Healing through nature
BACP member blogs

There's no doubt that it's been a challenging time for us all. Throughout the last year or so, the pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives - health, work, education, daily routines and relationships. It has affected our mental health as well as our physical health.

On the other hand, the pandemic has taught us to prioritise our health and wellness through the difficult times of a global crisis. We have all learned ways to engage better with our mental wellness.

Gratitude

With the hardship came the beauty and appreciation of daily blessings that we may not have been acknowledging normally. We began to realise the wonders of simply the air we breathe in, the sun in the sky that warms us inside out, the breeze in the air and the feeling of raindrops while walking outdoors without a face covering.

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude."

Cynthia Ozick

We also realised how important it is to spend time with our family and nurture each other through a global struggle. We found the great chance to appreciate all the routines that we normally had and began to be grateful for all these blessings that we have been surrounded with.

Healing through nature

As an ambitious explorer, I felt that this process was going to beat my mental health down with all the travel restrictions and limits on socialising. However, it turned out to bring a lot of better opportunities than I initially expected. With the restrictions put in place, and limited access to public spaces, I began to enjoy my leisure more in nature and got the chance to explore new natural spaces to participate in the ravishing beauty of the earth.

Each weekend, my partner and I made plans to visit a new natural space around the London area and enjoy our time in nature while exploring the environment. It turned out to be a great recreational activity and provided us with a captivating atmosphere to recharge ourselves. This weekend routine was something we were aspiring to put in place for so long, and the pandemic helped us to finally make it happen.

We have not only improved our mental wellness through relaxed breathing and other mindfulness exercises in nature, but also developed gratitude towards the earth and the beauty of creation. While we enjoyed spending time with nature through our picnics next to the flowing river in Uxbridge and our book readings on the beach in Bournemouth, with the peaceful wave sounds and birds singing in the background, we realised how blessed we are to live in such an amazing world.

We plan on keeping this nature exploration weekend routine going now the pandemic restrictions have eased and everything is starting to get back to normal. So, I cannot recommend this routine enough to everyone who is also a nature lover, as it brings lots of joy along with appreciation.

As always, stay positive and share love and happiness.

Seyma