I don’t know about you, but I’m grateful that mental health is being taken seriously across sectors. If you are in the know, you’d understand exactly what I mean and how negative an impact ignorance has had on people struggling with it.
Mental health wellness is essential in most settings, including corporate and academic sectors. Rightfully so, school or college-going individuals are one of the largest populations representing those with mental health issues.
There are several ways to combat the signs and symptoms of mental health issues, which mainly include pharmacological and non-pharmacological ways. The former are medications that doctors prescribe, and the latter are not based on medications.
Both are effective in their ways but rely on different mechanisms that may not work for everyone. As we are not counselors, the following sections will discuss the effects of non-pharmacological methods like gardening.
Gardening As A Non-pharmacological Method of Combating Mental Health Issues
Greenery has always been an instant boost for nature lovers. It is interesting that, unknowingly, people in this group have been preventing signs of mental health issues. So, it is only natural that it acts as a mental health booster for people.
However, being in nature is not always possible for people, especially when you are handling the signs of a mental health issue. Spending time in nature or being around plants can have a similar effect on one’s mental health.
When you are engaged in activities like cultivating plants, your mind associates it with being in nature because of the calming effects of green. Mental health care professionals suggest being in nature for those who may experience stress in everyday life.
As per a study, when you expose yourself to plants or even a green space, you get a mental boost that reduces stress. It may be house plants at home or even your garden that you tend to.
From anxiety and stress to even depression, being around plants has positive results for people across age groups and genders. You might wonder why gardening is a prescribed cure rather than a drug.
That’s not the case. Gardening is suggested as a supportive treatment option when professionals do not see a significant improvement with just drugs. Several factors influence this, which we’ll keep for another blog!
This non-pharmacological treatment option, scientifically known as green therapy, involves individuals exposed to gardening and plants. This helps them experience beneficial mental health effects.
How Cultivating Plants Can Boost Your Mental Health
When cultivating plants or even caring for office plants, you send signals to your brain that it is around nature. This works wonders on the brain chemicals that the happy hormone releases to make you feel better.
This happy hormone – known as serotonin – helps boost your mood and helps with sleep and appetite.
Dopamine is another neurotransmitter that helps improve mental health conditions. It can help you feel positive and boost your overall mood.
Thus, it is better to cultivate plants that can give you a serotonin boost, helping you combat the signs of mental health issues. Several other factors contribute to this boost. Another is exposure to sunlight, which is excellent for boosting happy hormones.
Apart from being good for your mental health, it is a great hobby, as you can have a garden that gives you seasonal produce. Bye-bye, grocery shopping!
How To Start Gardening for Wellness
Here are all the ways to start gardening; soon, you could look at a lush green garden bearing the fruits of your labor! Here’s how to do it:
Start by spending some time in the garden space
You do not have to be in the garden 24 x 7 for this. Only a few hours of your day can give you that boost. You can start by spending your time there for 15-30 minutes, tending to the plants you have, and on the weekends, spend a little more time pruning and adding fertilizers for better growth.
Be sure to pick the right fertilizer
The fertilizer should preferably be natural and free of chemicals that can harm you and the soil’s health. Did you know millions of bacteria and other microorganisms live in the soil? Chemical fertilizers are harmful to their growth and can cause a chain reaction in the plant’s health.
It is essential when you are cultivating fruits and vegetables that will be consumed. This means that the chemicals will enter the consumer’s system and can have detrimental effects, when the quantity is high.
So, be careful about the fertilizer you use – there are also DIY fertilizers you can make with vegetables and other kitchen waste.
Decorate the space for more engagement
You would agree that a decorated, neat space improves engagement compared to a dull space. A Halloween party is no fun without the spooky decor! Similarly, adding seasonal garden decorations can keep things interesting in your green space.
This will help improve the effect of this therapy as your mind will be excited to practice it instead of being forced to. When you take up a hobby like gardening, you reduce the impact of common symptoms like avoiding social interaction.
Attention span increases
When you dedicate time to your garden, you develop a habit of doing nothing else. This is great for improving your attention span as you pay undivided attention to a single task.
This can help individuals manage a short attention span (ADHD is one example) to learn to concentrate on the task at hand.
Wrapping It Up!
That was all about gardening for mental health and how you can develop this habit. The steps are easy to follow, and you only need to take care of a few things. The several benefits of gardening were also listed in the article, one of the primary ones being a mood boost.
When you’re first starting, mistakes can occur. I urge you not to lose heart, as they are part of the learning process. Check out the related blogs that can help you on your gardening journey!
Hope you have a green thumb soon!