Time outdoors may help relieve symptoms of depression and ADHD, as well as help stabilize OCD and Bipolar Disorder, it can bring some relief to other disorders as well.
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Green Therapy: Natural Therapy for Depression, and for ADHD
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
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Regular exercise and outdoor activities, unstructured "green time," have been found to help
children with ADHD and depression as well. Psychology Today reported in its March/April 2004 issue that children with ADHD who schedule regular time for outdoor activites such as walking in the park or hiking, exhibit less of the symptoms associated with ADHD.
Similarly, a recent study found that more than 70% of those who took time for this type of "green therapy" felt less depressed than those who did not. On the other hand, those who spent an equal amount of time at a shopping mall, felt more tense and depressed afterwards.
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.
From:
Go Green to Beat the Blues (May 13, 2007).
Mind
Richard Louv's recent book on Nature Deficit Disorder, similarly documents the beneficial effects of "green therapy" for children with symptoms of ADHD and related mental health disorders.
Similarly, exercise along, is reported to be as effective as antidepressants, or even as antidepressants combined with exercise.
In one study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1999, divided 156 men and women with depression into three groups. One group took part in an aerobic exercise program, another took the SSRI sertraline (Zoloft), and a third did both. At the 16-week mark, depression had eased in all three groups. About 60%?70% of the people in all three groups could no longer be classed as having major depression. In fact, group scores on two rating scales of depression were essentially the same. This suggests that for those who need or wish to avoid drugs, exercise might be an acceptable substitute for antidepressants. Keep in mind, though, that the swiftest response occurred in the group taking antidepressants, and that it can be difficult to stay motivated to exercise when you?re depressed.
A follow-up to that study found that exercise?s effects lasted longer than those of antidepressants. Researchers checked in with 133 of the original patients six months after the first study ended. They found that the people who exercised regularly after completing the study, regardless of which treatment they were on originally, were less likely to relapse into depression.
A study published in 2005 found that walking fast for about 35 minutes a day five times a week or 60 minutes a day three times a week had a significant influence on mild to moderate depression symptoms. Walking fast for only 15 minutes a day five times a week or doing stretching exercises three times a week did not help as much. Harvard Mental Health Letter. https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Exercise-and-Depression-report-excerpt.htm
References for Green Therapy page:
1. Exercise and Depression. (Retrieved August 3, 2009). Harvard Mental Health Letter. https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Exercise-and-Depression-report-excerpt.htm
2. It's Easier Seeing Green ADHD curbed when kids play outdoors. (2004, March/April). Psychology Today. p. 26,27.
3.
Mind Launches Green agenda for Mental Health. Ecotherapy vs. retail therapy. (2007). Heliq.com. From Heliq database: http://www.huliq.com/21526/mind-launches-new-green-agenda-for-mental-health
4. Louv, R. (2005).
Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder.
