I recall something about being in nature in Germany and Scandinavian countries have a good relationship with natural world too I believe. Forest bathing has even spread into Britain too, but I suspect many see it as new age hippy stuff.
Can I just say I must have missed this thread first time around but it's been interesting reading? As a late joiner I will say that doing stuff outdoors, as opposed to just being outdoors, made a big change to me. I left school and university with low confidence and tbh social skills. Joining outdoor activity groups from canoe clubs to mountaineering and hiking groups put my head straight and gave me confidence / skills to deal with life better.
The biggest thing to me was whitewater kayaking and climbing / scrambling despite a fear of heights. Coping with those challenges and indeed getting good at them made a big change to me.
Being social groups I learnt to cope with larger groups of people. I'm afraid to say big groups I find hard to be in and slip into the background. I got complimented on my skills with a kayak by a guy with the highest coaching levels, I ended up leading large hiking groups in another club and I learnt to stand hanging from a big cliff looking down at people below.
Now this isn't bushcraft but the things we do in the outdoors have the potential to make big changes in us. I think I am a good example. My partner says I'm a social person but she never saw me before my outdoors growth as a young adult. I'm still that introvert with a fear of large groups. Public speaking still has me shaking to my core I just have the ability to cope with it due to what I did in the outdoors. If you've got the strength to paddle off a 5m plus waterfall or hang from a rope above a 100m plus crag despite a fear of heights so bad two steps up a step ladder your knees knock in fear, well anything is possible.
One final point. Solo outdoors is the absolutely perfect way to get your mind straight for me. Outdoors, adventure sports like climbing and whitewater kayaking requires total concentration so any troubles that might rattle around in your head causing increased anxiety or stress gets dropped or pushed out of consciousness. I found those stresses didn't just get pushed out but they simply didn't seem so bad after a day out on a grade 4/5 river.
Can I just say I must have missed this thread first time around but it's been interesting reading? As a late joiner I will say that doing stuff outdoors, as opposed to just being outdoors, made a big change to me. I left school and university with low confidence and tbh social skills. Joining outdoor activity groups from canoe clubs to mountaineering and hiking groups put my head straight and gave me confidence / skills to deal with life better.
The biggest thing to me was whitewater kayaking and climbing / scrambling despite a fear of heights. Coping with those challenges and indeed getting good at them made a big change to me.
Being social groups I learnt to cope with larger groups of people. I'm afraid to say big groups I find hard to be in and slip into the background. I got complimented on my skills with a kayak by a guy with the highest coaching levels, I ended up leading large hiking groups in another club and I learnt to stand hanging from a big cliff looking down at people below.
Now this isn't bushcraft but the things we do in the outdoors have the potential to make big changes in us. I think I am a good example. My partner says I'm a social person but she never saw me before my outdoors growth as a young adult. I'm still that introvert with a fear of large groups. Public speaking still has me shaking to my core I just have the ability to cope with it due to what I did in the outdoors. If you've got the strength to paddle off a 5m plus waterfall or hang from a rope above a 100m plus crag despite a fear of heights so bad two steps up a step ladder your knees knock in fear, well anything is possible.
One final point. Solo outdoors is the absolutely perfect way to get your mind straight for me. Outdoors, adventure sports like climbing and whitewater kayaking requires total concentration so any troubles that might rattle around in your head causing increased anxiety or stress gets dropped or pushed out of consciousness. I found those stresses didn't just get pushed out but they simply didn't seem so bad after a day out on a grade 4/5 river.
