The Connection Between Mental Health and Nature
How Green Spaces Nurture Our Minds and Souls
I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety since I was a kid. Of course back then I didn’t really know what it was. It felt like a gray cloud, but I just thought I was making it up. Being dramatic.
As I grew up I was able to identify it and its triggers. For the most part, it would come in waves; weeks where I would feel really low or on edge. And then months where I felt great. And as I learned more about it and my experience, I figured out what I needed to support myself when they reared their ugly head… meditation, exercise, a good cry, and getting out into the woods.
I didn’t always live in my cute little town. In fact, I’ve lived in three large cities: Copenhagen, London, Portland Oregon, and Vancouver BC. Not only big cities but very gray and rainy ones too.
The woods were key. It was my little escape-the way I could come back to myself. As a kid building forts in the woods behind my house. Once I grew up that turned into long walks in the forest and multi-day backpacking trips. Even just going for a walk to my local park would ease my anxiety or boost my mood on a bad day. Nature has become a routine for me. It’s my number one priority when I’m feeling out of sorts.
But even knowing this, it’s also too easy for me to come up with excuses to not get outside… especially during our infamous rainy winters. It’s raining too hard. I should be writing. And the all too famous I’ll go tomorrow.
Does anyone else relate?
It turns out we are actually wired for nature. As early humans, we lived exclusively outside. Living off the land, hunting, gathering, and migrating. It’s a part of us. Spending just 20 minutes (The link takes you out of Medium.) connecting with nature lowers your stress hormone, cortisol. This can be as simple as sitting on a park bench. This leads to other benefits (The link takes you out of Medium.) like better sleep, weight loss, and better concentration.
No wonder I feel so good after a long walk on the trails.
Getting more green in
You may be looking out your apartment window at the concrete sidewalks, neighboring brick buildings, and traffic cruising by thinking, “How do I do this in a city?” Not everyone can have trails a block from their house, I understand that. But there are ways to get the stress-busting benefits regardless.
When I lived in London, I made a point to walk through my neighborhood garden on my way to work. On the weekends, I would take the train out of the city to go for a long walk in the country. And when I lived in Vancouver, I had loads of plants in my basement apartment, giving a relaxing energy to the space. Which science shows (The link takes you out of Medium.) can have an impact on how you feel in a space?
In an effort to stave off my own mental health challenges, nature really has been a game changer. And the added benefit is that nature really is all around us… all you have to do is find it.
