Recently, The Don Quixote of Fish Biologists was interviewed by a psychiatrist – one who is very interested in climate change, particularly how it affects people from a mental health standpoint. Dr. Abbey Strauss is a member of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance, whose vision is the amplify psychiatrists’ voices, take actions, and educate on the implications of climate change.
Of special interest to my friend The Don Quixote of Fish Biologists (DQ for short), is the fact that Lise Van Susteren is a member of that organization. Lise is a very active psychiatrist involved in a lot of things, one being her concern over climate change. She and Jack Black did a video for The Years Project in which she counseled Jack while he was suffering from climate grief over the impending calamitous future of Miami from a changing climate.
One day, DQ hopes to connect with Lise who might then connect him with people from The Years Project to move his vision for a game changing film forward.
Check out this article titled Climate depression is for real, just ask a scientist: https://grist.org/climate-energy/climate-depression-is-for-real-just-ask-a-scientist/
Here are two interesting excerpts from the article: “It’s an intense preoccupation with thoughts we cannot get out of our minds,” Van Susteren says. And for some, it’s a preoccupation that extends well outside of the office. “Everyday irritations as parents and spouses have their place, they’re legitimate,” she says. “But when you’re talking about thousands of years of impacts and species, giving a shit about whether you’re going to get the right soccer equipment or whether you forgot something at school is pretty tough.” & “You don’t just start talking about unbelievably fast sea-level rise at a cocktail party at a friend’s house,” Tidwell says. “So having to deny the emotional need to talk about what’s on your mind all the time … those are some of the burdens that climate aware scientists and activists have to endure. People talk about climate change, openly talk about activism, and people even talk about how scary it is, and about how screwed we are and unbelievable it is that sea level is rising, and world governments still aren’t doing shit. But nobody talks about how it makes them feel personally.”
That’s why my good friend The Don Quixote of Fish Biologists talks about it! He hopes, that among other things, this film he’s pitching will help others cope with the reality of what lies ahead for mankind….whether they be fellow scientists or the average Joe.
