Healing from addiction is not easy. The journey is filled with challenges. Even when a person is mentally positive, they might need an extra boost to get some support. Getting outdoors has some benefits. Nature is a great way to experience peace and calming after a challenging day or just to get outside. The mental health benefits are being touted right now as a way to get people off screens into nature, spending time outdoors, and thinking more positively about what they want for their recovery. Find out why and how nature works in this way and ways to tap into it for yourself.
Positive Benefits
The association between outdoor activities and positive mental health outcomes is high. Most positive health benefits are reductions in stress and anxiety after time spent in nature, including elevated mood and positive attitude. The overall positive effects are often described using terms like ‘psychological healing,’ or ‘restorative.’ while these are encouraging terms, they are not going to help everyone embrace nature. Some people prefer a short little walk in their neighborhood while others want to take kids out into the park and run through it with abandon. Others simply want to sit and soak it in. however a person chooses to embrace nature, there is something for everyone and they can simply be present and still to enjoy the quiet solitude for a time and reset their minds towards recovery.
Why it Works
Nature-based recreation can improve mental health outcomes in many areas of wellness. This includes:
- Resilience
- Restoration
- Cognition
- Decreased symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression
There are specific types of outdoor recreation activities to participate in, but clinically speaking, it is not necessary in order to find support for overall health. Nature-based recreation programs exist at some sober living facilities, and addiction treatment places, so it is important to find what feels good and continue moving towards healing in recovery. Just a little bit of time outdoors can boost immunity, as well, and increase positive mood more than most anything else can. Take a moment, step outside, and breathe in some fresh air. It might just do you some good to feel the release of stress as you wander into the great outdoors.
Guest House provides quality care for clients seeking support for addiction recovery. We encourage people to do what works for them in recovery and offer a variety of programs and means to achieve this goal in rehab. For more information about sober living programs for men and women as well as recovery programs, call 855-483-7800.