Green Therapy for Depression
Go green to bit depression
71 per cent report depression decrease after green walk (Green Therapy), 22 per cent report depression increase after urban walk.
New green agenda for mental health. With a mass of new and growing evidence, Mind calls for ecotherapy to be recognised as a clinically-valid frontline treatment for mental health problems. As 93 per cent of GPs have prescribed drugs due to a lack of alternatives and access to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy takes up to four years in some areas of the UK, it is vital that ecotherapy is considered by GPs alongside these as a treatment option.
Ecotherapy involves getting outdoors and getting active in a green environment as a way of boosting mental wellbeing. Whether it’s taking regular walks in the park, flying a kite or participating in a gardening therapy project, green exercise is proven to have huge benefits for mental health.
Ecotherapy versus retail therapy
Mind’s new report Ecotherapy: the green therapy for mental health presents the findings of the first ever study looking at how green exercise specifically affects people with mental health problems. A walk in a country park was compared with a walk in an indoor shopping centre. The results are startling:
- 71 per cent reported decreased levels of depression after the green walk
- 22 per cent felt their depression increased after walking through an indoor shopping centre and only 45 per cent experienced a decrease in depression
- 71 per cent said they felt less tense after the green walk
- 50 per cent said their feelings of tension had increased after the shopping centre walk
- 90 per cent had increased self-esteem after the country walk
- 44 per cent said their self-esteem decreased after window shopping in the shopping centre.
Green activities boost mental health:
Mind’s second research study showed the views of people who regularly partake in green activities run by Mind’s network of local Mind associations:
- 90 per cent said it was the combination of nature and exercise that had the greatest effect on them
- 94 per cent said that green activities had benefited their mental health, lifting depression.
Recommendations for mental health and depression:
- Ecotherapy should be recognised as a clinically-valid treatment for mental distress.
- GPs should consider prescribing green exercise as a treatment option for every patient experiencing mental distress.
- People on care plans should be supported in accessing green space.
- Referral to care farms should be incorporated into health and social care referral systems.
An environmentalist or an eco-tourist would agree that there is no better alternative to depression treatment, then “ecotherapy.” But in a shocking figure, GPs have been found to have prescribed antidepressants to over 31 million people in the UK in 2006 alone, making it an all-time high..