Weight of the world: how climate activists handle anxiety and distress

Alarming news stories about the climate crisis are triggering anxiety and fear in a growing number of people. Helen O’Callaghan talks to activists and experts about finding ways to be proactive despite the dramatic changes happening in nature

EARTH FEELGOOD 31/10/08

Whether it’s watching a David Attenborough interview or seeing fires raging in California, becoming aware of the climate emergency is leading to anxiety and distress.

Dublin-based Declan Mulligan recently finished medical training at UCD and is chair of the just-formed Climate and Mental Health group at Irish Doctors for the Environment. The 27-year-old says “for the longest time”, climate change was in the back of his head. “I had a sense there’s something really terrible coming. I was choosing not to find out more about it.”