Ecopsychology: Reconnecting with Nature
We reached the top of the mountain. As we sat at the edge of the overlook and gazed upon the orange and red hues of morning light that graced Mt. Hood in the distance, a strange and beautiful feeling came over me. The birds, normally so distant from my daily thoughts, became a part of my soul. Song sparrows, robins, and crows joined together in an ensemble of joy, slowly voicing their song with the rising sun. The wind, blowing wildly through the leaves, swirled around me, opening my heart in the ecstasy of its arrival. A few drops of rain mimicked the tears that ran down my cheeks. Alive again! “Do you know what this means?” I asked my friend in a confirming voice – so as to reiterate what she already knew.
“Yes,” she said, “and this is a gift that nature has shared with you.” Her face was illuminated like the sun rising through the clouds – transforming my tears into laughter.
This was the first experience I had of a deeply, heart-felt communion with nature since childhood. It was this connection, on the top of Mt. Tabor, that lured me on the path of ecopsychology and prompted me to explore the importance that nature plays in our lives.
Ecopsychology considers the connection between our self and the rest of nature to be essential to mental, and thus, ecological health (Ammel & Manning, 2009, p.14). In one way, ecopsychology offers a way to view the connection between the Earth and humans as symbiotic. Studies by Robert Ulrich and others have provided empirical evidence of the healing properties nature, and of the benefits being exposed to natural surroundings, has on a person’s physiological health. Various studies show that being in and around nature reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and even speeds recovery time for individuals who are ill and have a room with “view” vs. those without exposure to nature of any kind (Kweon et al., 2008, p.356).
Additional evidence shows that our relationship with the environment, as an adult, stems from our attachment patterns developed in early infancy. If our early experiences are mostly positive, and we have developed the capacity to relate, we are able to create meaningful attachments (including with nature) and thus, have the ability to regulate our emotional world and maintain good mental health (Jordan, 2009, p.27).
Without the acknowledgment that the earth is a necessary extension of ourselves, and that we have been depleting it of its natural resources, we are not only in danger of losing the land in which we are inherently reliant upon, but we are endangering our overall physical and psychological health as well. For that reason, the therapeutic goal of ecopsychology is to awaken the inherent sense of environmental reciprocity that lies within the ecological unconscious, healing the alienation of person and planet (Jordan, 2009, p.27). If one experience in nature provided me with a sense of peace and appreciation, I am interested to know if eco-therapies can do the same for others, and possibly sustain this feeling of health and well-being.
