The psychology behind caring for the planet

Throughout history, humans have impacted our natural environment. And in turn, our environment has impacted us. Every year, millions of Americans will go outdoors to visit national parks, nature preserves, and botanical gardens. Studies have shown that our surroundings have a big impact on our mental and emotional well-being- and nature, in particular, has a restorative effect that is now backed by research.

• ·        The experience of nature helps to restore the mind from the mental fatigue of work or studies, contributing to improved work performance and satisfaction.[1]
• ·        In several experiments, the presence of plants and nature views in the workplace improved employee morale, decreased absenteeism, and increased worker efficiency [2,3,4]
• ·        Depression occurs at any age and can be helped through improved social connections (to decrease the feeling of isolation) and exercise, both of which are promoted by having nearby green outdoor spaces. In one study, 71% of people found a reduction in depression after going on an outdoor walk versus a 45% reduction by those who went on an indoor walk.[5]

You want some of this all-natural antidepressant with no bad side effects.

On the flip side, environmental degradation has negative consequences for our psyche - not to mention our quality of life as a whole. One needs only to look to the smog-related health crisis in China, or the oil spills that occur in waterways every year, to know the detrimental effects of pollution. Though, these are only a few prominent examples of the impact of modern-day civilization’s food and energy needs on the planet.

On a larger scale, a paper published by the American Psychological Association describes how global climate change is likely to have significant negative effects on mental health and well-being, effects that will be felt most by vulnerable populations and those with preexisting serious mental illness. [6]

Feeling stressed from reading that? Psychologists have something to say about this, too - the same APA paper examines the range of emotions associated merely with confronting facts about climate change and environmental degradation. Needless to say, the effect is not a positive one.

As much as modern day humans try to separate ourselves from nature, we are still very much a part of the complex and fragile ecosystem in which we evolved. So what can we do to care for our own well-being while doing right by the planet?

• Learn more about important issues affecting the environment for our future generations (climate change, biodiversity, ocean health, etc.), then take steps towards educating others. And if learning about the issues gets you fired up, turn the energy into positive action.
• Get involved, whether it’s by joining a local group for habitat restoration, or a nonprofit organization to push for sustainable energy policies. Support national parks by finding and visiting one near you - which is also a great stress relieving activity.

Nature has a transcendental effect, a healing effect on us. We should work to preserve it for many reasons, not least of all the health of our current and future generations.

“Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” – John Muir

1.  Shibata, S., and N. Suzuki. 2002. Effects of the Foliage Plant on Task Performance and Mood. Journal of Environmental Psychology 22, 3: 265-272.
2.  Lohr, V.I., C.H. Pearson-Mims, and G.K. Goodwin. 1996. Interior Plants May Improve Worker Productivity and Reduce Stress in a Windowless Environment. Journal of Environmental Horticulture 14, 97-100.
3. Fjeld, T., B. Veiersted, L. Sandvik, G. Riise, and F. Levy. 1998. The Effect of Indoor Foliage Plants on Health and Discomfort Symptoms Among Office Workers. Indoor and Built Environment 7, 4: 204.
4.  Kaplan, R. 1993. The Role of Nature in the Context of the Workplace. Landscape and Urban Planning 26, 1-4: 193-201.
5. Anon. 2007. Ecotherapy: The Green Agenda for Mental Health. Mind: For better mental health, London, pp., 36 pp.
6. https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-66-4-265.pdf

Additional Reading

http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr01/greengood.aspx

http://www.human.cornell.edu/outreach/upload/CHE_DEA_NaturalEnvironments.pdf

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/01/call-to-wild/

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x

When a part of you is broken that others can’t see or understand

When you suffer an injury so severe that it changes your life forever, it’s never something you expect or are prepared to deal with. If that injury results in a life-long disability, it affects not only you, but your friends, loved ones, and everyone around you who would be your support network. What if that disability is invisible to everyone except for you?

The disability I'm referring to, in this case, is traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI occurs when an external force injures the brain - like in a motor vehicle accident, sports accident, physical assault/battery, or a serious fall. TBI can result in physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral symptoms, and outcomes can range from complete recovery to permanent disability or death. There is still continuing research on the full and lasting effects of different head traumas. Concussions are now considered to be “mild traumatic brain injuries,” with research pointing to serious long-term consequences for repeated concussions, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. 

Writer and music critic Tim Page, in his “Letter from the Other Side,” has published a beautifully written firsthand account that describes his own recovery from a traumatic brain injury, and the struggles he endured while he and everyone close to him adjusted to his new life post-injury. Often in severe cases of TBI, there is a permanent change in mood, energy levels, and ability to concentrate, due to permanent damage of the brain. Unlike physical disabilities such as limb loss or blindness, the damage with TBI is internal, and TBI is often called “the invisible disability”. If you haven’t experienced a brain injury, you can only truly learn about it by understanding it through the eyes of someone who suffers from it.

“Only as I grew stronger did I realize how badly damaged I’d been.  In the morning, it took me an hour or more to understand that I was actually expected to get up, and then at least another hour to dress myself.   I could no longer sit in crowded restaurants, follow a multi-party conversation, or stay up even a few minutes longer than body and brain willingly permitted.   I reached for words that were not quite there, and some of them never arrived. The cliché about memory and Swiss cheese applied. I could give ad hoc lectures on my pet subjects and write down most of the phone numbers I had dialed more than twice, but I had forgotten the life stories of friends, the names of their children, the funerals of their parents.   When it could be accessed, my brain functioned like a capacious hard drive, but my “software” was tangled beyond belief.”
– Tim Page

With someone in the U.S. suffering from a brain injury every 13 seconds, chances are that you or someone you know has been affected with some degree of TBI. In observation of TBI Awareness Month, here are some things to keep in mind-and small ways to support a friend or loved one who has TBI.

·   The physical and emotional toll that TBI takes is hard for outsiders to understand, since it’s often not visible from the outside looking in. TBI affects memory, sleep, and often causes extreme fatigue, anxiety, and chronic pain.

♥  Understand they’re struggling with a brain that no longer works the same, and know that many people who suffer from TBI experience daily fatigue and exhaustion doing simple tasks that most of us take for granted.

·   The lack of understanding and support from people who assume that once the scar goes away, you’re fully healed. Our society often says that if you look fine, you must feel fine. However, TBI is an invisible disability that many don’t understand.

♥  Exercise empathy by trying not to judge someone with TBI for being aloof. Don’t take declined invitations personally. Don’t say, “You look fine” or anything that assumes you know their inner condition.

·   All of the above problems resulting from TBI can often lead to isolation from social circles andsupport groups because it’s just too exhausting to go out, or even just to have a simple conversation anymore, and some friendships/relationships aren’t forgiving of that distance.

♥  Extend friendship, support and compassion to someone struggling with TBI in a way that doesn’t demand too much of their energy. Facebook is a forgiving medium for someone who is recovering from a brain injury to share updates with one’s entire social circle without getting too emotionally exhausted.

For sufferers of any major disability or chronic injury, the support given from friends, family and loved ones is the essential element in helping them through the challenges ahead. This is especially true when the disability is hidden 'below the surface', the biggest impacts seen only by those close enough to notice.

What happens to your brain when you choose gratitude?

Take a moment to reflect, and complete the following sentence: “I am grateful for ______”.

Did you have to think very long to find something to fill in the blank, or did the answer come to you immediately? Whatever the subject, was that the first time you’ve thought about feeling grateful for it today? If so, don’t feel too guilty—it may be the result of how the human brain evolved with something called negativity bias.

Our Brain’s Natural Bias

In short, our brains are prehistorically hardwired for survival by perceiving and reacting to dangers and risks. According to psychologist Rick Hanson, author of ‘Hardwiring Happiness’, negative experiences are immediately stored in memory, but a positive experience usually needs to be held in awareness for 12 seconds or more to be stored in long-term memory. Remembering and focusing more on negative experiences may have kept our ancestors alive, but today it makes us feel needlessly worried, tired, inadequate, irritated, and stressed.

So what’s a modern-day human being to do?

Luckily, researchers have found ways to counterbalance our brains’ negativity bias through simple habits, like keeping a gratitude journal. Yes, really. Feeling skeptical? The study of gratitude and happiness has been gaining popularity in psychological and social science. There is an increasing amount of research from academic powerhouses like Yale, ^[1] Berkeley, and the University of Pennsylvania ^[2] on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its potential effects.

It turns out that focusing on the positive things in our life has scientifically proven benefits. According to multiple studies, increasing conscious awareness of what we’re thankful for improves mental health, enhances empathy, self-esteem, resilience, and general well-being. ^[3] This is why world-renowned life coach Tony Robbins has gratitude as a key part of his morning ritual: He spends a few minutes every morning focusing on things in his life that he feels grateful for. Robbins says, “The antidote to fear is gratitude. The antidote to anger is gratitude. You can't feel fear or anger while feeling gratitude at the same time.”

Go back to the subject of your gratitude for a moment, the thing you filled in the blank with. Hold it in your mind for at least 12 seconds. Did your mood change when you changed your focus? 

Choosing Gratitude: The Journaling Exercise

A simple way to make gratitude a part of your daily life is to start keeping a gratitude journal. Each morning, take a minute to write down at least three things you feel grateful for. So you’re not writing down the same things every time (my job, my kids, my house), try to pick things other than the same people and possessions. You can feel thankful for something small but pleasant (the cool breeze on my face this morning), the qualities of someone you might admire (my dad who always calls each week to catch up), or even a physical state (the energy I have to run up the stairs today). Some healthy habits are hard to maintain, but this one is easy, and better yet, free. Start practicing this exercise regularly and remembering gratitude, and gradually changes will start to take place in your life. You may find new, great things coming into your life because this shift in focus leaves you open to receiving positive experiences and love.

Give it a try and see if it works for you.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. --John F. Kennedy

^[1] Emmons RA, et al. "Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Feb. 2003): Vol. 84, No. 2, pp. 377–89. Available online at http://ei.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/jclp22020.pdf

^[2] Seligman MEP, et al. "Empirical Validation of Interventions," American Psychologist (July–Aug. 2005): Vol. 60, No. 1, pp. 410–21.

 ^[3] The Importance of Gratitude, http://www.umassd.edu/counseling/forparents/reccomendedreadings/theimportanceofgratitude/

https://projectthankfulheart.com/research/