“Sorry! It’s been a bad day.”
Following up on why an arranged meet-up hadn’t happened, I not only learned the reason for the appointment not taking place, but I heard the anguish, frustration and despair in her voice.
We all have bad days from time to time. That’s life.
What counts is doing something to either rectify the situation, if possible, and if it’s not, to find a way to self-soothe.
What do you do on those occasions?
There are a multitude of options, like taking yourself off to a quiet place to be on your own, listening to music, going for a run or a walk or finding someone who always lifts your spirits and spending some time with them.
What you choose is a personal choice. There’s no right or wrong.
Why it matters to have these options available to us is because life can be very messy. Your options help you to cope better and build resilience for the next bad day.
One option that I have always found beneficial from a personal perspective on these occasions is to take myself off for a walk in nature on my own.
Stepping out onto a bush trail brings relief almost immediately. I can feel myself calming down. Distress seeps away as I start to immerse myself into the nurturing arms of nature.
But how does this happen?
What is going on in our body to produce this effect?
Reducing social stress and mental anguish by walking in nature.
How we think and feel is shaped by our surroundings and interactions with others.
Despite having evolved in nature and being part of nature, our shift towards urban living has resulted in an increased risk for mental health problems, with anxiety disorders and major depression and psychosis up to 56% more common compared to rural living.
It’s been shown for example that an urban upbringing is the most important environmental factor for developing a psychosis such as schizophrenia.
Taking a walk in nature calms the amygdala, whereas going for a walk along an urban street does not produce the same effect. The amygdala being the brain structure associated with emotional control along with having a key role in memory and learning. The fight or flight response to acute stress helps to keep you safe. How you respond to anger, joy or fear is partly determined by your amygdala response. Exposure to high levels of stress (too many bad days) can make you hyper-sensitive to potential threat, meaning, you may overreact or not make the best decision for your circumstances.
Lower amygdala activity is associated with lower levels of stress and cognitive restoration of attention. Your heart rate slows, your blood pressure drops and cortisol levels decrease.
Maybe you’ve noticed yourself how spending time outside in nature improves your mood, helping to put things that were distressing into greater perspective. Better still returning to the office or your home afterwards the benefits continue. You’re better able to remember things, can focus on tasks more easily and have less negative emotion.
How long do you need to walk in nature to gain this benefit?
How long have you got?
Research has shown these differentials in a one-hour walk.
However, even being out in your backyard or doing some gardening for a few minutes has been shown to have a stress-lowering effect.
When time is pressing, getting outside into nature for as long as you feel comfortable is a simple and effective way to buffer the impact of those “bad days” and potentially safeguard you from developing a mental disorder.
Where do you find peace away from all the hustle and chaos of life?
