Ecotherapy: why plants are the latest treatment for depression and anxiety

[firemonkey]

The combination of physical activity, social contact and being surrounded by nature is thought to make gardening beneficial for our mental health.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...ession-anxiety

[Dougella]

I think this is very true and giving people the opportunity to take part in community gardening projects etc is a really good idea. It's also more evidence of how important it is that people have access to green spaces like parks in cities and very build up areas.

[firemonkey]

I did a gardening group at an allotment as one of the groups I did while a service user at the the then local mental health day centre. I had next to zero horticultural skills , and was mainly the one that did the watering .

I stopped going when it was decided we had to make our own way to the allotment. (1) I got anxious about opening the padlock to get into the allotment area and then closing it again (2) There were quite a lot of plots and I would have had difficulty navigating my way to the right one on my own.

[Dougella]

Watering is one of the most important jobs, it keeps the plants alive!

I do thing making things like this accessible is an important point. Lots of people who might benefit from this type of thing might need assistance getting to a place to do it or adaptions for them to be able to physically take part.