Role of Nature Therapy in Addiction Recovery – Nature can help you in your journey to healing from addiction. A life free from drug use, alcohol use, or any form of substance use is possible with the help of nature. To allow nature to help you though, you need to be self-aware and educate yourself. Understanding nature therapy’s role in overcoming addiction is essential. To know just how nature therapy can help you, read the following ten reasons why nature therapy is essential in addiction recovery:
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Reason #1: Mood Improvement
One of the easiest ways to improve your mood is to expose yourself to nature. This is why genius giants like Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, and Steve Jobs, to name a few, enjoyed walking. Through long walks, they get to expose themselves to nature. Such exposure effectively improves their mood. When one is in a good mood, it becomes easier to make good decisions. And a good life, free of substance use, is simply composed of good decisions.
Reason #2: Stress Reduction
Exposure to nature can calm you and soothe you. This is why a simple breath of fresh air can reduce one’s stress levels significantly. Every single exposure to nature can decrease an individual’s stress level. This is extremely essential as stress is he launchpad of triggers that can lead to relapse. The more at ease you are, the more relapse becomes an impossibility.
Reason #3: Mindfulness
Most addicts end up using substances because they fail to become mindful of their thoughts, actions, and experiences. Nature improves one’s sense of mindfulness. The more mindful one is, the more one can be in control of his thoughts. When one is in control of his thoughts, such a person is in control of his or her life. A mindful person can easily turn his or her life around. A mindful person can turn his life in whichever direction he chooses.
Reason #4: Improved Well-Being
Studies showed that a person who is always exposed to nature has an overall better emotional, physical, and mental health. This is due to the effortless nature-centered activities that one ends up doing when one is outdoors. Hiking, swimming, and simply calmly sitting surrounded by nature can improve one’s well-being in a holistic manner. A person with an improved well-being can easily recover from addiction.
Reason #5: Connection to Higher Power
Nature also provides individuals with a sacred key to divinity and spirituality. In nature, one can easily allow God or a higher power to speak to them. One can easily be quiet and allow the universe to speak. Just a single exposure to nature’s grand beauty can effortlessly convince an individual of the existence of a higher power. A higher power that is greater than himself or herself. A higher power that is truly in control of everything. A higher power to whom one can surrender all his or her worries. A higher power who can help at any given time. Nature gives a highway access to this realization.
Reason #6: Physical Movement
Nature allows for exposure to outdoor activities that involve movement. Movement of any form that is done consistently and intentionally –– like walking ––– is considered as physical exercise. One of the absolute not-so-secret secrets to having a good life is daily movement. If one is loving a good life, addiction effortlessly becomes a thing of the past. Healing becomes the most natural thing and addiction becomes absolutely irrelevant and its occurrence an impossibility.
Reason #7: Improved Coping Skills
Nature exposure is also good for individuals who want to practice and develop their coping skills. This is the case because nature provides a supportive and safe environment where one can feel safe to explore and be vulnerable. A sustained recovery can only ever be possible when one has solid coping skills. Life can throw stressors and at the end of the day, the difference between an addict and a non-addict is their capacity to healthily cope and deal with problems as they arise. Sadly, most people become addicts because they simply don’t know how to cope and are not aware of healthy coping strategies.
Reason #8: Decreased Cravings
One experiences decreased cravings and yearning to use any form of substance when exposed to nature. This is probably due to the effectiveness of nature exposure in bettering someone’s mood and decreasing stress levels. When one is in the presence of nature, the use of any form of substance ceases to become a necessity.
Reason #9: Community Building
A person who is exposed to nature is also, more often than not, exposed to many individuals. Nature exposure leads to participating in outdoor activities with groups. Participating in group activities can foster a sense of community that is essential to one who is actively pursuing addiction recovery. Consistent sobriety is only ever possible if one has positive connections.
Reason #10: Self-Reflection
Nature is at ease and at peace at all times. If you want to be truly tranquil, you simply need to expose yourself to nature. Such tranquility will lead to self-reflection that will allow you to understand yourself truly. Such gentle introspection, when done consistently, can effectively aid in your personal growth. Your insights will help you fully understand your past, your present, and your future. Self-reflection will allow you to be mentally, physically, and emotionally strong.
Allow Nature to Help You
Always keep in mind that everything is possible. Keep your eye on the prize and always believe in yourself. You can do it. Healing is yours.
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Taking long walks