Ecotherapy—A greener way to beat the blues

Taking a walk in a park where you’re surrounded by nature can:

• lower depression
• ease tension, and
• increase your self-esteem

This message comes from Mind, a leading British mental health charity, which is launching a new “green agenda” for mental health based on the concept of “ecotherapy.”

The study conducted by Essex University compared a half-hour country walk with a walk through an indoor shopping centre and the results were strikingly different. After walking in the country, 71% of participants found their depression had eased whereas 22% reported they felt more depressed and tense after their walk through an indoor shopping centre. These figures suggest it would be valuable to adopt an all-round greener approach to mental health problems in general.

Mind is calling for ecotherapy to be recognized as a “clinically-valid frontline treatment for mental health problems.” They mention a report where 93% of general practitioners (GPs) admit to prescribing drugs because of a lack of alternatives. For instance, a well-recognized effective treatment in the UK is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), but the average waiting time in some areas is four years, says Mind.

Mind does not advocate ecotherapy as a replacement for drugs, but they want doctors and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), which issues guidelines and approval of treatments, to recognize it has an important contribution to make alongside existing treatments.

Other countries are already prescribing ecotherapy as a treatment for mental distress. For instance, in the Netherlands and Norway, GPs can prescribe their patients a stay in a care farm. The Netherlands has 600 care farms and Norway, 400. The UK has only 43, but none of them exists specifically for mental health. Unfortunately, Canada has none.

Ecotherapy involves getting outdoors and becoming active in a green environment as a way of boosting mental health, says Mind. This includes taking regular walks in the countryside or the park, flying a kite or taking part in a gardening project.

In their report, “Ecotherapy: the green agenda for mental health,” Mind makes several recommendations:

• People suffering from mental distress should be offered green exercise as an option.
• Institutions should provide more access to green space.
• The beneficial effects of green exercise should be promoted by health campaigns.
• Town planners and architects should take green space into consideration when drawing up their designs.

Mental health problems can affect you at any time of your life no matter who you are. And the numbers are steadily increasing. Perhaps if you took the opportunity to regularly experience nature, then those of you requiring prescription drugs might be reduced.

Many of you have busy lifestyles. And you believe you can’t afford to relax. But if you spent even just a little time regularly amidst nature by getting out for fresh air, walking, gardening, etc., then you would be better able to unwind and alleviate your stress. Maybe you could even prevent some mental health problems from arising in the first place.

Now I understand why crowded shopping malls, streetcars and buses can cause my stress levels to rise. And, at this time of year, with the onset of the Christmas shopping madness, I have all the more reason to avoid the malls. There’s a lot to be said for making my Christmas gifts in the quiet of my home with some beautiful music playing in the background.

I’m really blessed to be living in Toronto where I’m surrounded by so many little parks. All I have to do is step outside my home to find myself very close to a park. Gazing up at the huge trees, which have probably been around much longer than I have, I wonder what secrets they store. And the pigeons, they strut around, pecking at the ground. What exactly do they find there that’s edible? This question always baffles me.

How do you deal with tension and stress in your life? Do you have your own ‘green way’ to protect your mental health?

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Article Source: http://www.HealthArticleBank.com