Nature and Our Mood
A look into how weather and nature impact our mood.
Start by creating more awareness of how weather impacts your moods.
Tori Wanner
Two weeks ago I spent every evening outside riding my horse. My dogs ran and wrestled in the dirt. My cat joined in, climbing in the haystack and sunbathing. We had a little taste of spring and I could feel my mood getting better and my energy increasing.
Then the snow came.
I show horses, I’ve been preparing for my first show for months and last week we saw snow, rain and extreme wind. This has made it hard for me to practice. I have found myself unmotivated not only when it comes to practicing with my horse but I haven’t been able to get myself out of bed to go to the gym. I very rarely skip going to the gym because of how beneficial it is for my mental health. I haven’t walked my dogs and my house is a total disaster.
I have let this discouragement get the best of me and into a funk without even realizing it. It started with small things I quit doing and it's turned into an unmotivated disaster.
Last night I told myself “you’re getting up and you’re going to the gym even if you can only be there for five minutes you are going.” I got up even though I got up late. I got ready and headed to the gym. On my way there I realized how nice it is that the sun is shining earlier. I said “thank you” to the sun and instantly felt lighter.
When I don’t pay attention to my body I don’t realize how much the weather affects my mood. It can be easy to ignore my emotions and before I know it I'm in a low energy state of mind. I have realized how beneficial it is to enjoy the weather no matter what type of weather it is. I try to find positive aspects and beauty in the wind and snow even if it causes me to change plans. On a blizzard-like day, I found joy in the rain watching the snowflakes blow every which way before they landed. I wore one of my favorite hoodies that I can only wear when it’s really cold. The moisture will help the drought my area is experiencing. These small moments of appreciation have made a big impact on my mood.
One other thing I do for my mental health is moving my body. Even if it’s something small.
I find when I walk my dogs, my mood is boosted and, bonus, they love it. Some days I only have about five minutes to spare so I walk them to the end of our lane and back. Some days I take a full hour and walk them all the way around the block. I have found that the time spent does not affect the results.
When I go on walks I like to leave my phone at home and try to only focus on the present moment. I notice the beauty that surrounds me. I notice how funny it is when my dogs play with each other. On our camping retreats, we call these “ahh walks”. You pick individual things that amaze you and you verbally say “ahh”. It creates an instant boost of serotonin and dopamine.
I encourage you to brave the weather, whatever it may be, and take an “ahh walk”. Find things that you like and say, out loud, “ahhh”. Let us know if you tried it and how it went for you.
Find your way back towards connection
We are all living animals in the natural world no matter what technology makes us think.
-Janae Kara, TCTSY-F
It’s the beginning of the first weekend in May and I feel like spring and summer have finally met in their yearly embrace of rain blooming into sun and greenery. When you are looking for it, there are signs of seasons changing everywhere. I can see it in the plants and the sky, in the people and their habits, and in the animals around me. It can be easy to forget we are also a part of the natural world just animals with bigger brains and more complex society. We have taken to great lengths to separate ourselves from nature. We move from air-controlled houses, cars, and offices and back again in a continuous cycle of separation and disconnection. There needs to be very little interaction with the outside world from day to day apart from the quick transitioning walks between places.
I took a long walk before sitting down to write this and I was struck by the connection in my brain between smelling the nature around me and linked memories of childhood. It was always easier to get outside and be fully immersed in the grass, water, trees, and dirt as a kid. My adult life feels grief and longing towards those times, and I wonder how to recreate the same feelings now. I remember not worrying about being dirty or cold or wet. There wasn’t a time clock ticking in the back of my mind reminding me of the many other things that I “should” be doing. I also didn’t worry about other people seeing what I was getting up to. This shift in perspective allowed me to be fully outside and let go of everything else going on. There wasn’t a need to remind myself to practice mindfulness because there was no other way of being other than fully present and engaged.
My fairytale life consists of living in a cottage out on the edge of some woods. There aren’t neatly manicured gardens and lawns around the house but purposeful greenery thriving, lush, and blooming. I can hear water running in the distance and I walk around barefoot like a Disney princess singing to the birds or reading in the grass. I feel safe and content here and am filled with peace when I think about this imaginary place. There is a therapy model where the therapist will engage the client to do some resourcing or grounding before doing deeper trauma work. Part of the resourcing is thinking of and identifying a safe space you can go back to if the trauma work becomes too overwhelming. People almost singularly pick a place outside and in nature.
A cabin in the woods, walking along the beach, sitting by a lake, a lookout viewing the mountains, etc. The connections between healing, nurturing, and safe places with the outdoors do not surprise me. What surprises me is the constant pull away from being outside our society has been through. If we feel safest outside, if we dream of being in idyllic natural settings, if we all work and grind the 9-5 just to have a few hours outside on the weekends how are we surprised by the skyrocketing of mental illness and internal dysregulation we are feeling?
I know how hard it can be to get outside and reconnect. There are times I stay holed up in my room for hours or days on end feeling as if the world is a dangerous place and if I go outside everyone will be looking and judging me. I know, however, that the best thing I can do for myself during these times is get out and prove myself wrong. I can tell myself “That is just the depression talking and you are okay”. I know this works because I have experienced it several times over the past year. I began going on daily walks Monday through Friday with a friend to help get me up and moving in the morning. This commitment has shifted many things in my life. On bad days the only thing I have done in the whole day is get up and go for my walk and come back home. On good days I take a pause in whatever I am doing to go reset and recharge and on borderline days I use these walks as a kickstart, and I can choose how much activity I can engage with after the fact. Usually, I leave feeling ready to keep going and I have more energy for the rest of the day, and sometimes I feel accomplished in just sticking to my commitment of going on the walk.
I have noticed my connection to the weather has shifted now I am outside at least once every day. I feel more positive about the changes in weather, and I notice the small shifts between seasons. I try and point them out to myself or my friend when I notice the buds coming back on the trees, or the sun coming out, or how windy it is from day to day.
These moments of noticing are a way to bring me back into a rhythm with nature. I am not just a human automaton going from work to the office and bed over and over day after day. I am a living creature with big dreams, expansive possibilities, and a deep connection with the surrounding world. I believe as soon as we start disconnecting ourselves from nature, we trigger a disconnection from our true selves. The ones who dream and play and experience a carefree world. We struggle to inhabit our lives with the fullness and joy that nature brings to us. When was the last time you felt wonderment or awe? When did you feel free? When did you last soak up the sounds, smells, sights, and feelings of nature? How can you reignite and reconnect? Stop and notice the next time you are outside.
Feel the wind on your face or the sun on your shoulders, take a deep breath, and notice you are connected to the Earth not separate from it.
