The Earth has much to teach us. If you’ve ever wandered through a beautiful valley or taken on the challenge of hiking up a mountain, you may already know this first-hand. There’s just something magical and majestic about seeing the Earth in its true, unspoiled form; it grounds us, reminds us of our place in the world, and can even help us to re-center ourselves when we’ve gotten off-track. Fresh air, the scent of pine trees, the feel of sand under your feet, or even the rough surface of stone in the desert – wherever you’re from, you have an entire world just waiting for you out there.
Whether we’re 10 or 85, getting out and experiencing the great outdoors comes with immense spiritual, emotional, and physical benefit. In a world that’s increasingly saturated by electronic devices and social media, scaling things back is crucial to good health. When you’re in recovery, every tool in your kit is important – even the little ones – so don’t overlook the benefits of healing through the great outdoors. Get in touch with the Earth, and hopefully, your inner self, and you’ll quickly grant yourself access to these incredible benefits.
Vitamin D Regulation
Mood is something that’s incredibly important in recovery, especially during the first few crucial months after detox. This is a time when brain chemistry is still notoriously unstable, producing everything from anxiety to depression and even mood swings depending on what substance you’re withdrawing from. Research shows that getting adequate vitamin D may actually help to curb these negative effects. This leads most individuals to seek out supplements, but these can be costly and questionable with regard to quality and efficacy.
But that doesn’t mean all is lost; after all, your own body can generate its Vitamin D. Just head outdoors into the sunshine to reap the benefits. Only 10 minutes of mid-day sun exposure is needed to produce a robust 10,000 IUs of this happy-boosting vitamin, so even a short walk around the block will do.
Want to boost your Vitamin D regulation even more? Snack on sardines or a whip up a bowl of granola with a splash of fortified milk. Both contain a portion of your total daily dose requirement, something that can be helpful in winter or sunless periods of the year.
Connecting and Grounding Ourselves
Humans are forever and intrinsically connected to the Earth; we come from it, and someday, our bodies will return to it. It nourishes us and provides us with water, food, and shelter, but it’s easy to lose sight of those basics in an ever-busy world that never stops moving.
We develop these ideals that tell us we need to work harder, faster, and stronger, even if it’s to our own detriment. Society pushes us to excel past what’s even healthy, so we take up vices to help us cope with the stress. You can, in fact, even become addicted to the busyness itself and the chaos it brings.
Unfortunately, it’s exactly that type of scenario that frequently leads busy business people and corporate executives into addiction or alcoholism. Research shows that putting too much stress on your plate in recovery can actually result in relapses and slips, so moderation is important. It’s much too easy to fall into the trap of drinking more to work more, distracting yourself from the fact that your body is trying to tell you to rest. Or maybe popping just one painkiller to get rid of the pain so you can go to work when you really need sleep. This type of self-medication is a major driver in addiction and recovery.
There’s even proof that simply existing in the city may directly influence your brain and cause stress. Escaping the hubbub from time to time isn’t just fun, it makes good sense.
Getting out into nature allows us to leave all of those worries behind, at least temporarily. Better yet, it grounds us and reminds us to be grateful for all the beauty that exists around us each and every day. Clean air, clean water, even just the ability to walk, ride, or sit in nature…all of these are immense gifts that not everyone has access to. By placing your feet on the ground, feeling the wind on your face, or even just gazing out over a canyon, we remind ourselves that it’s okay to slow down, unwind, and take time to refresh our minds.
Letting Go of Control in a Healthy Manner
Nature is a wild, chaotically beautiful thing, but everything within it has its place and its purpose. This reminds us that we don’t necessarily need to be in control of everything around us at all times as long as we’re taking care of ourselves as best we can.
Picture this: you’re wandering on a hike and encounter a rainstorm; you might not be able to stop the rain, but you can open an umbrella and keep yourself from being wet. Or, you can toss the umbrella aside, realizing that the rain won’t harm you permanently as long as the weather is warm, and let it refresh you instead.
Control is a major player in addiction, especially for those who may have anxiety disorders or dual diagnoses. Even the average person in recovery can begin to catastrophize everyday problems; this is essentially what happens when someone has a slip and then decides to toss all caution to the wind instead of stopping and seeking support. Learning to let go of our mistakes while still recognizing our responsibility by making healthy choices is one of the most important lessons nature has to teach us. This is the entire concept found in the famous Serenity Poem.
Those little symbolic lessons have such a big place in recovery – a time when learning to judge risk, love yourself, and protect yourself from harm becomes so important.
You Matter (and You Belong)
As a recovering addict, it can be incredibly difficult to feel like you have a place in society. No matter how much the research argues against it, some people just can’t wrap their heads around the fact that addiction is truly an illness. Without a constant reminder, it’s easy to start feeling like society has given up on you – but nature provides the perfect reminder of why this isn’t true.
If you’ve ever stood out under a sky full of summer stars, you’ve undoubtedly felt that incredible feeling of inconsequentiality. It’s two parts wonder; one part feeling like you’re “home,” probably because you are. The Earth is your home, regardless of whether you’ve made some questionable decisions about self-care in the past or not. It’s a gentle reminder that we’re all a part of something much bigger and much more important.
That feeling of oneness is beneficial not only because it reminds us that we belong, but also because it encourages us to extend our view beyond ourselves while also being kind to ourselves, too. We are a part of the whole; thus, we deserve compassion, kindness, and support, too. And at the end of the day, we’re all just seeking the same thing – happiness and love.
Achieving Better Physical Health
Last, but most certainly not least, is the fact that getting out into the great outdoors is just plain good for your physical health, too. Exercise, for many people, is a challenge in recovery, and getting outdoors can help motivate you to get moving more often. A short walk around the block everyday may not seem like much, but that 15-minute walk will boost your heart rate, burn off calories, get your blood pumping, and even improve your cardiovascular health.
If you’re an adrenaline junkie, outdoor sports like hiking, skiing, snowboarding, and even sport fishing are the perfect way to get a bit of exercise while boosting those mood-happy endorphins. Yoga in the park and equestrian sports like trail riding? They work, too. The key is to find something that gets you up off of the couch, out the door, and engaging with nature in a way that’s safe, meaningful, and beneficial to you.
Whether you love to go for long walks with your dog or you’re just trying to find a way to heal your soul, nature has so much to offer you if you’ll just take that first leap. Healing through the great outdoors isn’t only an option; for many people, it’s as required as breathing clean air and drinking clean water. It keeps us connected and in tune with the world around us, even when everything else seems out of control.