British charity Mind launches new green agenda for mental health, based on new research findings i.e. 71 per cent report depression decrease after green walk, 22 per cent report depression increase after urban walk.
Leading mental health charity Mind today launches a groundbreaking new report which sets a 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. The prescription of care farms as a treatment for mental distress has been highly successful on the continent but the UK is lagging far behind Europe ? there are only 43 care farms in the UK, none of which are directed at mental health, compared to 600 in the Netherlands and 400 in Norway.
Ecotherapy versus retail therapy
Mind’s new report Ecotherapy: the green agenda 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 (5) 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.