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Eco-anxiety is a medical condition affecting an increasingly larger number of young people worldwide. Doctors in the UK have been advised to raise the topic of climate change during consultations with patients. New guidelines encourage doctors to discuss the dangers of global warming. A health consultation might now consist of a medical diagnosis, along with advice on how to reduce carbon footprints. It might also include help on how to deal with eco-anxiety. The Daily Mail newspaper cited critics of the guidelines who called them "seriously unethical". They said: "Doctors should spend their precious time treating patients rather than lecturing them on 'politicised issues'."
The United Nations has described eco-anxiety as "an emergency crisis hidden in plain sight". Eco-anxiety is defined as stress caused by the constant worry about the environment and the climate crisis. The UN said the condition will severely affect the mental health of children. Downtoearth.com wrote: "Extreme weather events like wildfires, heatwaves, droughts, storms, and floods lead to displacement and food shortages, causing psychological harm to humans. They lead to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress." A UN survey found that 59 per cent of young people in a study were distressed about the climate. The youngsters felt, "sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and guilty".
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