10 Reasons to go Forestbathing

Walk with me a short way for your mental health

Breathe in, first, deep, and slowly, and now read…

What is the meaning of this forest of mine? Is it for me to describe what you surely too can see? Or even to attempt to explain what you could already feel! To be honest forestbathing changed my life. It gave meaning, purpose, helped control health issues and knocked others for six (Brit expression meaning batted away) and gave me a reason to share a message. Repeatedly:

We need to take care of our mental health before/in case our mental health acts like an autoimmune disease

A recent study in the UK showed that 10% of the population had at least one autoimmune disease, caused by a few possible reasons, mainly genetics, industrial chemicals & pollution, or stress. 10% was broken down to 3% males and 7% females. Further studies in the US found that 1 in 15 adults had at least one autoimmune disease. My argument here is that mental health problems resemble, or are often a mirror of autoimmune disease, in both triggers and symptoms.

• 23% of U.S. adults experienced a mental health condition in 2022

• 6% of U.S. adults experienced a serious mental health condition in 2022, which is often defined as a psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder or a severe anxiety or eating disorder that significantly impairs functioning

• In 2022, 33% of U.S. adults experienced both a mental health condition and substance abuse

• Approximately 5 million veterans experienced a behavioral health condition in 2022

• As of 2020, suicide is the second leading cause of death for U.S. children ages 10 to 14, preceded only by unintentional injury

• The impact depression and anxiety has on the global economy can be measured in $1 trillion in lost productivity each year

• In 2021, 52% of U.S. women and 40% of men received mental health services

• Young adults ages 18 to 25 in the U.S have the highest rate of experiencing any mental health concerns (34%) compared to adults aged 26 to 49 years, and the highest rate of serious mental illness (11.5%)

• Women are diagnosed with serious mental health conditions at higher rates than men, 7% to 4% respectively

• The percentage of U.S. adults receiving mental health treatment rose from 19% in 2019 to 22% in 2021

• In 2022, 23.1% of U.S. adults (59.3 million) experienced a mental health condition

• Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety and depressive disorders grew worldwide. Symptoms of depression grew from a base of about 193 million people worldwide to 246 million, an increase of about 28%. Anxiety disorders grew from about 298 million people affected to 374 million, an increase of 25%

• In a recent study the percentage of adults worldwide who say mental health is the biggest health problem facing people in their country is 44%

• The number of people globally that suffer from any mental health or substance use disorder (in millions) is 970m

• The share of the population who suffered from bipolar disorder worldwide is 45%

• As of 2022, Iceland, Portugal, and the UK have been the biggest consumers of antidepressants

As I am setting up forestbathing in the Ukraine for war trauma therapy, I also want to keep impressing on folks worldwide the importance of doing this activity (and others) not just as therapy, but in preventive measures for mental heath issues that can strike at any time, as well as pure enjoyment.

Accordingly, in the following are 10 reasons why forestbathing is helpful for you, in this context.

Walk. And feel. You will. It’s not really possible not to. There is just something quite grand about walking among tall pines. I would travel far for that experience. Further than a crowded beach, crowded cathedral or packed shopping street. A crowd of pine trees is never a crowd. Walking in a forest is one of the easiest things to plan for and carry out. It means physically doing it, but it does not mean making it a challenge, though I found setting myself targets wonderful personal challenges. The umbrella term walk here means in a wheelchair, on crutches or other aids also. Trees are effective at isolating your mind from outside issues. I certainly had a few myself, which I’ll get around to explaining in further essays on this same topic of forestbathing.

Reason 1 mood…what a good mood a session of forestbathing gave me. Every time. It could turn despondancy, annoyance and many other worse moods into a revitalised new positive energy. That was truly wonderful, and needed, because some symptoms I had due to events at that time were serious ones. Forestbathing turned them on their head, physically and mentally, and made me feel strong enough to start to deal with them.

To find out where being among trees in a forest or woods can help lead you away from potential mental health issues or effects, you must step among the trees. There are precious few signposts in forests that tell you about dosage, side effects and other warnings, but then they are superfluous to requirements. I found that irrespective of schedules I could do a session of at least 30 minutes twice a day, and twice a day meant a doubled recovery rate. When you step into the woods what you need to find out will itself change, and adapt. Choose pine, or spruce trees where and when you can. Even if it means going to a slightly higher altitude or more northern clime. The phytoncides they give off into the air are simply more healthy than of deciduous trees, and have proven in Japanese studies to reduce high blood pressure and high cortisol levels, as well as fortify the body’s complex immune system. These are protective measures against both mental and physical problems.

Reason 2 the decision to choose a small forest and ability to get there, which is within most people’s grasp, meant I was able to walk among trees as a first step immediately. I did not have to seek an appointment, buy expensive gear, worry about how I might be perceived, set myself a challenge or program, bother anyone with technical questions, or take time from any professional activity. It did not demand any major change, nor confuse me in any way.

Interact. Sit if you must. Interact is not much different than feel, and experience the surroundings. If you took the big step of actually being there, the rest often takes care of itself.

Reason 3 by carrying out forestbathing sessions I was never alone. It is simply impossible to be alone surrounded by trees. And because I was surrounded by trees, I was able to interact with them with all my senses. This includes watching, noticing, seeing, as well as hearing and listening, the aromas, and importantly, how touched you feel, mentally, as well as your physical and mental sense of balance.

Say nothing. Trees don’t either. But breathe deep. And slow. Square your shoulders, even if on crutches or a wheelchair, and straighten your back. See what that does to your mind!

Listen, and walk, or ride. The right to remain silent is actually a legal right, apparently. Words have different meanings under a canopy of tree crowns.

Reason 4 I did not have to interact either! There is no-one to deal with when walking in the woods. You can be with yourself, and help yourself heal.

Find your favourite tree. It may find you. Get right up to it and look up its trunk. Once you have a favourite tree, you’ll want to see it again.

Reason 5 my second contradiction, because contradictions are antidotes: we are not looking for the way, the light, etc. We are healing, and it is nice to get a full picture here, and for me to give you a few ideas on what works, but remain open-ended and give a varietions on the theme. So my next step was finding my favourite trees, and it was not beyond me at all to say a fond hello to them. Hugging a tree may actually be beneficial to the tree, something I will be exploring in future essays on forestbathing.

Did I already mention it? I hope so. Again, find your favourite tree. It is that simple. Learn about the tree, what kind of tree it might be. Repeated visits to your favourite tree will bring more benefits than you think, and I’d rather let you find out what they will be rather than lecture you about them.

Reason 6 I developed an affinity for a couple of trees in my forest. This made me feel like somebody real again. And if there is any sentient being that is not judgemental, it is a tree.

Think. Naturally. This is a tough one to explain, but an easy one to do. It is not an easy one to do deep in the middle of a stressful situation, but it is a different thing to do in a forestbathing session. Think, yes, but also naturally. Don’t concoct. Let yourself be grounded to where you are first.

Reason 7 the way I thought among the trees was just different, fresh, positive, always exploring, looking for new things and welcoming old ones. I found I did not need to train my mind: the wilderness took over.

Meaning can only be found by experience. If forestbathing could happen just by staring at a screen or visiting a doctor it would start and end with what I am saying here. But forestbathing means experiencing, and experiencing with the senses.

Reason 8 it is absolutly factual, in my perception, that my sense of direction, balance and wellbeing all improved through my forestbathing sessions. Carrying out solitary sessions meant that I had no yardstick to measure myself against, but that is never an objective.

Creativity is not easy to induct, to teach, facilitte, or, well…create. But creativity is about independence, freedom, development and opening new avenues within, and all that. With tall trees leading eyes to the skies and a multitude of flora and fauna, patterns and pictures in front of you, it is very difficult to stop the flow of lovely plans.

Reason 9 it became almost a trap! When I wanted to write poetry, I needed to head to the woods, and the reason I wanted to write poetry was because I headed to the trees in the first place. I found being in a forest was an excellent place to get ideas, to mull them over, and create new ones. Mine were in writing, but they are adaptable. This, I feel, is different from meditation, which never made my list, but I am sure it would make a few others’ lists. I just found that my forestbathing sessions energised me in such a positive way.

Study the forest. Study it in ways that are real, some through the senses, some through logical rationale.

Reason 10 learning what you want was an absolute joy. You cannot but learn much about how nature functions in a forest, but there are no power games at play, no egos, no cash changes hands. There are no demands, or exams, just the opportunity to keep learning little things.

Regular forestbathing sessions engenders organisation. You must always put your keys somewhere where they do not fall out of pockets. Your left shoe should go on your left foot and right shoe on right. You need to go every day, so must plan for rain, or cold weather, or have a hat handy for sunny days. It is all part of the pleasure of feeling organised. I decided that an old broomstick was not of much use and used it as a walking staff. That gave me days and days of joy when pushing branches aside with it, or using it to step over streams, or look under bushes. It is the one gift I gave myself over the years that really had a positive benefit, and I soon started carving simple pine trees along the length of the staff, giving it character. One can become attached to one’s walking staff in inexplicable ways, and it certainly brings you into the woods all the more.