Solastalgia

Derived from nostalgia, Solastalgia is a form of homesickness one gets when on is still at home, but the environment has been altered and feels unfamiliar.  The term is specifically referencing change caused by chronic change agents like climate change. Used primarily to describe the negative psychological effect of chronic environmental destruction on an individual’s homeland, or the place they call home.  This is often exacerbated by a sense of powerlessness or lack of control over the unfolding change process.

This can happen even if an individual is not directly affected in their immediate area but understands that environments globally are changing. For example, critical Rainforest in Brazil is currently being decimated with no end in sight, uncontrolled fires in California and Australia.  Accelerated collapse of our polar ice caps, and the beginning of ecosystem collapse really everywhere on earth. Here are some links with more information:

• Glenn Albrecht Solastalgia / Eco anxiety /climate crisis
• BBC : Have you ever felt Solastalgia?
• Mental Health in youth – Youth are already in a critical state
• The Guardian: How humans have altered the planet forever
• The Guardian: Arctic Inhabitants overwhelmed with a new form of climate grief
• Nautilis: How will we cope with the end of Nature
• Sage Journals: Solastalgia, the distress caused by environmental damage

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