Sometimes, the most productive thing that you can do is to step outside and do nothing… relax and enjoy nature.
– Melanie Charlene
During the last few years, my doctor and I have been working hard to get me in touch with a government-funded theraphist. This has however, proven to be considerably more difficult than what I originally though it would. Current day community theraphists are (most of the time) allready fully booked with patients. And, in the event that someone were to get a session with any of them, the client would have to be suicidal – or dead.
Some people end up cutting through the queue all together, by paying theraphists in private organizations. I do not not have the funds for this at current, especially as my wish for theraphy is ‘only’ to have an unbiased person to talk to, when my head gets too filled with neurotic and scarcity thoughs – thoughts that I do not wish to dump on friends or family when in high stress situations.
So I figured, If I can’t actually afford talking to a private theraphist, and I have too high self-preservation to be considered ‘sick-enough’ to get community- theraphy, what else could I do, that might give me a better mental outcome?
This is where Ecotherapy comes in. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I’ve always felt closely connected to the nature around me, and the serenity she might bring. One of the ways to hone in on that, is through various (therapeutic) treatments and activities in nature. There isn’t one single definition of ecotherapy, but it’s often used to describe a regular, structured activity. Said activity may or may not be led by a trained professional, where the focus is on doing certain activities rather than the current state of your health. These activities, such as meditation, creative-theraphy, yoga or other forms of exersize, mindfulness-training or horticulture are done out in nature or near water. As such, the focus of Echotheraphy is related to the exploration and appreciation of the natural world – and can be done with or withouth other people.
For me, a type of self-lead ecotheraphy treatment, is walking through and around the forrest behind my house. I touch the trees, smell the leaves, pick and eat the wild berries. I bring eatable mushrooms home with me, meditate, and at times, meet one of the forrests four-legged wild residents. Afterwards I feel considerably calmer, happier and less stressed.
This is not withouth reason. According to a study by PhD Fellow Yoshifumi Miyazaki at Chiba University, things such as ‘forest bathing’ and walking in the woods, can significantly lower your cortisol as well as your blood-pressure. Additionally, it has the potential to boost your body’s natural immune system, by (amongst other things) increasing the body’s anti-cancer proteins. (Science of Natural Therapy, by Yoshifumi Miyazaki , Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences. Chiba University
As a form of care, echotheraphy can take place both in cities as well as on the countryside. Settings include gardens, parks, farms and woodlands – and involved a varying amount of physical activity. Some places have echotheraphy programs alongside other health- treatments; such as theraphy, art and creativity programs, or phychiatric medication. It is often a very positive element in connecting with others, particularly for those who’s socially anxious, as you have a task to do together.
There are several types of echotheraphy-programs that exist out there, all with different sets of intentions; adventure-theraphy, like rafting, caving or rock-climbing takes focus of the adventurist-elements (or lack thereof) of many people. Such programs focus on doing a variety of physical activities in a group. Certain programs of echotheraphy includes the involvements of animals on farms, where you pet, feed or create therapeutic relations to certain animals (like horses or dogs) and even grow crops or help manage the woodland. Blue exersize includes various form of training near water (such as swimming), green exersize is – similar to blue, certain workout sessions in the middle of the woords or parks (such as running or cycling). Certain forms of echotheraphy, like the conservation of environmental areas, arts and crafts based on nature or horticulture, takes the form of conserving natural environment, creating ats by using environments found in nature – or horticulture; gardening, growing food, or spending time around flowers or plants.
If however you can’t find any echotheraphy program in you area, you could talk to health-related professionals whether they would be interested in starting one, look for nature-based groups or classes: such as walking groups or community gardens, etc.
I do ecotherapy to get sunlight onto my skin and into my mind. Surrounded by the fresh forest air, with sunbeams peaking through the tall tree-tops, I came to realize that standardized theraphy is unessessary; that I have everything I need right here.
Inspired by: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/talking-therapy-and-counselling/ecotherapy/