Engage in Green Therapy as part of your Personal Autonomy

I love being in nature. There is just nothing that can match that peaceful, stress free feeling that comes with being at one with the outdoors. Whether it is coastal, mountaineous, forest or just flat landscape, it never fails to bring awe and wonder at the creation around us. Apart from all that, it is incredibly healthy for many reasons and it is a resource on our doorstep and available to all of us.

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It`s not just me who feels this. Julia Bradbury’s book “Walk Yourself Happy” emphasises the substantial advantages of walking for both physical and emotional well-being. Julia underscores the therapeutic benefits of walking in nature, drawing on her own personal experiences. She highlights how this activity has aided her in navigating difficult circumstances, including her battle with breast cancer and her triumph over infertility. The book highlights the significant influence that nature may have on alleviating stress and anxiety, cultivating a sense of gratitude, and enhancing general mood.

She offers pragmatic guidance on incorporating walking into everyday schedules, irrespective of one’s surroundings, rendering it a readily attainable type of physical activity. She proposes uncomplicated methods to include walking, such as walking to work or taking brief walks during the day. This guidance is in line with professional guidelines regarding the significance of accumulating steps to uphold an active lifestyle. She also examines the social dimension of walking, promoting group walks as a means to enhance interpersonal connections and foster a sense of communal belonging. She recounts anecdotes about how accompanying others while walking can enrich the experience and offer emotional assistance. The book also discusses the obstacles individuals may encounter while attempting to establish a consistent walking regimen and provides tactics to surmount these hindrances.

“Walk Yourself Happy” delves into the science behind the benefits of walking, particularly in natural environments. Research indicates that walking in nature can significantly reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress while enhancing overall mood and mental well-being. Studies from Stanford University have shown that walking in green spaces decreases rumination, a mental state linked to depression. Furthermore, exposure to natural environments has been associated with lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, and improved cognitive function​ ( The Online Therapist)​( Hachette UK). Thez book integrates these findings with practical advice, demonstrating how regular walking can improve physical health by boosting cardiovascular fitness, aiding weight management, and enhancing sleep quality​ ( LoveReading UK)​ ( collegeofmedicine.org). Through these science-backed insights, Julia effectively illustrates the transformative power of walking on both the mind and body.

Why am I telling you this? Firstly, hiking has been part of my life since I was fifteen years old. As a family, we often explored the countryside around the village I grew up in just outside London and one particular place brings back fond memories of family time. Secondly, I love the countryside. I am not a city person and have never been comfortable with the noise, pollution and general behavior associated with cities. It creates stress for me. Thirdly and possibly most importantly, I drop hiking when I am feeling codependent to be with my wife. This affects my personal autonomy that I have worked hard to maintain.

The third point above is an important one as I also do it with other aspects of my life, though increasingly less as I have become more aware. You may ask why I would do this when it is clearly one of my needs. It’s mainly because other people’s needs are deemed more important at that point but of course, as we know, a return is expected. It is classic “give to get “ and is very destructive and builds resentment on both sides.

I always feel better when I do it but sometimes the urge to pull towards the idea that she needs me around for whatever reason is strong. The background to this is clear. I was assigned the role of caretaker to my siblings from a young age. Some would say that I was a parent in more senses of the word than my parents were. I was encouraged to give up my needs and interests to do this and was rewarded with some treat or other or validation from my mother about how well I did. During this time (from the age of eight), I now know that I developed a victim mentality.

I also know that I was also punished if my siblings did anything wrong so I spent a lot of time “treading on eggshells “, also treating them harshly to protect myself. I also at this point became a “fixer “ trying to shape the environment around me. It is also a period in my life where I started to lie to my parents about what had actually happened. I felt a lot of shame about that but realise now that I should never have been put in that situation.

It is very easy to give up the things that matter to concentrate on the needs of others, even if that person is not asking you to do that. The sense of guilt and shame that comes up when you put yourself first can be immense but doing this places that person in a victim role in your mind with the inevitable consequence that they need rescuing. Much the same as I saw my siblings.

We cannot go on reliving the trauma of our childhood in our adult world. Nobody needs rescuing generally and it is wrong to feel you need rescuing by others. It is all about awareness and responsibility…seeking awareness and taking responsibility. I see the next hike coming!

Originally published at https://theonlinetherapist.blog on August 7, 2024.