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Being Outdoors is good for Mental Health

General News, Service User

During the ‘For Men To Talk’ group meetings on Wednesdays, many of the attendees express the importance in them spending time outdoors in nature. It has been found to help with mental health problems including anxiety and depression. The photos you see are also taken by them.
Here are just some of their comments:
“Mostly, it quietens down the ‘noise’ in my mind of overthinking/worrying about stuff. It usually takes at least 20 minutes of activity, then my brain goes into reset mode and I just enjoy the fresh air and scenery.
On a bigger scale, I enjoy the countryside, knowing I didn’t have any control over this world being formed but get to enjoy it’s beauty, it gives me some perspective on things.”
“The best way to describe it is that it resets my mood. If you think of a computer that is just not running right. You turn it off, then turn it back on. Then things go back to normal.”
“If I was to put it crudely, it puts a wedge between me and my thoughts. It reminds me that I’m still alive if I am struggling.”
“It allows me to reset and to feel real again. It allows me to talk with my wife, without being interrupted by the kids.”
Continues…
One attendee in particular wanted to express how important the great outdoors is to him and his mental health journey:
  • Walking long distances puts me in an ultra serene frame of mind.
  • After a few hours, it induces a prolonged meditative state. It also promotes a superior quality of sleep.
  • It gives time and space for creative and artistic ideas to flow, or for solutions to problems to arise.
  • It presents a challenge on the body.
  • It encourages presence, immersion in the now, in the given moment.
  • It’s good training in quietening the mind for times when you aren’t walking. Sometimes when i’m isolated I can tap into the mood of the walking mind and I don’t feel so lonely any more.
  • It engages your sense of wonder through experiencing the constantly evolving scenery around you. I think this appeals to the oldest parts of our minds, the child within.
  • It builds an appetite, and the time spent eating the meals you take while resting are richer, grateful and more mindful experiences.
  • There are constant opportunities to be sociable.
  • It’s a reiteration and reminder of the wonderful complexity and value of you and just how much you can humanly experience simply by putting one foot in front of another.

All these things combined have helped me keep my mental health in good check. I still falter at times just like everyone else, but without being outdoors regularly, walking and seeing nature, I’d likely be in much worse mental shape.