The Mirrors of Our Rage: Hatred as Reflection and Connection - ROOM 2.25 Roundtable Talk 26.05.2025

In this Roundtable talk organised by the online journal ROOM, I explore hatred as a paradoxical psychological phenomenon with transformative potential, particularly in the context of climate crisis. Drawing on various psychoanalytic frameworks, I conceptualise hatred as a mirror reflecting both our deepest vulnerabilities and our capacity for connection. I also examine how hatred functions as encrypted love and as a protective barrier against unbearable emotions like powerlessness and grief.

Through clinical vignettes and metaphors of water, plants, and mirrors, I illustrate how properly contained hatred can serve as a threshold for psychological transformation. My aim is to position hatred as an “honest response to a world in crisis”, arguing that by consciously holding hatred’s contradictions - rather than suppressing or acting upon them - individuals and communities might transmute destructive rage into renewal and care. This reframing suggests new therapeutic approaches to climate anxiety that honor rage while cultivating its potential for meaningful action.

Here is the link to the YouTube video: The Mirrors of Our Rage: Hatred as Reflection and Connection - ROOM 2.25 Roundtable Talk - 26.5.2025