This year's Mental Health Awareness Week's theme is ’nature’ and so this week is an ideal time to think about how nature can improve your mental health and how you could connect with nature more.
Try to notice nature and try to make a habit of connecting to nature every day.
Simple ways you could do this include:
- Listening to the birds singing outside
- Smelling freshly cut grass
- Taking care of a house plant
- Walking your dog
- Stopping to notice any trees, flowers or animals whilst out walking
- Taking photographs, video recording or sound recordings of nature
- Arrange a picnic/lunch outdoors
- Exercise outside, rather than inside
- Take a moment to appreciate these connections – you might be surprised by what you notice!
Being in nature is an effective way of tackling mental health issues and protecting our emotional wellbeing. Research on the mental health impacts of the pandemic showed going for walks outside was one of our top coping strategies and 45% of us reported being in green spaces had been vital for our mental health.
Nature is something that is all around us and is free to access. There is a way for everybody to get involved in nature, so get outside and get creative!
Read more of this blog on our Safe Space Health website.