Nothing feels quite like being outside and working with your hands in the soil and with plants. The type of garden does not really matter; it could be a vegetable garden, flowerbed, fruit tree orchard, or water garden. It seems that the combination of being outside, personally connecting with nature, and seeing visible results from our work has a positive effect on us. But are there more benefits to gardening than simply making us “feel good?”
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Researchers have found that there actually is truth to the idea of gardening being therapeutic. Studies have shown that gardening does more than makes us feel good or produces fruits and vegetables for us to eat. Gardening, also known as horticulture therapy, has been used by occupational therapists to assist the elderly with dementia and promote the physical and social health of those with developmental disabilities. As an occupational therapy student, I have learned that one of my professors successfully uses gardening to help veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injury.
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Camic (2013) conducted a literature review of studies which used horticulture therapy as a mental health intervention. The results appear quite promising in reducing an individual’s anxiety and depression. Participants of the gardening therapy had also been noted to have improved emotional well-being, social interaction, and physical health, as well as the chance for career development.
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Article source: Mother Earth News
Image source: Daily Record