Category: Empathy

VASU: So this blog post is a bit different than our usual ones – where Matt and I share stories from our everyday life and connect it to climate change and carbon footprints.

Today’s blog is me sharing some thoughts and hopefully a creative insight that has been on my mind for a while now. It all started last year with a conversation among friends, who like me, are studying environmental studies and doing research linked to various aspects of climate change.

Our individual research looks into vastly different things like finance, water and even social change – yet what links us is our passion to see the world change for the better. What’s more interesting is that all of us come from different parts of the world and have vastly different upbringings. Yet we share this common passion for the environment so strongly that it made me wonder: what is the common link?

For me, it’s been a question at the back of my mind ever since we had the conversation. However, it was only in the last few weeks, when life happened and all well-laid plans of starting a PhD in the fall (for those of you who don’t know me, academia is my dream career!) seemed to be on the brink of falling apart, that I had an ‘aha’ moment.

The reason why we haven’t posted very often the last month has been because of a bunch of reasons – one being career shifts (for both of us) and also figuring out immigration issues. Dealing with multiple stresses really doesn’t help when the world itself seems to be going in the wrong direction (see – Arctic having wildfires and heatwaves or countries moving away from democracy or even a potential global food crisis caused by climate change).

For most people it seems like the world is moving forward, but for me, in times of higher stress, it seems especially overwhelming. It was over the last few days that I happened to come across a timely article in Psychology Today about Highly Sensitive People (HSP). HSP is a personality trait highlighted by psychologist Dr. Elaine Aron in the mid-90s.

According to Aron, “Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) are individuals with genetic characteristics that makes them deeply attuned and sensitive to their environments and relationships. They have high levels of empathy and emotional responsiveness – because their nervous system is wired slightly differently and is more prone to sensory information.  All this attunement and processing means they are also often easily overstimulated. Given this high stimulation, HSPs also often display great creativity, insight, passion and caring for others” She mentions that about 20% of the population possesses this trait and if you are curious, you can self-evaluate via the HSP Scale.

This peaked my curiosity as I was intrigued by the description – it helped explain what I’ve always known about myself but unable to put into words. I am a person that cares a lot, even about things that do not affect me directly – sometimes this is a good thing as it creates more empathy and makes one concerned about abstract things like the environment or climate change, whereas other times (like over the past few weeks) it can be overwhelming.

My researcher mindset immediately pushed me to critically evaluate the concept from the point of science and what academic studies say on the topic. So here’s a small summary of what I found on HSP research studies:

1. Changes in environmental conditions can cause a shift in our gene structure even in short generation times – which means climate change will have a direct impact in how future generations adapt and more importantly how they react psychologically to it.
2. Apart from humans, animal studies show that approximately 100 other species (like fruit flies, monkeys and even certain fishes among others) have this minority trait. This is interesting as it shows that there is no ideal species type, but rather versions that can allow one species to survive various environmental dangers or changes. This is super important, if we are talking about Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest and the evolution of species – which means that personality traits in humans might actually play a role when it comes to climate change adaptation!
3. Being HSP is only an advantage if its in the minority – for example, if a particular patch of grass is especially nutritious, and if all cows go there to eat it – there is no value in it. Aron gives the example of a traffic jam and if only a few people know the shortcuts, it serves the situation better as traffic might reduce. But if everyone goes through those short cuts, then it is no longer of any value and creates another traffic jam.
4. Another study looking at this trait in Rhesus monkeys show that those monkeys that were paired with more skilled mothers vs. ordinary mothers were raised with huge advantages. This study done by Soumi (2011), showed that those raised by skilled mothers were found to have better resilience to stress and in fact became leaders of their social group. This is amazing news for HSPs – as it means their high responsiveness can be used to guide others when it comes to stressful times like those posed by climate change.
5. According to Aron, HSPs exhibit four very interesting traits, which is seen under the acronym of DOES:
   • Depth of Processing – fMRI studies that look at brain activity show that HSPs have brain activation in areas of the brain which do a lot more deeper processing when shown slightly different pictures. Even more interesting is that in some cultural studies, we see that those from collective cultures (like Asia) notice the big picture, whereas those coming from individualistic cultures (like in North America) notice the smaller details first. However, more interestingly, people that exhibit the HSP trait, weren’t affected by their cultural background at all! For me this explains the common link among those passionate about the environment and coming from different cultures, and yet being the minority in our way of thinking.
   • Overstimulation – this is the downer of this trait – where the optimal level of arousal (or the balance where humans function best) is reached very quickly. This means HSPs have higher burnout rates and definitely don’t do well under a lot of stimulation – much like me over the last few weeks!
   • Emotionally Reactive or Empathy – HSPs learn from both positive and negative experiences (which is unusual as most people learn from only negative experiences – see loss aversion). One can only learn from experiences that one cares about, so in order for HSPs to process information deeply they need to have stronger reactions to them. Studies have shown that HSPs have more activity in the mirror neurons, which are neurons that allow us to show empathy for others and experience (to some degree) how others feel. This is a good sign for those that need to understand the experiences of people from different cultures or countries, especially with climate change knowing no boundaries. Personally I can attest to this whenever I hear bad news stories (from around the world) related to the environment it impacts me emotionally. Part of the reason why we started this blog is to make these very abstract events seem relatable and create more empathy among those that might not organically feel this way.
   • Sensing the Subtle – this is the heart of the trait – where HSPs can notice sensory subtleties in their environment. For example, I can pick up non-verbal cues and people’s moods very quickly and even notice the smallest physical differences in a room I am familiar with. My family likes to tease me about this, but only after this research was I able to make sense of why it happens. It is the way HSP brains pick up on sensory clues in their environment. Evolutionarily this is a good survival tactic as small subtleties or differences in our environment can be a life-saver at times. This is important because humans often forget the past easily (even what last summer looked like) and it is in times like these (where the climate is changing but it is still relatively stable), that noticing subtle differences in local weather patterns or even around the world can be life-saving when comes to our futures. And remembering or talking about this is especially important because it is the only way we can push for action or societal change.

Now that you know what being an HSPs means, it is important to remember that genes are not destiny, but rather a predisposition at the most. That is why, if you are an HSP, I suggest using your high responsiveness, empathy and creativity to your advantage and for the good of others (especially when it comes to climate change).

Listening to an AOM podcast of Prof. John Kounios, it seems that for creativity and insights to kick-in, there is also a need for safe space. Mood is the single most powerful factor when it comes to inspiring powerful insights. It is much like thinking on a full stomach, rather than an empty one. This is why if you are not an HSP, then you are even more integral to creating the ‘safe’ space (much like that skilled mother monkey) that is needed to allow creative minds to come up with innovative solutions related to climate change. For me, in times of stress, it means surrounding myself with support systems that not only understand my personality (part of which also means becoming more self-aware), but in doing so, allow me to take chances with crazy ideas that might just be insightful.

Being in a safe space (mentally and also physically) has allowed us to share personal stories that could inspire others to look at sensitivity a bit differently. Whether it is about the environment, the people around you and also in terms of climate change – sensitivity is a trait that should be treasured rather than dismissed. Because noticing every little change (including hotter days, more frequent extreme weather, more floods, and a less rich biodiversity) can matter if we are to address our carbon footprints and climate adaptation in time.

VASU: Today morning, in my daily video chat with my parents I had an interesting conversation with my grandmother. Usually she’s based in our hometown (which is a few hundred kilometers away from Mumbai), but has been temporarily visiting since temperatures have soared up (with 40 degree Celsius days – which is unusual even for us tropical folks) and water availability has gone down (currently the State of Maharashtra in India is facing a bad drought – and climate change makes it worse). I usually make it a point to call her once a month and catch up, but in these last few days in Mumbai she seems less of her usual self. Which makes sense given that her routine is interrupted and she’s had to adjust to a different sort of life (even though it may be temporary).

I think we all know the feeling when that happens – our routines are important reminders to us that life is all about having safety, security and a sense of certainty that tomorrow is not going to look any drastically different than today. For me routine is a concept I’ve had to grapple with for several years as I lived on an 8 month lease during the school year and on a suitcase that changed depending on the season (whether it was in Canada or in India). However, that is a different story for a another day 😉

Today’s story is actually based on some thoughts reading this book called Doughnut Economics (by Kate Raworth) and the idea of living in within the Doughnut or this “safe and just space for humanity” and also why connecting with our grandparents or a previous generation might teach us a thing or two about inspiration and the road ahead.

Raworth makes an interesting case for how society is functioning on economic models and ideas that were written 70 years ago. These theories fixated on abstract things like GDP as an indicator of human progress. She mentions that in the current world, progress indicators need to look quite different if we are to save our futures in time from climate change. Her solution is to simply start caring more and use these “touchy-feely” economic ideas (of social, environmental and human progress) to ensure that our decisions are actually humanistic in nature. She says, “today we have economies that grow, whether or not they make us thrive; what we need are economies that make us thrive, whether or not they grow”.

Around the same time that these traditional ideas of economic growth took off, some of our grandparents lived through one of the most turbulent times in the world – with World War II just ending and the birth of modern globalized society starting to emerge from its ruins. We all know how far we’ve come in that short span of 7 decades – where collectively humanity has overcome some of the greatest obstacles such as worldwide health epidemics (small pox, polio, Ebola just to name a few), travelled to the moon (and now Mars), reduced poverty a great deal and innovated technology that makes connect with each other than ever before.

But yet, we see countries are trying to build walls to keep diversity and change out. One example is India – where general elections just took place and the grounds for winning was nationalism (which in India means a religious majority winning on regressive cultural issues like cows, patriarchy, among other things). It took me a while to accept the fact that the world’s biggest democracy (consisting of millions of educated individuals) choose to elect a government based on this notion of so-called Indian tradition and why things like climate, food, water and good jobs were not the most important issues for the future.

MATT: For several people that are educated, empowered and consider themselves to be global citizens, it becomes hard to understand why others do not think that way when it seems more progressive, fairer and more inclusive alternative than the opposite. Yet we see populist politics rising every where – from Trump’s US to UK’s Brexit and from India’s nationalism to other authoritarian governments around the world.

VASU: I’ve been trying to figure out why and what is making people think that being regressive is the best option. And one thing crossed my mind as I was talking to my grandmother – is that people do not like change, but more importantly if they have to change (as the future will be when it comes to climate change) it will only happen when they feel safe, a sense of belonging and have certainty that their future is secured. And with all the things that globalization and capitalism brings, it has also brought with it a sense of uncertainity, insecurity and unreliability on those that are around us – making it the opposite environment to foster a safe space for large-scale and systems-level change.

As humans, we have a strong need to belong and feel accepted. But more recently, in the age of changing cultural identities and technological distractions, our sense of community has definitely taken a hit. It is in uncertain times like these that talking to our grandparents might teach us a thing or two about dealing with change. A good quote from another blog that we follow says this:

“It’s the duty of Millennials to offer a wormhole, via our personal memories of our grandparents, that keeps alive the reality of certain truths: that there are times when the forces of good and evil really do starkly collide, all men (and women) must be ready to serve as citizen-soldiers, and mass solidarity and sacrifice is required. And that it’s possible to make such sacrifices and then modestly act as if doing so was really no big deal.“

Similarly, my grandmother is someone that has lived through such times of volatility, raised four children mostly by herself and even managed to start farming afterwards. She’s been inspirational when she has shown confidence in the face of adversity. But today when I asked her about taking a walk in the park next door, she answered that she wouldn’t feel comfortable going alone.

For a woman who has led an unapologetic life and broke some stereotypes along the way, it made me wonder when did she start needing someone to be there when things changed. She, like the world war veterans, has had a life of ups and downs and yet now she falters when it comes to change. We often forget that grandparents are a vital source of knowledge of the past, of mistakes to avoid and of adventures to have. For anyone, old age is scary enough – but combine that with climate change and extremes (whether it is ideological or weather-related), it makes me realize that keeping those wise-old branches nurtured and feeling treasured is an important means of dealing with change.

MATT: But getting people involved in change can be a difficult task when you are dealing with someone who is more set in their ways of thinking – especially those that are one generation apart. For instance, I remember talking to my Nana about climate change more than a decade ago. We were in the middle of a cold winter and a cold spring, and she mentioned that she found it interesting that people talked about global warming considering it was so cold that year. But even as a 13-year old I knew that climate change and global warming were not just linked to the weather getting warmer. It had an impact on the earth’s climate – making hot days hotter and cold days colder. I remember saying there might be less of a distinction between seasons in the future, and now decades later we are finally starting to see it happen. Of course my Nana listened as any grandparent would, but I feel just talking about it regularly with someone who might be very set in their ways (a grandparent, parent or even someone older than you), can make a bit of a difference.

VASU: Yes, I think we need to remind those of an earlier generation that doing new things shouldn’t have to be necessity or anxiety-driven. By keeping a connection with the old and the new, we can prove that the future is better when we aren’t looking back at out-dated traditions (like in the case of India or other populist movements) or making mistakes of a past that isn’t sustainable anymore.

Today I also heard a podcast on this new book called Power of Agency – The Seven Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions and Create a Life on Your Own, and it made me realize that change often comes when something matters to you. This book is really interesting as it talks on the power of agency or confidence to do something different without feeling overwhelmed about it. It describes that isolation is the kryptonite to human agency – where it diminishes our ability to accept change/evolution. And who better to understand the cycle of change better than our grandparents.

I found it interesting that the booked talked about our ability to adapt to changing times through the 7 Principles of Agency, which are:

1. Control our stimuli (keep those phones and distractions away!)
2. Associate selectively (surround yourself with positive people)
3. Move (endorphins through exercise make people happy!)
4. Position yourself as a learner (in all situations – no exceptions)
5. Manage your emotions (as though it is a balancing act)
6. Check your intuition (not impulsively but as a source of additional data)
7. Deliberate first and then act (think -> deliberate -> action)

MATT & VASU: So keep your phones down and take a walk (maybe literally) with your grandparents down the memory lane – ask them what stories they have, how they learned to accept change and make them feel valued before you start expecting them to understand today’s problems like climate change. These very human and personal connections are what will keep us going when change (including climate change) inevitably arrives in our lives.