Bushcraft and Mental Health

[Tony]

We've a few articles coming in on teh subject of Bushcraft and Mental health but I thought a thread about it might be good. I'm interested in what you all think about the benefits of doing bushcraft, getting outdoors and taking time for self etc are for your mental health?

For me I find that it grounds me and give me a truly relaxed experience that's hard to get at home with work, house, kids, wife etc etc. I know that when I was a kid I used to get into quite a lot of trouble and I nearly always ran off to the wild places that were near us, that freedom was like a balm that enabled me to then face the challenges (that I'd often created for myself!). There's a realness to the outdoors that transcends so much of the modern online worlds even communication is generally slowed down and simplified to important things, or just musings with friends, allowing for growth and understanding etc...

So, for me the outdoors is an essential component of life and health.

How about you and why?

 

[Woody girl]

Absolutely, being out in nature is a balm I cannot be without. I could never go back to living in a town or city, in fact I'd like to be even further "out in the wilds" than I am, but I need the services that are around me to be within walking distance, so I think I have a fairly good compromise where I live at the moment.
It's only a few minutes walk into fields, woods, or by the river. I see trees squirrels, and rabbits most days, I can hear deer bolving in the autumn, owls hooting most nights. I can see buzzards, woodpeckers, and other birds daily, and its quiet enough to be woken by the dawn chorus.
No continuous traffic noise, and fresh clean air.
Spending time even further out of civilisation, in the woods, or out on the tops of the moor, brewing a cuppa on my stove, with views to die for.
If I push myself up the valley sides onto the tops. I can see for many many miles.
On a good day, I can even see Wales, if I'm in the right spot.
The smell of nature, is just perfect.
Whenever I go into a town, the noise, smell, and hustle and bustle, cars, people rushing about,does my head in. I don't last for long before I'm happily back at home, exhausted, but not in a good way.
I can spend weeks working away in nature, and I feeling stronger, and calmer every day. The exhaustion of a day cutting logs, or weeding the garden, is a satisfied sort of exhaustion, rather than a frazzled one.
It's about going at your own pace, rather than everyone else's.

 

[dwardo]

The woods is my church and my friends the parishioners and I seem to require a "fix" at least once every month or two, at the very least.

If I do not get that fix I start to suffer in various ways, the usual, lack of patience, down turn in mood, quick to anger and the grey fog start to set in. That old black dog starts barking in the distance. Often my better half will see it before me and say "bout time you went the woods isn't it?"

I thoroughly believe its also a direct physical biological need for that bunch of woods chemicals you intake when you take that first deep breath, that first lung full when surrounded by trees and friends.

I find it takes the edge off like no other stimuli and helps to center and ground almost immediately. Oh an believe me I have tried most other Stimuli

 

[Wander]

I work for a mental health NHS Trust that is at the forefront of the affect green spaces have on our mental wellbeing (we've received recognition, funding, and awards for it).
There's lots of anecdotal evidence and the effect of nature on our mental wellbeing has been recognised (albeit not in those terms) since humans have been able to write.
In that sense, the phenomenon is nothing new.
But there is now quantifiable evidence for it (most of which makes a turgid read, but such papers are always going to be like that!).
At work I have conducted nature walks for both staff and patients, taking time to think about how we look at the world around us and how this impacts our sense of self. And I will be providing Tony with an article on that.

Perhaps there's a place for a more scientific article? I would have to check at work to ensure I can use the data, but if it's felt such an article may also be of interest I could offer something like that. Can't make any promises though, due to data security and ensuring that any research is allowed to be used. But I can easily ask.

 

[Broch]

We have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years (or 2 million, or 50,000 depending on your viewpoint/beliefs) to be with nature; we have only spent around 6,000 years farming, only a few hundred years in an industrialised world, and only tens of years in this fast-paced, big-brother, social media based stressful world.

It is no surprise to me at all that I get a true sense of 'returning home' whenever I step into a wilderness. It doesn't need to be woodland; it can be African scrub, a desert, an isolated beach, or a mountain peak. We have not evolved beyond Mesolithic man and our bodies and minds need the relief that only wilderness can provide IMO.

 

[Laurentius]

It works for me at any rate. Like so many people in these fraught modern times I am prone to depression and anxiety but being out alone in the woods provides a much needed reset. Just me and nature all around.

 

[Klenchblaize]

As wonderful and beneficial as being alone in the great outdoors most certainly is, it’s worth noting that in the context of wider mental health considerations I would venture there are many instances where the last thing an individual needs to address their struggles with anxiety and coping with interpersonal skills is to feel their only treatment is to hide away in the woods.

My point being ‘escape’ from a mental health malady as distinct from confronting it with suitable support will only compound matters IMHO.

K

 

[Wander]

I think you've missed the point.
No one would dare suggest that someone with a clinical mental health condition can find it solved by being alone (who said anything about being alone?) in the woods.
But someone going through a mild case of anxiety or depression may find that being in a 'green space' (it needn't be the woods, for example - could be the coast, could be a garden, out on the hills, etc) offers a needed respite that may allow them to look at their issue from a different angle. Or maybe just give them a couple of hours off from their worries whilst that concentrate on the world outside them rather than the world inside them.
No, being outside will not on its own alleviate paranoia, schizo-affected disorders, or any other acute mental health condition. But it may help with the associated feelings of depression etc.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to these things and what works for one person may not necessarily work for another.
If you are under your GP for mild symptoms then you may have heard phrases such as 'social prescription' - the idea that meaningful activity can be every much a part of the recovery process as bunging another pill down your throat.
And these kinds of green activities fall into that category.
But you are absolutely right that green therapy can only work as part of a planned therapeutic recovery, and in more severe cases that would be the case.

 

[Seoras]

This is hard for me to chat about - maybe because of the culture I was brought up in where you were just expected to get on with things and if you were suffering with any sort of mental health issue and discussed it you were in the main avoided.
Working in the outdoor industry and having been brought up on a crofting community Bushcraft and being outdoors just seems normal - doing day to day work on computers (even though I am seen as a techie at work) causes me far more stress than running a Bushcraft workshop.
I tend not to over think things but just ensure I get that balance of outdoor and indoor exposure right - maybe I have been lucky - I don't know but that is what I do.

 

[Ystranc]

I’m absolutely sane although I can become obsessive about some things, that said I’m certainly more relaxed in the countryside, my ideal landscape is the unimproved grassland of the hills and upland bogs which we have in this part of Wales at the head of the Wye and above the Claerwen dams. Not great for foraging unless you hit the bilberries at the right time of year but there is always fresh water for a brew (boil it!). If you keep your eyes peeled you can easily spot other hikers and avoid them if you’re feeling a little unsociable.

 

[Laurentius]

As wonderful and beneficial as being alone in the great outdoors most certainly is, it’s worth noting that in the context of wider mental health considerations I would venture there are many instances where the last thing an individual needs to address their struggles with anxiety and coping with interpersonal skills is to feel their only treatment is to hide away in the woods.

My point being ‘escape’ from a mental health malady as distinct from confronting it with suitable support will only compound matters IMHO.

K

Well speaking for myself, anxiety is exacerbated by things beyond your control, many of them in the social and economic sphere where the powers that be could be doing more. Better to confront troublesome neighbours or get away from them completely for example. In recent times my home environment has been a total nightmare of neighbours playing loud music one of them totally ignoring noise abatement orders, acquiring new equipment after the authorities had confiscated it for ignoring the court orders. Only stopped when he was finally evicted. Other than that I would say that natural light increases serotonin levels and is a natural anti depressant, in this current season short days and long nights lower serotonin levels so it is good to get out while you can.

 

[Kav]

Jack Palance to Billy Crystal
“ You city folk worry about a lot of crap”

 

[sidpost]

Perhaps there's a place for a more scientific article? I would have to check at work to ensure I can use the data, but if it's felt such an article may also be of interest I could offer something like that.

@Wander, that would be great!

On a related note, I have a nephew that never really adjusted to a moving to house in the country. He grew up in 'high density housing' in lower middle income apartment complexes so, noise, hustle and bustle, light pollution, etc. where normal to him and where he felt most comfortable.

This brings up the question whether this is genetic or a 'learned behavior'. Anecdotal evidence of a really small sample size but, something I think about occasionally.

These kinds of trends seem to be more common in Japan and Korea based on what I have read and seen on TV so, some social groups seem to be evolving away from nature while, people like we see on this forum are drawn to nature.

 

[sidpost]

Other than that I would say that natural light increases serotonin levels and is a natural anti depressant, in this current season short days and long nights lower serotonin levels so it is good to get out while you can.

This sounds a lot like "Seasonal Affected Disorder" or SAD, I'm a bit of a flashlight geek so, light composition is something I think about, and it is more than just about Vitamin D!

If you get "Winter Blues", install some natural 'daylight' LED lightbulbs and see if that helps. The new generation light bulbs come a lot closer to the composition of daylight from the Sun so, I would venture a guess you don't need a specialized expensive light these days.

 

[ghostc]

i suffer from SAD, i use a wake up clock and have phillips HUE in the house which helps me a lot

 

[sidpost]

Thanks for the confirmation of your personal experience that the newer generation light bulbs work for you. Sometimes simple things like this are a life changing discovery to someone who doesn't realize the difference it can make.

 

[Ray Smears]

I’m a Gardener.
I work outside all the time.
All the best.

 

[Kadushu]

I'm sorry to say that as far as I'm concerned it is people that have been bad for my mental health in the past. Being outside generally equates to being alone or having minimal contact with people.

 

[sidpost]

I'm sorry to say that as far as I'm concerned it is people that have been bad for my mental health in the past. Being outside generally equates to being alone or having minimal contact with people.

Customer service positions can lead to a lot of bad interactions with customers in my experience. For me, it was important to work with a group of people who were like minded or generally friendly and considerate of others. You don't have to be my best friend or agree with me to be a nice person to be around at a job site. In fact, differences are what makes the world interesting to me.

Back stabbers can rot where the sun doesn't shine if you ask me! Jobs with people like that were left quickly for almost anything else available at the time.

 

[gg012]

I am in the same sort of place as a lot of the rest of you by the sounds of it. I HAVE to visit the woods frequently or I suffer a dark drop in mood. Not necessarily for a night, just an hour's walk will do, but without that decompression I can hear the black dog howling in the distance

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