, since we are the ones that will struggle with it. And here in France taking actions works better than anything. We are revolutioners. The older people are more of an issue, they won't change as drastically as needed, don't see thee problems or don't want to change. It's not as urgent for them as it is for us."