Greener spaces are proven clinically to do wonders for your health, therefore spending time in such spaces is bound to have a positive effect on you. But what about a lifestyle that revolves around greenery? Is that equally beneficial for the mind in this fast-paced world? Science says yes It is.
It is important to note that knowing the effects of climate change is not the only thing that is impacting people’s mental health. It is instead of how the grave issue of climate change impacts employment, economics, and extreme patterns of weather that inevitably affects countries, states, societies, and households.
Experts believe people can manage their anxiety and depression effectively by changing their life and living more sustainably. To help you improve the quality of your life, here are a few lessons you too can apply to your life.
A Greenlandic Perspective Survey shows that ninety percent of Greenlanders understand that climate change is real and the knowledge of this change makes them anxious and depressed. Therefore it explains why sustainable living is the answer to managing anxiety and depression because when one person does even something small about climate change, like doing things differently in their day to day lives, it reverses the negative effects on their mental health.
Dr. Brian Wind is a clinical psychologist; he believes that leading a sustainable lifestyle helps ease anxiety or depression. Such practices can deliver many positive benefits to one’s health.
One of the benefits brought by sustainable living is an improvement in mindfulness. It simply helps individuals become more mindful of their actions. When one observes the effect one’s actions have on the environment, they become more in tune with how their actions can influence the quality of their moods and emotions. It helps bring the mind into focus and reduces the ability to wallow or ruminate.
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Changing your lifestyle for the better can also help you develop a stronger purpose in life. Protecting the environment around you for a greater good can help boast self-worth and personal confidence. Spreading knowledge about the environment to make others more aware of sustainable actions can also help provide a sense of accomplishment.
Becoming more conscious includes you into an environmentally conscious community which can help give more social support to your life. It can also help you look at life more positively and reduce symptoms of depression.
Improving your lifestyle to a more sustainable one can also improve your health physically. If you decide to limit your carbon footprint and choose a bicycle over a car that pollutes the environment, it can relieve stress, regulate your mood, and help you have a better quality of sleep.
The practice of growing food products like herbs, vegetables, or fruit trees can also boost the production of serotonin. This is a neurotransmitter that can greatly improve your mood and is what antidepressants help produce.
Physical health is not the only thing that suffers from the poor quality of the environment. Mental health is just as easily vulnerable to a poor and unhealthy environment.
Amanda Atkins is a marriage and family therapist from Chicago. She says going green is almost synonymous with trusting oneself which means sustainable living helps us feel good about ourselves while also helping improve the environment.
She emphasizes that keeping a garden helps provide a sense of self-sufficiency and trust in oneself. These days with the current state of the world that is hard to do therefore healthy living can greatly benefit one’s mind and body.
Right now with the current health crisis at hand, it is important to incorporate practices in your daily life that can help reduce stress and create a better you and a better environment for the future generations to come.
