The Anthropocene and Its Discontents—Geological Grief and Geophilia as Healthy Responses to the Loss of Holocene Stability

Abstract

With the advent of the Anthropocene, people are now experiencing the consequences of climate havoc. New forms of mental distress are emerging, as well as means of elaborating it, such as solastalgia and ecological grief. Although they represent important advances, none of these concepts addresses the cosmological change that is occurring in the face of geological transformation. To fill this gap, this work proposes a new eco-emotion, resulting from the loss of the stable conditions of the Holocene: geological grief—a healthy response to the erosion of habitability. Unlike ecological grief, it involves a change in the relationship that modern people have with the world: Instead of an inert nature that must be explored or protected, they are confronted with an active Gaia that responds to the destructive incidence of modern civilization. As the Earth imposes limits on economic expansion that were believed to be infinite, many people realize that their way of inhabiting this planet is no longer viable. To process this cosmological and existential change, another concept is proposed: geophilia, based on the ecopsychological idea that sanity results from a reciprocal relationship with the world. To this end, humans have developed the ability to bond with entities that regulate the balance of life on Earth. It is concluded that by strengthening this bond, people become more able to work through the loss of Holocene stability and to engage in regenerative practices. This framework provides new conceptual and practical tools for ecotherapy in the Anthropocene.