for - definition - transition risk - definition - transition pain

• for: transition - emotional pain of, degrowth - emotional pain of, Kristina Bogner

• title: Coping with transition pain: An emotions perspective on phase-outs in sustainability transitions

• author
  • Kristina Bogner
  • Barbara Kump
  • Mayte Beekman
  • Julia Wittmayer

• date

• HIGHLIGHTS

  • introduce the idea of transition pain in transition-in-the-making
  • explain how emotions in transitions are
    • process-dependent,
    • culturally and socially embedded and
    • political
  • suggest a 'coping with transition pain' perspective for more integrated engagements with phase-outs

• ABSTRACT

  • With this perspective paper, we aim to raise awareness of and offer starting points for studying the role of emotions and associated behavioural responses to losses in relation to phase-outs.
  • We start from a psychological perspective and explain how
    • losses due to phasing out dominant
      • practices,
      • structures, and
      • cultures
    • may threaten core psychological needs and lead to - what we introduce as - ‘transition pain’.
  • We borrow insights from the psychological coping literature to explain that different forms of transition pain may elicit characteristic coping responses (e.g.
    • opposition,
    • escape,
    • negotiation),
  • shaping
    • individual meaning-making and
    • behaviour
  • in ongoing sustainability transitions.
  • We then expand this psychological lens and present three additional perspectives, namely, that transition pain is
    • (1) dynamic and process-dependent,
    • (2) collectively shared and socially conditioned, and
    • (3) political.
  • We discuss how a ‘coping with transition pain’ lens can contribute to a better understanding of
    • individual and collective meaning-making,
    • behaviour and agency in transitions as well as
    • a more emotion-sensitive governance of phase-outs.

• SUMMARY

  • It's good to have knowledge about the emotional aspects of transition as these challenging emotions constitute obstacles to transition.
  • It is really a letting go process. High density fossil fuels has created a high energy lifestyle that we have become use to. When we no longer have access to high energy density fossil fuels, our life has to change quite radically.
  • We are like a spoiled child that must now contend with the loss of what we took for granted. The politics of libertariansim is based on protecting our right to a high energy density lifestyle.
  • We need to now how to deal with this loss, as it is very profound