Ecotherapy vs. Retail Therapy -- Which is Better?

Tempted to splurge to beat the blues or deal with stress? A study by the University of Essex in the UK says you're better off taking a walk in nature.

Researchers compared a walk in a country park with a walk in an indoor shopping center. Mind, the leading British mental health organization, reported that

The results were startling:
• 71% reported decreased levels of depression after the green walk
• 22% felt their depression increase after walking through an indoor shopping center and only 45% experienced a decrease in depression
• 71% said they felt less tense after the green walk
• 50% said their feelings of tension had increased after the shopping center walk
• 90% had increased self-esteem after the country walk
• 44% said their self-esteem decreased after window shopping in the shopping center.

The report also pointed out that 93% of UK general practitioners have prescribed drugs for mental health problems due to a lack of alternatives and that ecotherapy offers an inexpensive treatment with only positive side effects.

Ecotherapy involves getting outdoors and getting active in a green environment as a way of boosting mental well-being. Whether it's taking regular walks in the park, flying a kite or participating in a garden therapy project, green exercise is proven to have huge benefits for mental health.

So forget the old saying "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Go Shopping." The truth is that when times get tough, the smart go outdoors!

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Comments

[OldBean]

Yes, getting out and going for a walk can do wonders, even if the only "nature" is watching the pigeons, but malls? MALLS??? They're like about the third ring of Dante's hell. Too many people, too much noise, the hideous lighting, and all those stores jammed together like a kaleidoscope of shills. GAK!

[Featherdust]

Though ecotherapy is great, you could also try low-carbon geotourism, toward advancing intercultural understanding, if nature is too far away...
http://www.ecohearth.com/eco-blogs/small-earth/657-a-trip-to-the-hair-salon-as-low-carbon-geotourism.html

[beans77]

There is no place like " green" space to rekindle the spirit and sooth the soul. There are plenty of peer-reviewed articles in medical journals that support this theory. But what about communities that lack green space or safe places to commune with nature? The mall may be the best place a person can go to feel less burdened from an otherwise stressful environment. These are the same neighborhoods that lack supermarkets, farmers markets, sidewalks, etc. Doctors, psychologists, ecologists, local governments, and urban planners need to work more closely to provide healthy environments for all communities regardless of socio-economic status.

[Linda Buzzell - Huffpost Blogger]

lilpeg, you're exactly right that the whole point of shopping malls is to counteract our natural desire to spend our leisure time enjoying nature and each other. The way our current economy is set up, people have to be persuaded to focus on the important business of buying stuff. Our whole culture is built around this mantra: GO SHOPPING!

condor101, you're not alone in feeling claustrophobic in malls! Developers hire expert psychological and marketing help to design malls to feel more like nature (fountains, plants, etc.) so you'll relax and SHOP rather than run out screaming. But this research from the University of Essex reveals that the more time you let yourself get lulled into spending in malls, the more depressed you may get.

[Linda Buzzell - Huffpost Blogger]

lbsaltzman, the powers that be in the UK (a country where the government and the taxpayers pay for medical care) are taking this research very seriously for a number of reasons:

(1) the government/taxpayers are shelling out big bucks to pharmaceutical companies for antidepressants for the rising numbers of people who tell their doctors and therapists they are depressed and anxious (could it be the unnatural way we all live in industrial societies?)

(2) ecotherapy is basically free and

(3) unlike many chemical antidepressants, exercise outdoors has no unwanted side effects.

So Mind, the leading UK mental health organization, is hoping to reach the general practitioners who are writing the bulk of the prescriptions for these psychiatric medications, to let them know the good news that there are natural, healthier and more effective alternatives!

[condor101]

I love taking walks in parks and along the nearby ocean and lakes. It's so relaxing and improves my mood. The other night I stopped into a mall; After 30 minutes, I had to get out. I prefer to spend my money at independent stores on a street. I don't like supporting the chain stores and their slave wages to employees.
I guess I'm a humanist. lol

[lilpeg]

Shopping malls were built to keep us out of nature b/c we might be happier looking at the trees than looking at store windows on our strolls about town.