Improving mental well-being through sustainable Practices
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Find balance, foster well-being with sustainable practices
If I were to say that you can improve your mental well-being through actions that also benefit our planet, what would you think? I’m guessing most of you would welcome the opportunity as you were intrigued enough to search for it. Well, the good news is that you can and why would you not embrace the opportunity to play your part in a greater cause whilst improving your personal life.
If your initial reaction is apathy toward the statement then please hear me out, as pursuing greater mental well-being through sustainable actions is a positive outcome for the individual & our society. This is something that cannot be achieved in isolation.
“Like sustainability, wellbeing is a forever ongoing pursuit that involves support from friends and family, personal reflection, and care from your surrounding community.”
How can Sustainable Practices Help us Psychologically?
The pandemic was a difficult time for billions of people across our planet, unfortunately, a large number of people have been psychologically impacted by the measures and fallout of Covid-19. In fact, a scientific brief from the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests that in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a significant 25%. With increasing life pressures, such as energy & food bills rising, housing availability & the doom we here from our national news, now is the opportune moment for people to embrace sustainable practices to help alleviate anxieties and daily stress.
In this brief post, I want to share a few sustainable practices that not only support the efforts in moving towards a net zero future but most importantly encourage positive mental well-being.
Gardening
Gardening can be an excellent pastime to focus your time on the present. In doing so you are naturally lost in the activity which will help with any stress or anxiety you may be feeling. Studies have shown that being outdoors and exposed to nature promotes well-being, Mind, the mental health charity, states that
