Recovering drug addicts in New Jersey have a powerful force that they can put to work in helping with their personal recovery from addiction. This is the power present in Mother Nature. It turns out that being surrounded by nature for even half an hour can further help your own healing process. In fact, studies show that being around nature increases your feelings of peace and well-being and greatly improves your odds of recovery. Being in nature will help you to live a life that is free of addiction.
Nature Helps to Reduce Your Feelings of Depression and Anxiety
Individuals who are suffering from feelings of anxiety have twice the likelihood of becoming involved with alcohol or drugs as a means of coping. This is why many people who are looking for treatment from their addictions find that they are also experiencing other related illnesses like:
- Social anxiety disorder
- Panic disorders
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- PTSD
Being immersed in nature will help with all of these problems. Nature actually has the power to reduce the quantities of cortisol within the organism. This relieves both stress and anxiety. The reason is that cortisol is a stress hormone. It appears in response to scenarios which the mind finds to be dangerous.
When you are surrounded by nature and do not have any distractions like smart phones or related activities then nature takes over. These modern conveniences cause the triggers that can boost your cortisol levels, and getting rid of them while in nature is essential. It only takes 20 minutes surrounded by nature to greatly decrease the levels of cortisol within the body. These levels drop appreciably after half an hour. For a number of people going through addiction recovery, this provides a completely free means of relaxing that relieves the addiction recovery pressures.
Being in Nature Also Boosts Your Creativity
The daily grind of life wears away at our innate creative abilities. You lose the ability to release your mind to new possibilities and effectively use your imagination from these stresses. When you are outside though, the barriers to creativity become removed. You are encouraged to engage all five of your senses. A study done in 2012 determined that a person\’s ability to figure out involved creative tasks following four days hiking rises by up to 50 percent.
Researchers conjecture that this improved creativity results from opening yourself up to the stimuli in nature and decreasing your dulling dependence on mind numbing technology. Nature improves moods and reduces aggression too. It requires a huge amount of mental attention in order to daily utilize technology. These pressures naturally boost the negative moods associated with diminished creativity.
Nature Helps You to Recover from Mental Fatigue
Everyone naturally suffers from the wear of fatigue. People who are also recovering from an addiction to drugs do as well, and for them this sensation can be quite overwhelming. Wilderness therapy will relieve any form of fatigue naturally.
Researchers have come up with a theory called the Attention Restoration Theory. This indicates that the daily needs (resulting from this technology-driven world we have created for ourselves) require you to constantly engage your highest order cognitive functions to keep up. Simply put, your brain just gets tired.
Proponents of the theory feel that natural exposure will restore the worn out parts of the brain that are over-stressed because of continuous daily use. The continuous bombardment in our daily lives (including cars, alarms, and cell phones) disappears in nature. The natural realm helps our brains to finally just breathe. In consequence, your higher order brain functions can be rejuvenated from nature.
Nature Can Improve Your Self Esteem
It is all too common for individuals going through addiction recovery to view themselves in a negative light. They feel broken like an object that has to be repaired. This recovery process enables you to comprehend that you are whole and entire. It may require that you go out to nature to help get yourself mentally back on track.
Those individuals who spend a greater amount of time in the outdoors typically respond that they are more satisfied with their lives and bodies. Birds, flowers, and trees do not have an opinion on how you appear; so instead you are able to enjoy a healthier focus on your own body. If you are outside enjoying nature, you are able to concentrate on what your body is capable of instead of how it looks.
In Conclusion
If you are ready to get started on the road to recovery, then take the first step. Call us today at 833-610-1174. We can help you today.