HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-05-10, Page 1212 Signal Star • Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Ecotherapy
Have you hugged
Air a tree lately?
Julie Talbot MSW., RSW
Special to the Signal Star
We are a disconnected people.
We have unplugged from the great
outdoors and plugged into a virtual
reality. Further, we have become
"box people"—our food comes in
boxes, we live and sleep in boxes, a
great many of us work in boxes, we
even drive or ride in boxes (hope-
fully, some of our boxes have
windows!).
There was a time when we lived
and worked in harmony with
nature. We were connected to and
revered the Earth as a life-giving
force and provider of our basic,
esthetical and spiritual needs.
This philosophy has drastically
changed since industrialization.
We are now using the Earth as a
commodity. As a result, we have
done irreparable damage and we
have done so because we stopped
honouring this sacred relationship
and symbiosis with the Earth.
Mother Earth is the basis of our
human existence. It's sad to know.
that we are the only species on the
planet that destroys its own habitat.
In addition to this, research show
that this disconnection from nature
has negatively impacted our physi-
cal, mental, and emotional
wellbeing.
Ecopsychology is a term used to
describe the study of relationships
of humans to other species and
ecosystems.
Craig Chalquist wrote an article
entitled, "A Look at the Ecotherapy
Research Evidence'. Chalquist
states that ecotherapy practices
"leads to circles of mutual healing
between the human mind and the
natural world from which it
evolved."
According to Chalquist, ecother-
apy is described as applied eco -
psychology, which refers to any
practice or technique used to
engage us with the natural world in
order to facilitate mutual healing
and growth through this relation-
ship with the Earth. Maybe you like
to garden, or go camping, or hiking,
walking your dog, sitting under a
tree, or bird watching. These are all
examples of ecotherapy
techniques.
The National Researc-h Council
(1981) reports that those of us who
live in highly industrialized nations
are now spending more than 91%
of our lives indoors.
There is no doubt that this
Ecopsychology is a term used to
describe the study of relationships
of humans to other species and
ecosystems.
percentage has likely increased
since this study was conducted in
1981.
Chalquist concludes in his
article that evidence suggests
our physical and mental health
improves with contact with
nature and that our physical and
mental health deteriorates when
disconnected from the
outdoors.
He summaries his research by
identifying three common themes
that emerge from the research:
"1. Disconnection from the natu-
ral world in which we evolved pro-
duces a variety of psychological
symptoms that include anxiety,
frustration, and depression. These
symptoms cannot be attributed
solely to intrapsychic or intrafamil-
ial dynamics.
2. Reconnection to the natural
world—whether through gardens,
animals, nature walks outside, or
Photos courtesy of Julie Talbot
Connecting with nature and the outdoors can positively impact our physical,
mental and emotional wellbeing.
nature brought indoors—not only
alleviates these symptoms, but also
brings a larger capacity for health,
self-esteem, self -relatedness, social
connection and joy.
3. Reconnection also works
across treatment modalities to
replace a pathological sense of
inner deadness or alienation from
self, others and a world with a
rekindling or inner aliveness and
enjoyment related to self, others
and world." (p. 7)
We are blessed to live in such a
beautiful county as it offers us a
bountiful plethora of natural
resources such as forests, trails,
ponds, and creeks.
Also, Huron County is home of
The Mighty Maitland River, the
Nine Mile River, our lovey Lake
Huron with its miles of beaches
and magnificent sunsets.
We also have a great variety of
wildlife creatures, plants, parks and
various other eco -systems. We are
fortunate to be able to experience
all four seasons (yes even winter).
However, if you are anything like
me, I often take these things for
granted.
After a long winter with too
much time spent indoors, I often
experience some lethargy and
fatigue. I notice how much better I
feel when the spring season
emerges and I get outside into the
sunshine to breathe fresh air and
begin walking the trails—in the
natural world.
Just think of how you feel after a
long winter hibernation and then
how you feel when you finally get
outside. We need to be outside for
our health and wellbeing and the
Earth also needs us to sustain its
health and wellbeing.
So, I invite you to test the
research-- hug a tree and
reconnect.
GIFT TO`YOURAMOTHER CAN EVER EQUAL HER GIFT TO YOU
Happy Mother's Day!
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