After a traumatic event has occurred, hope and positivity can be hard to find. Even thinking about healing can feel elusive.
Time can heal all wounds, but there is no timeline to offer comfort or reassurance of any kind. While self-care, coping mechanisms, and support systems are essential during your path to healing, there is another option that is rarely capitalized on.
This source of healing is right outside your door. That would be nature. Nature is available all around you and can offer more than just some nice scenery. It can be an escape – a sanctuary – for your mind, body, and soul.
Here are several ways that nature can help you heal from trauma.
Regulating the Nervous System
In the aftermath of trauma, your body often remains in a state of hyperarousal. Your fight-or-flight system becomes activated and has difficulty shutting itself off.
Spending time in the great outdoors can help counter that by calming your stress response system. It engages your parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the system responsible for rest and recovery.
The sound of the wind blowing, rustling leaves, birds chirping, and water moving can all send signals to your brain that you’re safe. Nature can initiate the relaxation process.
Offers Mindfulness
Natural environments can serve as a grounding force, drawing attention away from the past and into the present moment. Engaging your senses, hopefully all five, can reduce the intensity of any anxiety you’re feeling, calm intrusive thoughts or flashbacks, and provide a sense of clarity.
Reduces Stress
Dealing with trauma and the symptoms that follow can be mentally and physically exhausting. The continuous hypervigilance, stress from flashbacks, emotional processing, and sleep disruptions can certainly take their toll.
Stepping foot out into nature can offer you a reprieve. Nature helps replenish your cognitive resources that are being maxed out. Taking a short mental break can improve your focus, adjust your mood, slow down your thought processes, and improve your overall quality of life.
Brings Connection and Belonging
After a trauma, isolation is a common occurrence. You feel alone, or your symptoms make it difficult to engage in your usual social habits.
Spending time in nature has a unique way of combating those feelings of isolation and disconnect. By taking in your environment, the magnitude of everything around you, it can help remind you that you are a part of something much larger.
Caring for a garden helps connect you to a life cycle of its own. Staring up at the moon and the stars in the evening can give you a sense of connection to someone across the country who is looking at the same thing. Observing wildlife builds a sense of connection with all the other species cohabitating in your environment. Taking a walk with friends can reinforce your bonds with those people.
Offers a Safe Space
Taking some time for yourself in nature offers you a truly non-judgmental space to explore what you’re feeling and do what you need to do to find calmness in the chaos. You can escape from the pressures and various stimuli of the daily grind.
Healing From Your Trauma
Healing after trauma is a journey that is uniquely your own. Whether you’re taking a walk through the park, working in your garden, or taking a beach day, you can use these moments in nature as a powerful step towards making peace with it. Who knew a quick step outside could make a significant impact on your mental health?
If you’re struggling with life after a traumatic event, trauma therapy can also be an option in your journey. Contact us for a free consultation to get started.
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