Solastalgia
I first read about soalstalgia in Wired. The word was coined by philosopher Glenn Albrecht, after studying the sadness and sense of loss felt by those who experience environmental change at home, to the point where they no longer feel they know they place where they have lived. Albrecht himself describes it as “the homesickness you feel when you’re still at home.”
The word “Solastalgia” combines solacium — solace — with nostos , which means to “return home”, and algos , or “pain”.
Solastagia is often associated with Katrina victims in New Orleans and outback Australians who are going through an extreme climate change that is changing their environment. When I read about soalstalgia, I immediately identified with it, but not in terms of a natural catastrophe or environmental change, but in terms of political and social change. President Chávez’s reign over Venezuela has made many of us feel “homesick when we’re still at home”. I actually wrote about it that exact feeling a few months ago.
Have you ever felt solastalgia?
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