Gardening for Mental health

I was happily surprised when I saw there was a board for gardening with disabilities. This is very important to me as I think people underestimate how beneficial it can be for physical and mental health issues.

With this in mind I thought I'd share a blog post that I wrote a while ago about how I came to find gardening and use it as self care for my chronic depression and anxiety. I hope that's ok.

I know the topics on this board seem to be aimed at physical disabilities, but physical and mental disability often goes hand in hand so I figured it would be useful regardless.


It was in a deep bout of relapsed depression that I discovered the therapeutic benefits of gardening. I hadn't really given it a second though before, but when green fingered friends of mine came out as suffering from depression, it got my thinking about the possibility of self care through gardening.

Over the past few years especially the concept of mindfulness has really been gaining popularity as more and more evidence comes out about the physical and psychological benefits of being 'in the moment'. For centuries it has been taught that the way to peace and a healthy mind could be found through cultivating (pun intended) compassion and time for the world, it's inhabitants and it's beauty. In the 21st century we rarely take time to slow down for anything, let alone take time to just 'be'. We lead lives full of stress, rushing around always going from one task to another, always pressured and tense. Sound familiar?
One dark blackdog day, I decided to go sit in the garden.

My garden was basic. Bit of grass here, a trampoline for the kids (often used for many hours of lying staring into space and generally being numb) and a little bit of misshapen concrete. I'm not sure what thoughts I had prior or why the black fog suddenly cleared for long enough to let a rational thought come through, but as I looked around the garden watching bees flit from blossom to blossom and the long, uncut grass wave back and forth in the wind, I felt a small glimmer of peace. The constant barrage of negative thoughts quietened and I just watched. I watched my garden and the small but busy lives of various creatures going about their business.

The next day I wanted to recapture that moment and build on it. I decided to try my hand growing some little seeds and see what happened.

A week later, I had a cheap plastic greenhouse, mucky hands and some plastic trays full of soil and seeds. I found that it felt intimidating, but doable. Simple steps. Put some soil in a pot, put a seed in, add water, put it in the greenhouse. I could do that. The days that followed found me growing increasingly fond of my little trays of as yet unchanged soil. Watering them was a simple, straight forward task. Even on the days where I struggled to even get out of bed or dressed, I felt motherly towards my seeds. I would get up, even if it was in my dressing gown, and go check if they needed water. They gave me a little bit of hope that out of something so dark and grubby, something beautiful could grow.
After a few weeks, the first sprouts appeared. I can still remember the first feeling of something other than numbness after seeing the first little green shoots poking through the soil. I had done this. I had helped and nurtured something into life. I was hooked.
It sounds odd to say, but the act of caring for seedlings and plants, watching them grow, and looking after something so fragile was so heart warming. It almost became like a metaphor for my depression. If I could grow something from a tiny seed, there was hope that I too could grow into something healthy and strong. As with the plants, it takes time, care and the right conditions, but it can be done.

Gaining confidence, I started to try new things. I planted out the seedlings that thrived, and started making space in my garden. I even had help from one of my friends and we had a 'gardening' day, making a proper garden patch and planting some seedlings of flowers, vegetables and herbs that she brought from her garden. Over the next few months as my garden grew so did my pride and optimism.

My gardening skills are still very limited. It's all trial and error. But mainly it isn't about the finished outcome. The act of growing seeds and planting out new seedlings focused my mind on being in the moment, being calm and just being. It was a brief but worthwhile escape from the exhaustion and dread of depression. I could focus on little tasks and just do things without fighting with the darkness for a while.

If you still don't believe me, you can find many examples in the media of stories of the health benefits and stories of people who have claimed gardening helped them with their depression.

The proof though, is in trying it for yourself. You don't need to spend a lot of money or even put in a lot of time. If you want to start small, get a growbag and some tomato seeds, or a window sill try and some mixed seeds.

I've just started preparing my garden for the second year now. I am still in the midst of depression. But getting back into the garden again genuinely makes me feel better now.

You have nothing to lose, but a whole new world of peace and beauty to gain.

 

Oh yes

Take up fishing as well, you won't look back

 

You never know what you can do with MH issues, I think that's the major problem. For example, I find it ok to plant things, look after seedlings, prepare a chicken area for example. However, ask me to mow the front garden where people can see me and I fall to pieces and can't cope with it.

Some things are hugely overwhelming even if they are small things themselves. I think a lot of the time it's trial and error, so I might take you up on that challenge!

 

Thank you for your well written insight into the way you cope and feel Sarah. I don't suffer from depression but members of my family do and I know how difficult it can make every aspect of people's lives. Mental health issues are disabling, quite often more so than other health issues and they seem to be increasing, probably due to the way we live now. Gardening is therapeutic and quite often doctors recommend it to those who suffer from depression and other health issues. Even for those who don't have health problems, gardening is a way to relax and switch off from the problems that surround us.

This is the time of year when not only plants but gardeners burst into life too. A new beginning for both and no matter how we feel, good or bad, it gives us something to look forward to and concentrate on. Enjoy you garden!

 

Sarah. What a wonderful, well thought out and accurate write up you have given to the group. I am in the same position as you and felt like I was reading about myself. I also know the courage it takes to lay bare such information. Well done to you, I feel sure a lot of us will relate to this post. I hope you continue to make progress and that you really enjoy year 2 of your garden x x x

 

As someone who does a really stressful job,I totally agree with you about the therapeutic benefits of gardening. Most evenings last summer I spent in the garden til it got dark. Just a an hour or so of pottering about makes me feel a real sense of achievement and calm. I've missed it so much over winter!

 

I suffer from Depression, Anxiety and Anorexia, as many members know already. Gardening is what keeps me going but recently I have struggled to motivate myself to go out into my own garden and do work and instead have been going up to my allotment, which gets me out of the house and doesn't cost me much to run.

 

I've been tempted to put myself on the allotment list. I love the idea of havingg somewhere that's mine that I can escape to. Totally agree with you on struggling with motivation. Some days it's hard to even get out of bed. I find on those days even if I just water the plants in the greenhouse it feels like a huge achievement

 

Sarah your thread is so well written, thank you for sharing it with us, depression runs in our family & although I don't personally suffer from it I could really understand what you were saying. I have an uncle who suffers so badly he can go for weeks without coming out of his bedroom, sometimes when members of his close family turn up he will lock himself away it's such a shame. He's certainly better in the spring & summer, his escape is wildlife photography & thunder storms, he also enjoys doing a bit of gardening.
I think getting an allotment will be a great help to you, I hope you put yourself on the waiting list. Best of luck & you of course know where we are if we can ever help you.

 

Been in the same dark place recently Sarah....gardening has brought the spark back into my being. I now to it for a living and my heart and head are full of joy!
Always share your thoughts,don't stew in a world of worry. x

 

My garden and allotment are my sanctuary of escape at the minute. My depression is being very unstable so I've been very withdrawn from people. I'll happily spend hours out there at the minute.

 

A lovely written and thoughtful piece of writing. I too suffer from mental health issues and found gardening to be a lovely escape from the monotony of everyday life. There's definitely something about being at one with nature that makes me think everything may just work out.
Something particularly poignant that you said here is: 'If I could grow something from a tiny seed, there was hope that I too could grow into something healthy and strong.'
This is exactly how I first saw gardening. I told myself that if I could nurture a tiny seed into a beautiful and strong plant, I could nurture myself in a similar way to become beautiful and strong too.
Thank you for posting this, best wishes with your gardening:-)

 

Thought I'd share a little update.

Frustratingly, despite new and increased medications and a year worth of psychotherapy my depression still isn't lifting. I do genuinely find that the only time I'm ever 'at peace' at the moment is when I'm working in the garden, chilling out with the chickens, up the allotment or volunteering at a local wildlife sanctuary (which I so weekly).

I don't know whether it's my current state of isolating myself or what, but I do seem to be more stable when I'm hiding away from people. I know that sounds like a catch 22, but people = stress/anxiety and guilt with me at the moment. I generally just struggle with the whole 'being out in the world' thing, and so being able to escape into my garden or the allotment allows me to do that without the guilt of being sat in the house on my own feeling sorry for myself. It's almost like a way of being alone in a good and productive way. I can happily spend hours like that.

Usually I struggle with 'doing' things that need to be done, but I don't seem to be having that with the garden/allotment. I'm grateful of that, because pottering around gardening is very mindful and relaxing, so there's a positive benefit as well as it being something that I'm wanting to do rather than feeling I have to. I think with depression that is a BIG thing, as motivation is in very short supply a lot of the time. Seeing the progress that's being made with the plants, veggies, building beds etc shows that it can be overcome, even if it's only in one area of my life!