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“Don’t Look Up”: Eco-anxiety presenting in a Community Mental Health Service

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2023

D. Mulligan Open the ORCID record for D. Mulligan [Opens in a new window] ,
A. K. O’Callaghan  and
A. Guerandel Open the ORCID record for A. Guerandel [Opens in a new window]
D. Mulligan*
Affiliation:
St Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Mount Unit, St Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland
A. K. O’Callaghan
Affiliation:
St Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Mount Unit, St Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
A. Guerandel
Affiliation:
St Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Mount Unit, St Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
*
Corresponding author: Declan Mulligan, St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Mount Unit, St Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland. (Email: mulligde@tcd.ie)
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Abstract

This case report discusses a 25-year-old male who was referred to community mental health services from primary care with symptoms of anxiety and depression related to climate change, which the referring clinician believed were of delusional intensity. This case report gives the history of his interaction with the service. A literature review is performed noting the dearth of case reports in this area and a subsequent discussion charts the emerging literature on mental health issues related to climate change. Finally the paper makes some broad recommendations for mental health practitioners on how to approach these issues.

Keywords

Climate changeeco-anxietyenvironmentmental healthplanetary healthpsychiatry
Type
Case Report
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , March 2024 , pp. 144 - 147
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of College of Psychiatrists of Ireland

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