Can horticulture mend shattered minds?
The windows were sealed closed for safety so there was no fresh air; the vile smell of disinfectant was overwhelming
The reports are plentiful: gardening and nature can alleviate and prevent physical illness. They can ease depression, stress and anxiety, encourage exercise, boost the immune system, reset a disrupted body clock and rekindle dulled senses. But what about serious mental illness? Can horticulture help to restore chemical imbalances and mend shattered minds? And what would that mean for our psychiatric wards and care units?
The late Oliver Sacks – the acclaimed neuroscientist who understood better than most that the brain was more than just neurons and water – observed firsthand in his patients the power nature has to be as therapeutic as medication. ‘The effects of nature’s qualities on health are not only spiritual and emotional but physical and neurological. I have no doubt that they reflect deep changes in the brain’s physiology, and perhaps even its structure,’ he boldly stated,.
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