Introduction

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Ecodepression can be defined as a feeling of being overwhelmed by the potential ecological and environmental disaster that climate change is creating. The depressive episode can be experienced as periods of hopelessness and helplessness. (Also see ecoanxiety.)

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More research is needed on ecodepression.

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NB. Ecodepression is not a clinically recognised disorder. 

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Useful literature

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Albrecht, G. (2011). Chronic environmental change: Emerging “psychoterratic” syndromes. In I. Weissbecker (Ed.), Climate change and human well-being: Global
challenges and opportunities (pp. 43–56). New York, NY: Springer.

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Aldrich, D. P., & Meyer, M. A. (2014). Social capital and community resilience. American Behavior Scientist, 59(2), 254–269.

 

Clayton, S., Manning, C. M., Krygsman, K., & Speiser, M. (2017). Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, and ecoAmerica. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdf

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Moser, S. C. (2007). More bad news: The risk of neglecting emotional responses to climate change information. In S. C. Moser & L. Dilling (Eds.), Creating a climate for change: Communicating climate change and facilitating social change (pp. 64–80). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. 

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United States Global Change Research Program. (2016). The impacts of climate change on human health in the united states: a scientific assessment. Washington, D.C.: Author. doi:10.7930/J0R49NQX

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Voggesser, G., Lynn, K., Daigle, J., Lake, F., & Ranco, D. (2013). Cultural impacts to tribes from climate change influences on forests. Climatic Change, 120, 615–626.

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Weber, E. U., & Stern, P. (2011). Public understanding of climate change in the United States. American Psychologist, 66(4), 315–328. doi:10.1037/a0023253

Weissbecker, I. (2011), Climate change and human well-being: global challenges and human well-being: Global challenges and opportunities. New York, NY: Springer.

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Citation for webpage: Palmer, S. (2019). What is ecodepression? Retrieved from https://www.ecopsychology.info/ecodepression