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"Eco-grief" related to climate and environmental change is becoming a more common experience.

This unprecedented type of grief presents unique challenges and complexities.

Psychological understanding must evolve along with environmental and societal changes.

As I write this post, smoke obscures what would otherwise be a sunny day here in central New Jersey. An air quality alert marking today’s atmospheric conditions “unhealthy” is in place as smoke from Canadian wildfires blows south and east into many areas of the United States. According to the Canadian Climate Institute, “accelerating climate change, largely from the burning of fossil fuels makes wildfires bigger, hotter, and more destructive” (Canadian Climate Institute, 2026). Today’s conditions are merely one example of how the planet is changing. As these noticeable changes occur, many of us find ourselves feeling helpless and unnerved as we try to acclimate to an environment that feels increasingly different than it once did.

Psychologically, there is always discomfort attached to not feeling in control and to living in a state of uncertainty, and the data related to climate anxiety support this reality. In the United States, the proportion of individuals worried about climate change increased from 51 percent in 2010 to 64 percent in 2023; in the United Kingdom, search queries around “climate anxiety” surged 27-fold in the first 10 months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2017 (Kühner et al., 2025).

The Concept of Eco-Grief

Climate anxiety is real and prevalent, and if you are a therapist, the topic has likely entered your office, accompanied by a sense of anxiety, hopelessness, and resignation.

It might sound strange,........

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