Doctors in Scotland can now prescribe nature to their patients.
EVAN FLEISCHER 12 October, 2018-Big Think
I LOVE this article! We are so hurried in our lives, how often do we take the time to appreciate the shape of clouds, the song of a bird in the tree above our heads, weather whether we label good or bad, or seeing a squirrel playing with his buddy. We are a society inundated with ads for the latest and greatest medications that will magically make all of ills disappear without any significant exploration of “why” we feel the way we do, and/or how stress has impacted our emotional, mental, spiritual or physical health.
We are an instant gratification society. We want results NOW, we want happiness guaranteed and we generally don’t want to work for it. This is in no way a sustainable reality. We are feeling, thinking, social beings who experience ebbs and flows, challenges and joys. We are all on evolutionary path that will bring us to the depths of despair as well as to great heights of joy. Nature has always been available to us as a benevolent healer and the support of our very lifeblood and breath on our beloved planet. Check out the article below and give yourself the gift of nature!
Since October 5, doctors in Shetland, Scotland have been authorized to prescribe nature to their patients. It’s thought to be the first program of its kind in the U.K., and seeks to reduce blood pressure, anxiety, and increase happiness for those with diabetes, a mental illness, stress, heart disease, and more.
There is a whole leaflet of nature prescription suggestions that accompanies the program, filled with amusing, charming, sometimes seemingly off-kilter suggestions: in February, you can make a windsock from a hoop and material to “appreciate the speed of the wind”; in March, you can make beach art from natural materials or “borrow a dog and take it for a walk”; in April, you can “touch the sea” and “make a bug hotel”; in May, you can “bury your face in the grass”; in July, you can “pick two different kinds of grass and really look at them”; in August, you can summon a worm out of the ground without digging or using water; in September, you can help clean the beach and prepare a meal outdoors; in October, you can “appreciate a cloud”; you can “talk to a pony” in November, “feed the birds in your garden” in December, and do so much more. All on doctor’s orders.
The evidence for the benefits of nature on mental and physical health are numerous. If you spend 90 minutes of your day outside in a wooded area, there will be a decrease of activity in the part of your brain typically associated with depression. Spending time in nature not only reduces blood pressure, anxiety, and increases happiness, but it reduces aggression, ADHD symptoms, improves pain control, the immune system.
NO CO-PAY REQUIRED…