Mental Health Awareness Week – Connect with Nature

During lockdown connecting with nature has been proven to have a positive impact on wellbeing and mental health, so much so that it is the theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week.

Taking place this year between 10th and 16th May, the theme ‘Connect with Nature’ will encourage people to reap the benefits of being outside whether that is going for a walk, sitting in a park, visiting the coast, one of the UK’s fantastic beauty spots or that hidden oasis in our local community.

Mark Ryan, Group Health and Safety Manager, Logson Group commented; “We fully support the theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week and actively encourage all members of our teams to spend time outdoors whenever they are away from work. Taking care of our mental health has never been so important; the challenges of the last fifteen months are not to be underestimated and, just because we are hopefully seeing a return to more normal times, the impact of social distancing and lockdowns may impact some individuals in the future.”

Research carried out by MentalHealth.org, about how people coped during the lockdowns, showed that “going out for walks outside was one of our top coping strategies and 45%of us reported being in green spaces had been vital for our mental health.”

During Mental Health Week part of the campaign is asking us to do three things:

• Experience nature – take the time to be outside
• Share nature – take some photos of where you’ve been, even if it is just the view in your garden and share using the hashtags #ConnectWithNature and #MentalHealthAWarenessWeek
• Talk about nature – invite a friend for a walk or just talk about and encourage more people to connect with nature in their local environment

Mark concluded; “It sounds like a simple thing to do however we appreciate that some people will find it difficult to connect with nature because of things like work and family commitments, or perhaps where they live makes it more challenging. However, the benefits that it can bring, such as better mental wellbeing, a clearer mind and enhanced fitness if you choose to exercise outdoors, even by just going for a walk, can help us all feel better in all aspects of our lives.”

To find out more about #ConnectWithNature visit https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week/why-nature