OHSE & Anxiety Relief Benefits Everyone

Here I review the fantastic book 2040, A handbook for Regeneration based on the documentary 2004. The book by Domon Gameau he explores areas including OHSE ideas, advice inspiration and even recipes to help create a brighter world and help reduce and deal with climate change and regeneration and is a totally fascinating book.

It looks at how we need to care more and how we can become more involved in the world around us helping to not only energise us but to act in the revitalization of cultural and biological diversity, and the strengthening of local communities and economies worldwide.

Without attention, caring, being involved and doing something we cannot expect to reduce our stressors or anxieties in any way. People who know me or come to me for coaching or hypnotherapy understand I am 'closet environmentalist' who eats meat but also who has trouble keeping plants alive indoors let alone gardening.

Since working with our community to save Garvey Park in Ascot WA from being developed and having a breakdown in the process I have come more and more in awe of people who dedicate their lives to save the community and our planet.

Many of us, ‘want to do the right thing’ and according to this book it is not that difficult to incorporate some of productive ways into our lives which will not only help reduce our anxiety and stress but help reduce carbon and climate change.

Some of the ways they encourage to activate our plan are as follows;

· Grow our own food – can reduce emissions by roughly 2 kilograms

· Eating less red meat – chickens have a carbon footprint almost nine times smaller than red meat

· Ride-share – lowers petrol, money and sharing expenses makes it cheaper

· Reduce air travel – amounts to almost 2 per cent of global emissions

· Use Public transport – where possible to reduce your own vehicles emissions

In the book according to Eric Toensmeier, author and project Drawdown Lead Researcher,

“People ask me, what can we say to farmers” The answer is, we can’t do it without you. We can’t mitigate climate change without agriculture so we have to find ways for agriculture to become part of the solution, instead of part of the problems It turns out there are many, many hundreds of such ways.”

Strangely it made me recall of all things of a client who stole from his employer and during counselling cited having a really difficult childhood causing him so much anxiety that it led him to stealing. He didn't seem himself as part of the problem.

We can’t mitigate anxiety and try to exclude certain emotions from certain situations and in this example he did not feel any remorse or guilt but just anger towards his parents for separating and was somehow justifying his actions for a long time.

It took many years of counselling and many years of coaching for him to finally make the positive changes and accept responsibility for his actions and the repercussions and the consequences. As a result he ended up living with his parents for many years when he did not want to but finally was able to pay back the money he stole.

We helped him to finish university and obtain a job to help save more money and make more positive changes in his life which was his aim at the time.

Just like the planet, we need to address that we are part of the problem and part of the solution but not without looking at some often harsh realities of how we live our lives and how much we are wasting.

Every little bit counts in the same way that every breath and every movement creates and contributes towards our neurological system and pathways.

Replacing take-away cups is another huge factor – buying just one take away cup and taking it with you when buying a café saves not only buying a take away cup but hundreds of the years. When calculated over a year can reduce it by 365 cups a year and more than 3650 cups over ten years.

Growing your own food sounds complicated but it can be as simple as having herbs on your balcony or a tomato plant in even the smallest of backyards to having a miniature lemon tree at work in the lunchroom.

Changing your browser apparently takes less than one minute to Ecosia (ecosia.org) and unlike Google it uses their ad revenue from your searches to plant trees. Fifty millions trees have already apparently been planted.

The handbook suggest many different alternatives which seem simple and gives options. If you can’t get solar energy choose a 100% renewable energy company such as powershop.com.au

It suggests to reduce your own waste and compost which can be addressed at every meal to separate leftovers – great for the soil. It also recommends contacting your local council in an aim to encourage them to collect food waste to convert energy or fertiliser.

There are so many joys from connecting and being more responsible and taking greater positive action wherever possible and it can contribute greatly to lessoning one's anxiety and healthier transformation.

Here according Helena Norberg-Hodge founder and director of Local Futures, previously known as the International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC) is a non-profit organization who is dedicated to the revitalization of cultural and biological diversity, and the strengthening of local communities and economies worldwide she says;

“People regain a vitality and joy through the connection of nature and to community. That’s how we evolved. We evolved close to one another, and close to the animals, to the plants, to the life all around us. That’s who we are’”

France has passed a law forbidding supermarkets from trashing unsold food. Instead, supermarkets must give unsold food to charities or to companies who produce animal feed or who make commercial compost. Italy has also followed suit, but Australia is barely in discussion about it.

We all have to care about our own lives and the environment we live in to make a difference and mitigate changes we need to survive well and for the planet to thrive.

There is so much great information in this fantastic book that we can use to help the environment and our lives and shows on page 213 in the words of Dr Seuss from the Lorax,

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not”.