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Published in Anitra Nelson, Ferne Edwards, Food for Degrowth, 2020
Self-care in this case means ‘caring about’ one’s needs for deep(er) connection with nature by engaging in meaningful activities in the natural environment that help to reduce (or overcome) this alienation, at the same time establishing feelings of self-realisation and ‘rootedness’ in (peri) urban spaces (Schmelzkopf 1995; Battersby and Marshak 2013). Furthermore, by buying a garden plot or going there in their free time, the gardeners were also ‘giving care’ to themselves. When they felt unbalanced or anxious, gardening (work) offered them stress relief and tranquillity. Various scholars have established that gardening can enforce feelings of self-worth, a sense of accomplishment, pride and enhance general (psychological) wellbeing (Jamison 1985; Armstrong 2000; Zavisca 2003). The growing body of research on horticulture therapy, on the benefits of gardening for individuals in achieving different therapeutic goals, also demonstrates that it improves gardeners’ mental and physical health, decreases their stress and anxiety levels, counters feelings of dependence and uselessness, and offers spiritual benefits through a meaningful activity (Morris and Zidenberg-Cherr 2002; Twiss et al. 2011). A beautiful example of self-care was voiced by one gardener who responded to the question about economic profitability of cultivating a garden in the following words: ‘See, the rose is blossoming, and I am relaxing, why should I then calculate the costs?’ Even though FSP might be economically ‘irrational’ for some gardeners, it brings numerous advantages for individual wellbeing, which outweigh other, for example monetary, costs.
Nature-based rehabilitation for adults with acquired brain injury: a scoping review
Published in International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2020
Anne Pernille Vibholm, Jeanette Reffstrup Christensen, Hanne Pallesen
Horticultural Therapy appears to have an effect upon improving cognitive functions (Kim et al. 2010; Barello et al. 2016). Moreover, OAT has an effect on psychosocial adjustment and reaching goals in the Australian OAT (Thomas 2004; Walker et al. 2005). Despite the differences across studies in their approaches to assess cognitive functions following treatment, participants reported improved motivation, proactivity, and engagement in the rehabilitation (Thomas 2004; Walker et al. 2005; Kim et al. 2010; Barello et al. 2016). Ferro et al. (2016) argue that there may be a negative bi-directional relationship between cognition and depression, which impact the rehabilitation process in individuals suffering severe depression following ABI. The differences in methodologies, study design and assessment tools therefore make comparison of results of this review and the existing literature challenging (Thomas 2004; Walker et al. 2005; Mizuno-Matsumoto et al. 2008; Kim et al. 2010). The influence of the natural environment on cognition in adults with ABI was only explored by few studies (Thomas 2004; Walker et al. 2005; Mizuno-Matsumoto et al. 2008; Kim et al. 2010). Studies of adults with schizophrenia showed marginal effect on cognition (Voruganti et al. 2006; Annerstedt and Währborg 2011). Another study compared barren residential areas with greener areas and found positive differences in aggression measured via mental fatigue. Analyses suggest nature has a positive effect on cognition in general populations. There is little research, which has explored this in ABI populations (Lederbogen et al. 2011; Berman et al. 2012; Bragg et al. 2015; Bratman et al. 2015; Ohly et al. 2016).