2023-05-10 09:08:00
Solastalgia defines the psychological suffering of some people in the face of altered nature and landscapes destroyed by climate change.
Par Johanna Amselem
© G.R / MAXPPP / PHOTOPQR/LE DAUPHINE/MAXPPP
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LA solastalgia is a “homesickness without exile” wrote, in 2019, the French philosopher Baptiste Morizot. The term was coined by Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht. This malaise refers to a feeling of psychological distress felt in the face of damage to the environment such as global warming. Thus, people affected no longer recognize the nature they once knew and then feel dispossessed of their environment.
Etymologically, this neologism is composed of the English term “solace”, which translates as “comfort”, and the word “algie”, which designates “pain”. In other words, it is regarding feeling pain at the loss of one’s place of comfort. “Compared to eco-anxiety, the temporality of suffering is not the same. If eco-anxiety concerns the future, solastalgia is more of retrospective distress,” sums up Charline Schmerber, psychotherapist.
Existential crisis
How does this distress manifest itself? As Charline Schmerber details, this condition can be characterized by several symptoms. Solastalgia results in the manifestation of certain emotions. While some feel sadness, others experience anxiety disorders or a feeling of powerlessness in the face of the ecological disaster. “For some people, there can be a real existential crisis with extensive questioning. For example, they may be afraid of the future or wonder regarding the interest of bringing a child into the world in this context of desolation. Solastalgia impacts all aspects of an adult’s life, it is distilled in small touches. Again, it all depends on the person. Some also have a feeling of loss of control, loss of meaning, regret regarding the current situation, etc.
READ ALSOAddictions, violence, depression… Teenagers: the state of emergencySymptoms can also lead to reactive depression and the situation can become pathological. “Solastalgia is not listed as a psychic pathology and classified in the DSM. When I see my patients, I even reassure them that this is a normal adaptive reaction. It’s pretty healthy to have such feelings, it shows a connection to reality, a clear-headedness, it’s a healthy reaction. The danger is when this distress causes social isolation, misunderstanding with those around you, too much sadness, ”warns Charline Schmerber.
READ ALSO“Memory of fear”: how our brain protects usIt is then necessary to consult a specialist: “It is necessary to be alerted when this feeling creates an isolation, that the emotions settle, that dark thoughts appear and that a tilting is done towards a pathological situation. The practitioner noticed a peak in consultations for solastalgia last summer, and the situation should not improve: “You have to find how to live with this feeling and develop your emotional resilience. Waves, we will still experience many. »
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