You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’

Natures love and feeling 

Scientific journal-https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.aax0903#body-ref-R23

For most of us as kids, the pure joy of waking up to a sunny day was enough to bring hopeful anticipation of what the day may hold. Somewhere along the way, as we have gotten older, this hopeful joy of the great outdoors fades, and we are left waking up in a somber mood, detached and indifferent to what the day holds. This feeling may be interpreted as depression or anxiety, yet in reality, we have lost the hope and joy of life, of living. So where and how did we lose that "Love and feeling?" How can we get it back? 

"Research has shown that various types of nature experience are associated with mental health benefits in many ways"(Gregory N. Bratman et al., 2019).

With the mass urbanization of the West and, in turn, man's separation from nature, many questions have been raised about the side effects of this increasing separation. "In many instances, modern living habits involve reduced regular contact with outdoor nature and increased time spent indoors, on screens, and performing sedentary activities (63, 64). This disengagement from nature may be partially driven by a negative feedback loop"(Gregory N. Bratman et al., 2019). A negative feedback loop is when a pattern is repeated because no one in a person's life has set a precedent or charted new territory, so negative cycles are repeated. Negative feedback loop is increasingly happening regarding nature. As generations progress, people pass down fewer experiences in nature. Thus, exposure decreases for future generations. Though we should be cautious in drawing a direct correlation between this and the increasing mental health pandemic, we can draw causation. 

I interviewed Melissa, a nature-based psychologist, to investigate how nature and mental health correlate in the parishioner realm. 

How have you seen nature affect the mental well-being of a patient? 

"When I did therapy indoors with no windows and concrete walls, it was like a prison, and they are already in a prison of their mind. So, instead, I started taking them to some nearby gardens with water and the sounds of nature surrounding them. This played a significant role in their mental well-being with healing components of nature."

Melissa dove into how the sun feeds our mitochondria, which all of us who took freshman bio know is the powerhouse of the cell. However, in case you forgot when the mitochondria is fed off vitamin D, which is the sun. When the mitochondria is healthy and happy, the rest of the body thrives, but when deprived of vitamin D, it produces many psychiatric disorders(AR;, na).

What modalities have you seen as most effective?

"There are many ways in which my client interacts with nature in the therapeutic process, which help bring healing. From gounding with dirt or grass, equines assisted therapy, walk talk therapy and much more. This Is called polyvagal therapy. Polygal therapy proposes that we regulate to the environment that we are in. Polyvagal therapy focuses on the healing of the autonomic nervous system, which determines fight-or-flight, cortisol levels, stress hormones, and much more.”

Melissa mentioned many nature-based modalities, such as trainspotting, red light vs. fluorescent light, gaze spotting, and more. We will not discuss those, yet I propose that if all these modalities are accomplished through nature, then is nature the key? And how can we tap into this light and life source daily?

When discussing nature's effect on mental health, there are two variables: interaction and dose. Interaction is determined by how you interact and, thus, how beneficial the encounter is.  "Looking at water is different from swimming in water, for example. One way of modeling this human-nature interaction is in terms of "interaction patterns"—a description of the meaningful ways in which human beings interact with nature"(Gregory N. Bratman et al., 2019). The Interaction pattern is the amount and repetition of an action. When you plant seeds, you do not see results unless repeated care is given. The same goes for nature's medicine. There will not be results unless the actions are immerse and repetitive. This leads us to dose like anything, the more you do it, the better results, and the easier it becomes. As in nature, the more one is in it, touching it, feeling it, and interacting with it, the more one will see the benefits of nature's healing. 

Conclusion 

Though nature cannot solve all problems like duct tape can, it brings us one step closer to becoming reacquainted with that childlike spirit excited for a day spent in the great outdoors. Through the mass urbanization of the population, we have become separated from these biomes and have, in turn, suffered the consequences. With mental health at an all-time low, we must get back to the grounding effect nature has, even something as simple as touching grass. Through the research and work of many, we are slowly rediscovering the importance of nature in our daily lives. I am hopeful that one day, we can all reclaim that "love and feeling". The scientific research that now reveals how being connected to nature is not new if one considers how mankind came into existence. We were created from dirt and given life through the breath of oxygen. Dirt and oxygen are the foundation of our existence which nature is comprised of. It is essential for the mental health of each human being to reconnect with their internal roots: dirt and air!