Described by USC Today ““Climate anxiety,” “eco-grief” and even “solastalgia” are terms being used to describe the overwhelming feelings of fear, despair and despondency that come with bearing witness to the natural world’s suffering.” Given many of us feel the same to varying degrees on a day to day basis.
According to the model of the five stages of grief, or the Kübler-Ross model, those experiencing grief go through five emotions: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Although it is in common use, studies have not confirmed these stages, and the model has been criticized as outdated[1] as well as unhelpful in explaining the grieving process. The model was introduced by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying and was inspired by her work with terminally ill patients. Motivated by the lack of instruction in medical schools on the subject of death and dying, Kübler-Ross examined death and those faced with it at the University of Chicago’s medical school.