Solastalgia (/ˌsɒləˈstældʒə/) is a form of emotional or existential distress caused by negatively perceived environmental change. A distinction can be made between solastalgia as the lived experience of negatively perceived change in the present, and eco-anxiety linked to worry or concern about what may happen in the future (associated with "pre-traumatic stress"[citation needed], in reference to post-traumatic stress). The term is a portmanteau of the Latin words sōlācium (solace or comfort) or solus (desolation) with meanings connected to devastation, deprivation of comfort, abandonment and loneliness, and the Greek root -algia (pain, suffering, grief).
