Something as mundane as walking through the grocery store typically wouldn’t cause someone to think about climate change or make them feel shameful, right? Ellen Barry, a mental health journalist for the New York Times, intricately describes the journey of others as they approach treatment for climate anxiety. Alina Black, for example, would often find herself going into a downward spiral of various new reports regarding natural disasters and other terrible scenarios; this would lead to an awfully overwhelming feeling of guilt washing over her. She finally searched up “climate anxiety” and found a Portland climate psychologist, Thomas J. Doherty. The whole idea of eco-anxiety has been a speculative
concept for years, but nowadays, professional organizations have been scrambling to find ways to approach healing from eco-anxiety. As of today, there have been plenty of people who sought out help from Dr. Doherty. According to the article, some scenarios he has heard include: “a 69-year-old glacial geologist who is sometimes overwhelmed with sadness when he looks at his grandchildren; a main in his 50s who erupts in frustration over his friends’ consumption choices, unable to tolerate their chatter about vacations to Tuscany.”
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