As a child, I spent school holidays in France, climbing trees, picking apples, and looking after farm animals—I rarely stayed indoors. On Sundays, we took long family walks in the Peak District, searching for old millstones.
When I learned to ski and snowboard, I was mesmerised by the mountains, watching the wind whip up sparkling snow.
I didn’t know why I loved these things—only that they felt good and adventurous!
Now, as an adult, I still do most of them and more. I bought a paddleboard in lockdown and love taking it to the reservoir to watch the world around me. I swim in the cold British sea and continue my long walks in the Peak District and local parks.
Why does nature help so much?
As a child, I didn’t realise being outdoors was beneficial—I just felt good. But through training in psychotherapy, I now understand why it’s so vital. At Well Minds PTS, we strongly advocate for this.
Spending time in nature is linked to better mental wellbeing. It reduces cortisol (the stress hormone) and boosts endorphins, lifting mood. It also gives us a break from daily life, sparking novelty and awe when we encounter unexpected sights.
What gets in the way?
Getting out in nature doesn’t always come without its difficulties though. In a world where – now more than ever – we work from home and do so much of our day to day online, it can feel increasingly harder to push ourselves to get out and about. There are also many people struggling with long term physical health difficulties and mobility issues which also can limit access to the natural environment.
Fear not! There are so many ways that we adapt and ensure that we still get a nature fix, even when it’s difficult to get out.
Try positioning your work desk towards the window so that you can see the birds and the greenery outside or add a few additional indoor plants that you can tend to. Listen to nature-based soundtracks, like falling rain or birdsong. There is also building evidence to suggest that simply watching a nature documentary on TV can improve mood and reduce stress levels.
There are so many ways that we can engage with nature and help ourselves to feel the positivity of green space, novelty and adventure!
Nature is beautiful and soothing and so good for our wellbeing. We need time in nature to ground us, de-stress us and blow the literal and metaphorical cobwebs away. Reconnecting with nature is scientifically proven to improve mood, decrease feelings of stress and anxiety, improve sleep quality and reduce symptoms of depression.
So why are we spending less time in nature?
One possible reason is to take a good look into our brains.
Our brain is a wonderful machine that is highly efficient and programmed to do lots of amazing things. It runs quietly in the background of our lives, keeping things ticking along so our human engine keeps running and we stay alive. Its purpose is to promote survival and for the most part, it does a great job!
The way we think is an important feature of these survival instincts. We need to quickly assess situations and make decisions to be safe. For this reason, we have developed thinking biases which are like mental short cuts to improve how efficiently we make decisions about things that might be unsafe or cause us harm.
A lot of our thinking is so efficient that it occurs on autopilot, we fall into habits of jumping to conclusions, making negative future predictions, believing worst-case scenarios and following the adage, ‘better safe than sorry’.
It’s not our fault that we think this way, it makes sense, we have survived as a species for a VERY long time because of the adaptations we’ve acquired that help us navigate the world safely.
These ways of thinking not only help us avoid dangerous circumstances but also situations and things that might be uncomfortable or challenging. When we consider going out into nature, we might predict that the weather might be bad, that we might get cold, wet or dirty or maybe we will get lost. We might also just think it might be hard, or our brain might very helpfully remind us of all the other jobs and things we ‘should’ be doing instead of going on an adventure.
When we are faced with these mental stories, we often listen to them, believe in them and don’t go anywhere staying safely at home. Our story telling brain is triumphant! It’s protected us from those hypothetical struggles and adversities, guided us in a more ‘helpful’ direction and we feel immediate relief having saved ourselves from imaginary hardship.
Unfortunately, there is a downside to this way of living. The more we give in to our thoughts, the less we do and the smaller our world becomes. In the longer term, this can make us stressed, down and anxious.
We need to find another way:
- What if you went on an adventure and experienced amazing things that you never imagined?
- What if you felt the wind on your face and for a few moments you weren’t thinking about work stress and instead you felt grounded?
- What if you heard a woodpecker high up in the trees and you felt a sense of awe and wonder at an entirely new experience?
- What if you watched leaves floating by on a gentle stream and you felt a sense of peace and calm like never before?
Here’s how:
- Take some time to observe the types of thoughts you have, not necessarily the content, but the style of thinking. What do you notice? Are there patterns of thoughts that might be trying to talk you out of having adventures or trying new things?
- Notice how your thinking styles and patterns make you feel. Our thoughts are powerful and have a huge impact on our emotions. If our thoughts are negative, we feel down, anxious, angry and stressed. When we feel like this, we have more negative thoughts, and we get stuck in a vicious cycle which reduces our motivation to try new things.
- Make a plan. Find a local map and look for a new place to explore, a park, wood, pond, lake or nature reserve. It doesn’t have to be far away from home. Remember to consider any actual and probable risks and rule out any hypothetical, farfetched ones. We want you to have adventures, but they do need to be safe ones.
- Instead of being guided by your thoughts, let your feet be your guide. Go outside. Notice all the thoughts, stories and excuses your mind might tell you, but go anyway.
- Notice what happens to your thoughts the more you act in spite of them instead of in line with them. They will most likely quieten, like someone has turned the volume down in your head. This will create space for more positive thoughts, like self-compassion, optimism and gratitude. You will notice a change in your mood too. All because you re-connected with nature.
- Go again and again and make it a part of your routine, build on this adventure by having others. Try new places and see new things. Take other people with you and show them your discoveries. Find ways to have microadventures every day and remember, you don’t have to believe everything you think.
Find out more about Well Minds PTS on their website and Instagram.
