As a filmmaker dedicated to highlighting the struggles of our delicate ecosystems and the dedicated scientists working tirelessly to preserve them, I've come across an experience so profound yet, surprisingly, not acknowledged in our language: Eco Grief (also eco-grief, ecogrief).
 
This term is used frequently in conversations with scientists documenting the dramatic shifts and changes in species and environment showing significant decline in population and habitat. It's that sense of overwhelming loss watching ecosystems and species begin to break down and not be as  they've been for hundreds of generations and to feel that sense of lack of power, helplessness that you alone and those that you're working so hard alongside are not enough to stop the wheels of the machine that's now underway.

This feeling creates a real sense of hopelessness.

'Eco Grief' symbolises more than just an emotion. It is the effect our changing environment has on our mental state, a result of witnessing the rampant and consistent disregard for nature and the damaging consequences. Recognition of 'Eco Grief' in prominent contemporary dictionaries like Oxford, Macquarie, Merriam Webster, and Collins would signify acceptance of this term as part of the human experience, further shedding light on mental health issues stemming from environmental grief.

As optional words broaden the horizon of our understanding and empathy, the inclusion of 'Eco Grief' would validate the sentiments of those suffering from it. It would provide psychologists and social scientist with an effective tool to discuss and navigate eco-anxiety, eco-mourning, and the mental health issues arising from climate change. 

Our words reflect our changing society and its concerns. By formalising the terms we use to depict our emotions, we enable better understanding, communication, and solutions. We request all Editors of the Oxford, Macquarie, Merriam Webster, and Collins dictionaries to consider including this socially significant term 'Ecogrief' in their upcoming editions. Your endorsement would resonate with millions who currently feel voiceless and misunderstood.

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