Understanding the Role of Ecological Grief in Climate Distress Among Emerging Adults

Climate change is recognized as one of the fundamental threats to human existence globally. It has a profound impact on environmental stability and human life, making human survival more complex. Though the literature emphasized the physical consequences of climate change, there is no adequate explanation about the psychological impact. The psychological impact is more prevalent in youth, and it intensifies the age-rela ted crisis among emerging adults. Emerging adulthood is already a critical period where identity crises, future planning, and uncertainties take place, and environmental changes also play a pivotal role in developing anxiety, emotional imbalance, self-doubt, depression, and other disturbances. Ecological grief is one of the predominant climate change impacts on emerging adults, and it becomes a natural response to environmental loss and ecological destruction. Unlike traditional grief, there is no structured treatment or coping strategies for ecological grief, and that aggravates the psychological burden.