This week (from May 12 to 18, 2025), we are celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week, aiming to raise awareness of mental health issues and reduce the stigma surrounding them.
According to Mind, “Every year, 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem”. Sadly, many people who do suffer from mental health problems are not getting the help they need.
If you or someone you know suffers from any mental health issues, we advise seeking professional help from your healthcare provider, as they can make sure that they account for any unique individual needs when they help you.
As part of the Mental Health Awareness Week, we wanted to share with you some of the resources to help you support your mental health, as well as ways that nature can help support your health and wellbeing.
Over the years, we have had the privilege to work with amazing mental health charities here in the UK, including Mind, Catalyst, and Mary Frances Trust. These charities do amazing work to assist people with mental health issues, and you can contact them to find out more about the help that might be available to you, as well as to donate and support these amazing organisations in the important work they are doing. Alternatively, if you live outside of the UK., we recommend to research mental health charities in your area and see what help they offer (or how you can help support these organisations in the important work they are doing).
The good news is that the research shows that spending just 10-15 minutes in nature can provide short-term mental health benefits, including improvements in mood and reduced stress. And longer immersions, such as a 2-hour forest bathing session, can also help reduce rumination of thought and even help reduce symptoms of depression, and make us feel more compassionate and connected to the world around us (you can read more about research into the health benefits of forest bathing on our website).
Moreover, even simply having access to green spaces has been shown to improve attention span in children, while some studies have found that performance on attention and memory tasks was better after viewing nature scenery versus when they looked at city scenery (read more in the article “How even just 15 minutes in nature can boost your wellbeing”, Loughborough University).
While there are various ways one can benefits from nature, including simple solutions like introducing natural elements, like pictures of nature, in your home or office, or choosing a tree-lined street when walking to and from work, making sure your nature immersion is regular and consistent can be a key in experiencing health and wellbeing benefits. If you are interested to learn more about how to connect with nature in your day-to-day life to support your health and wellbeing, you are welcome to join our free 5-day mini course in forest bathing to learn the basics of this practice and how to implement it in your day-to-day life to boost your health and well-being. Please email in**@tf*.institute quoting “mini-course” in the email subject to get access.