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Most of our evolutionary history was spent very differently, living intimately with the natural world. Research has shown that our busy modern lives and screen-based technologies are major contributors to stress and anxiety known as “techno stress”.
Using nature based mental health practices is a proven way of slowing down our bodies and minds resulting in reduced stress and enhanced physical and mental restoration.
Each of us are individual beings with our own unique characteristics.
Being in natural settings helps our self-confidence as nature does not judge who we are, what we have or where we are from…..we are all equal in nature.
Nature based activities also provide opportunities for you to take actions and make decisions, manage risks and explore your capabilities in a non-threatening environment which are all good for building self-esteem and risk-based decision making.
We all have goals, aspirations and dreams that we would like to explore but may not get the opportunity to.
For some of us these desires are around our interactions with the natural world such as navigation, bush survival skills, ecology, animal tracking, camp cooking and reading the landscape.
Act on that spark and allow yourself to be adventurous and explore new territory and make discoveries about the natural world and yourself.
It’s easy to feel separate and in competition with people and life around us. As David Foster Wallace puts it, to believe that we are “lords of our own tiny skull-sized kingdoms, alone at the centre of all creation.”
Understanding the broader ecology of the world we live in and being in natural environments are powerful ways to combat this sense of alone-ness and isolation. They uncompromisingly show you that you’re part of something much bigger, that you’re supported in ways you rarely notice and that your actions matter because they always affect someone or something around you.
We feel stronger and more resilient when our sense of support and belonging to this living world is cultivated.
