It is said that nature is the greatest healer of all and it has been proven many times as well. Studies have found that mental health benefits a lot from being in nature. Gardening is one example where you can be in touch with nature. Whether you have a small patio to decorate or a vast amount of space to tend, the act of making your particular stretch of nature into a haven can be a great stress reliever. According to two completely different types of researches, there are two important chemicals that boost our immune system and keep us happy in gardening. These are serotonin and dopamine that makes you feel good while pulling up weeds, pruning unruly shrubs, and tending to seedlings. So let’s see in detail how gardening helps!
- Having a living thing to care gives you a sense of responsibility. Taking care of something else helps you divert your mind away from problems. This responsibility is helpful for people who are suffering from mental health issues. According to psychologists, it gives them a sense of purpose and worth.
- As mentioned above, gardening helps to connect with nature. Sometimes this connection is broken or ignored, so reconnecting with nature can have a vital impact on mental health. It has been found that spending more time in green spaces helps people to relax. Gardening helps you overcome feelings of self-absorption that can worsen mental health issues. If you want to feel more at one with the world, then try gardening!
- If you are suffering from anxiety or paranoia, or are you afraid of going out for any social gathering, then the best option is to spend time in the garden. Everyone knows that plants do not judge. Plants are nurtured and cared for by anyone without passing any judgment, and keeping plants healthy can improve self-esteem and confidence.
- It has been found by researchers that gardening is a great exercise as it can last from three to four hours a session. It is proven that these three to four hours spent in the garden is equivalent to one hour at the gym. This regular exercise is proven to be beneficial for a wide range of mental health issues. Gardening can also contribute to helping us to sleep better and can promote weight loss as well as boost self-esteem.
- Gardening is therapy. At the end of the day, we tend to worry about bills, work, or the everyday stresses of life and our mind are focused on things that could be handled later. Gardening helps in making us focus on the task at hand whether it is repotting, chopping, weeding or hoeing. Being able to concentrate hard on a physical task is good for someone who is always stressed as it gives our mind a break from all those things that might be getting us down.
- Gardening helps you to be more creative. Often referred to as a form of art, gardening let you release your creative side by leaving technology behind and concentrate on melting the stress away. Creative people see a garden as a blank canvas that needs to be filled with all kinds of wonderful pictures and flowers.
- It is true that our sense sharpens after an exercise as gardening requires continuous movement and serves as a form of exercise, the sense of smell, touch, and taste is stimulated into a higher level. Gardening can stop the process and prompt the senses into another plane of perception. Prolonged exposure to fresh air and smells of nature also sharpens the senses.
- Plants have a different way of talking to us and one way we can converse with them is by living in the moment. A person’s anxiety can worsen when they constantly think about the past or worry too much about the future. Being in touch with nature helps us to appreciate every day and focus on the now. You can feel the seasonal changes as the garden develops with each passing week. No matter how many deadlines you miss or how many social gatherings you miss, the amazing beauty of a fresh blooming flower will always brighten your mood and day.
- If you had a bad day at work and you are in need to take it all out, then grab a shovel and get digging! There are certain aspects of gardening, like cutting, chopping, hacking, and digging are great ways to vent your anger. It’s not all anger, in the end, you will have something beautiful to show to the world. Though it is hard to believe, destructiveness is actually a good thing as it prevents plants from overgrowing and weeds from encroaching.
- Gardening helps putting you back in control by having you arranging your vegetable patch, and flower beds properly. The peace you get, when you have a beautiful garden with everything you have cared and nurtured for is appreciated, is just appeasing.
Keep up for the next post, till then!
