10 Ways that I use nature to help my mental health

It's Mental Health Awareness Week this week and the theme this year is nature. Handy for me, as that's two things I'm very passionate about. But learning how to use nature to help mental health shouldn't be confined to a week of the year, there's so many things you can do, even if you haven't got the energy to do much at all. My aim in this post is to be completely raw and real, life isn't easy (especially the past couple of years, for everyone) and mental health shouldn't have to be shunned and hidden. Fortunately, as time goes on we are all being encouraged to speak out about our struggles, be open and honest and seek help when we need it.

In a study by the mental health charity Mind, 95% of those who were interviewed said their mood improved after spending time outdoors. The research showed that being in nature improves focus and attention, helping to relieve the anxious or depressing thoughts that sometimes rush around our heads. There is a lot of research regarding how nature can increase feelings of happiness, improve engagement and relationships with others, encourage a sense of meaning and purpose and directly reduce feelings of distress (read more in the study by Bratman et al.).

I've always struggled with my mental health, and was diagnosed with depression and anxiety when I was quite young. Recently I have been seeing a GP about PTSD, from a difficult situation I was in at work a few years ago. I'm well used to panic attacks, mood swings, vivid nightmares and an almost 10 year history of seizures from my mental health struggles. I've always been very reluctant to get help, always feeling like 'someone has it worse than me', worrying that I'm wasting people's time or just being pathetic. I've struggled in the past with self harm and suicidal thoughts, at my worst I was sleeping about 18 hours a day, feeling like it was my only relief. I know in my heart that I deserve to seek support and help as much as anyone, but it's been a long road. Following a series of bad seizures in March 2021, and feeling overwhelmed with covid, being a new mum and feeling lonely away from family, I felt the need to evaluate how I can help myself overcome my difficulties, and nature has been vital. Having my daughter, and being with my incredible partner, has given me a reason to get up each day, given me a purpose and a perfect family, but the anxiety still affects me day to day, although I hate to admit it. When times get hard, nature has been my release.

Below, I've listed 10 things that involve nature and how they've helped me to face the tough days.

Just get some fresh air

It sounds ridiculously simple, but this is one of the easiest things to do if you're feeling overwhelmed. When depression hits it can be hard to even get out the house, but even just opening a window, taking a few deep breaths of fresh air can help ground you. If it's raining, close your eyes and listen to the raindrops, feel the cool air and try to clear your mind as best you can. If it's sunny, try and feel the warmth on your face, the light through your closed eyelids, listen to the sounds around you. Whatever the weather, just breathing some fresh air always helps me to clear my head a little when I feel stuck or low.

Get outside

It can be so hard to do when you're feeling low, but if you can manage, getting outside is possibly one of the most powerful therapies. Walking, even for 10 minutes has been shown to increase alertness, boost positive mood and energy. Getting out regularly, or as often as you can, helps to reduce overall stress levels and anxiety. I try and go for walks with my family as often as I can, exploring beautiful places around us. In the UK, Wildlife Trusts, RSPB and local councils will have information on the nearest wildlife reserves, green spaces and parks. The house can seem so suffocating sometimes, so getting outside is a huge relief.

Pay attention to the world around you

I mentioned this in a recent Instagram post, how I'm trying to pay closer attention to nature when I'm out in it, and I've found it really helpful. When my head is spinning with anxiety and stress, staying in the moment and focussing on the small details has helped to clear my head and put things into perspective. For example, at first glance, walking around the housing estate where I live, you may think there is no wildlife to be found. Yet when you stop to take it all in, walk a little slower, look to the trees and the plants, you'll find it teeming! Squirrels, mice, robins, blue tits, blackbirds, starlings, crows, jackdaws, mallards, black headed gulls, woodpigeons, collared doves, chaffinches, beetles, ladybirds and butterflies; all species I can encounter regularly in my suburban environment if I just take the time to look. All species that I used to take for granted in favour of more exotic species, but which I now realise have their own wonderful charm.

Another thing I have been doing is learning more about wildflowers and British plant species. I've never had much interest in flowers and plants, but with my new goal of paying more attention to nature, I've started to take more photos, identify species (the Picture This app is incredible!) and pay attention to the variety of different species such as the snakes head fritillary (left, purple flower) and the recognisable forget-me-nots (blue flowers).

Find a favourite place (or a few!)

Have you ever been out in nature and just found a perfect spot where you feel like you could stay forever? Maybe because it's peaceful, or stunning or you have a good memory there? Hold on to those places and those memories! The first photo is of the canal near where we used to live. We came here regularly whilst I was pregnant, definitely one of my favourite places! We used to sit in the sun, watch the boats, the ducks, swan and geese, and absorb the peace. Looking at these photos takes me back there. When I'm anxious or low, even just looking at these photos (and some videos I took), remembering what it was like to sit in the grass there, helps me so much. The second photo was climbing Scafell Pike with my partner in the Lake District, one of my biggest achievements but also the scenery was just mind-blowing. I remember the heat of the sun fading into a sunset, the warm rays creeping through the clouds, the sound of the stream trickling down the mountain, how proud we felt of our achievement and the relief at the climb down. The last photo is my new favourite place, Dovestone reservoir near the Peak District. It is intensely beautiful, peaceful and honestly the scenery makes you feel like you're in a different country, who thought Britain could be so beautiful! I visited with my partner and daughter, and the memories make me smile. These places in nature are the ones you can turn to when you feel low.

If it's somewhere local to you or easily accessible, spend as much time there as you can. Make it the place where you can forget your worries and stress just for a little while, take in the moment and just give yourself a break.

Use wildlife cameras, or watch wildlife webcams

I love wildlife trail cameras because they allow you to see things you can't always see directly. Whilst it's not spending time in nature directly, it allows you to access the natural world when it's too hard to get out there. Plus, the process of going through photos and videos is so therapeutic, and helps me take my mind of my worries. I recently purchased a fairly inexpensive trail camera to set up in the garden as I suspected we had hedgehogs, and sure enough, we have at least 3 regular visitors.

But even without your own trail camera, there's so many wildlife cameras and live webcams you can watch. One of my favourites is Africam which has live streams in various places in Africa, and the wildlife you can see is amazing! Explore.org has hundreds of live cams set across the world, from birds nests, northern lights, canada, africa, europe, the choice is yours. So when you're feeling low or down, switch one on and escape for a bit, see what you can find without leaving the house.

Get creative, draw, make, blog or take photos

I am not at all creative in an arty way, but taking photos is one of my favourite therapies. Being out in nature, looking for species and photo opportunities, focussing on the world through a camera lens, and then going through the photos is my creative outlet. Similarly, starting this blog was my way of continuing my passion for wildlife and conservation after my daughter was born, when I started to feel low about losing who I was before I became a mother.

Art therapy is well known to offer emotional release and stress relief, and studies have shown that artistic activities such as painting, drawing and crafting helps to release dopamine (the feel good hormone), so get arty, and let nature be your inspiration!

Watch a wildlife documentary

I'm a sucker for a good wildlife documentary, and a huge David Attenborough fan (is anyone not?!). Sometimes, fictional TV dramas and series can get to me, certain TV storylines cause me distress, or remind me of bad memories, but wildlife documentaries are such a good tool I use when I'm feeling low or overwhelmed. Stunning landscapes, exotic and interesting animals, soothing music and a wealth of knowledge all contained in an hour of fantastic nature filmography. Personally, I find them calming, I can focus and learn new things and immerse myself in the world on my TV screen. Similar to wildlife webcams, it's a perfect thing to do if you're struggling to get out of bed. Research has shown that nature documentaries are the best TV programmes to watch to boost your mental health. Study participants reported feeling more joy, awe, amazement and curiosity, and reported less feelings of anxiety, stress and fatigue.

Nature soundscapes

Did you know that even listening to nature sounds (a gently, bubbling stream, the sound of the wind through trees, birds singing etc.) actually causes changes in the resting part of your brain? It's a fantastic study by Cassandra et al. that demonstrates listening to nature soundscapes can help reduce anxiety and promote restfulness and relaxation. Since school I have listened to nature music and soundscapes whilst doing assignments, finding that it calms me and helps me to focus. When I'm feeling down, I use nature sounds to help me refocus and try and use visualisation, deep breathing and mindfulness. There are so many nature soundscape apps, youtube videos, you can even find them on spotify. My absolute favourite has always been the NatureSpace app which I have been using for years. It's free to download with several free tracks or you can pay (between 79p to around £1.29 per track), from jungles, oceans, mountains, forests, streams and lakes, there really is everything there. Unfortunately, the app does seem to have been abandoned by its creators (no new updates, no customer service and no new tracks for over a year) so I'm unsure how long it'll stay available, but I would still check it out. The tracks are hours long and recorded in the field with extremely vivid detail, so they are real and immersive and you never get bored with repeated sounds like some shorter nature tracks. Regardless of that app, nature soundtracks have helped me through panic attacks, stress with assignments, depressive episodes, insomnia and general low mood, they really are a fantastic tool to have in your mental health toolkit!

Streamline your social media

Bare with me, I promise its nature-related! I could go on forever about this, but it's helped me so much. One of my biggest issues is comparing myself to others, how I look, where I am in my life, my abilities as a mother, and social media is just the WORST for that. But to state the obvious- you're completely in control of what you see on social media and how you spend your time. I've spent hours going through the accounts I follow and deleting the ones that don't make me feel good. But also, I've made sure that my Instagram feed is full of incredible nature, landscape and wildlife images. Like watching wildlife documentaries, seeing images that make you feel transported, that allow you to escape the everyday can hugely boost your happiness. On my Instagram, I follow some incredible accounts from wildlife photographers, national geographic filmographers to everyday people who enjoy wildlife. To get to see the worlds they have explored, every time I log into social media, lets me focus on this instead of comparing myself to others. Let the stuff that takes up space on your social media feeds be inspiring to you. If youre going to spend time on social media (which I do a lot, particularly when I don't feel productive), then make social media work for you.

Some of my favourite accounts on Instagram (and there's really too many to list) are @sandysisti who is a wild horse photographer from America, @conservationoptimism which is just a fabulous page for positive conservation news, @bbcearth and @maxwaughphoto whose images just stun me everytime!

Gardening

I never thought I'd be writing this because I definitely do not have a green thumb. Most of the plants in our house are fake, because I'm incapable of keeping real plants alive. Saying that, since moving to somewhere with a garden, I have tried to do little bits here and there to make our garden more green and more wildlife friendly, I've planted wildflowers using the amazing Seedballs which I will always rave about, bought a bug house and a hedgehog house, and I've created a little wild patch to encourage more wildlife.

Whilst allowing me to spend more time outside, which in itself gives me the chance for fresh air and clearing my head, there's a feeling of satisfaction knowing I can make our little garden more friendly for all the other creatures that inhabit it with us. Plus it's wonderful to learn all about different types of plants, and be inspired by colour, smells and beauty. It's a project I can undertake to distract myself from intrusive or anxious thoughts, and spending time in the sun, what's not to love? So I recommend, even if it's just planting one pot of flowers, gardening can be such a relaxing thing to do. More information can be found here from the Royal Horticultural Society.

My aim of this post was to help provide some tools you can use to benefit your mental health, or even just get through a tough moment. Nature might not be the cure for mental health, but it can help. I'm not an expert, only providing my own tools I use to help myself through the hard days, but help is available from so many charities and organisations. Mind has a fantastic guide to all things mental health, where you can find support and advice, I've linked it here.

I would love to know how other people use nature to support themselves, where people's favourite places to go are, or any amazing accounts I can follow. Let me know by contacting me below or on my Instagram. I hope you found this helpful!