Appreciating your natural environment could significantly impact your mental health. This does not mean trekking to some far-off outdoor destination to get in touch with Mother Nature.

Even people living in busy cities can get back to nature by visiting a local park, woodland, beach, or canal. Sitting in a garden contemplating its view is getting closer to nature and will make you feel less stressed and anxious about your fast-paced, hectic life. Let’s take a look at how the natural environment can benefit your overall mental health and well-being.

A step back in time

Kelowna counselling experts at Interactive Counselling believe that people should only look back to their ancestors of a few generations ago to understand the value of connecting with nature. Long before people lived in large cities with few green or blue spaces, they spent more time in nature. Life was simpler and slower back then, and people were much happier.

Unfortunately, few people have the option of going back to this less complicated lifestyle. Most would argue that they do not want to. However, they can take a page from previous generations’ books and spend more time outdoors to enjoy the refreshing opportunities it provides.

Happiness

Researchers believe a return to nature makes people feel happier because humans were designed to live in a more natural environment than the world currently offers. Densely populated concrete jungles are not the way humans should live, as they form an integral part of natural ecosystems.

Getting back to nature and spending time outdoors aligns with our primal instincts and basic human needs. Even those who love the hustle and bustle of city life will not argue that taking a few hours to get closer to nature makes them feel more content.

Doing your part

Once you spend time outdoors and realize how precious and fragile the environment is, you will want to do your part to conserve it. People who commune with nature frequently are likelier to engage in environmentally responsible behavior, such as reusing and recycling materials to prevent waste. In the face of incontrovertible evidence that human activity is laying waste to the planet, everyone should do their part to prevent its destruction.

Many city dwellers argue that they can get close to nature by watching it on television, but the truth is that this is a poor substitute for the real thing. Getting outdoors makes you value the environment and want to protect it for future generations.

High-quality nature

While nature is around us and being outdoors in a garden or park is a great place to start, this is not an example of high-quality nature. High-quality natural areas are wild and not interrupted by the sounds and distractions of human activity.

Proximity is a factor, with people not wanting to travel long distances to get into the great outdoors. Socio-economic status also plays a role, as poorer people cannot afford to get out of the city and into high-quality green spaces. They are likely to develop mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.

Getting your mind off things

Spending time in nature allows you to slow down your frenetic thinking and switch off for a while. This has a calming impact on you as the sights and sounds of nature are a welcome distraction.

Many people find spending time outdoors helpful when dealing with problems in one of two ways. Either it lets them forget about their problems for a bit, or it causes them to think of solutions. Whichever one of these happens to you, you will likely feel happier after spending some time outdoors.