Mission: Ease caregiver stress through nature connection
Imagine being in any hospital in the country caring for a loved one and seeing on a bulletin board as part of family services offerings:
Guided restorative 1-hour nature walks at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily.
Free book of 20 nature connection activities you can do on your own.
Free nature images to bring back to your hospital room.
TESTIMONIALS
"It [Naturography] is so accessible and doable and lovely photographs. Thank you! I am sharing it with my boys as part of their science curriculum."
~ Leslie Whitcomb, Institute of Graduate Education, Akamai University
"I get in a walk one or two times a week. It really helps with the coping skills by getting out on the trail. I bring it up as I believe its importance was brought to my attention by your sharing experiences with me."
~ Anonymous Family Caregiver
Your experience beautifully articulates the potential peace and healing that nature provides especially for those experiencing the immense stress that caregivers experience. Thank you for your creation!
~ Anonymous Nurse
WHY DO I WANT THIS FOR YOU?
Hospitals are unnatural, sterilized, and often anxiety-producing environments. They are also intended to heal and are essential when an emergency strikes. If your loved one is in the hospital, chances are you:
Based on my own experience over 2-1/2 years of my daughter's cancer treatment, the single-most healing thing that gave me strength to be fully present for her needs was nature connection. An opportunity to have a volunteer sit by her side (when medically stable) for 30 minutes so I could walk and leave my tears with the rain, feel restored by watching a nearby lake or sink into a patch of grass and just be.
Caregiver stress is real. My heart never stopped pounding hard for an entire year. I broke 3 of my teeth in half from grinding them in my sleep. I gained 60 pounds in 6 months. Another parent I knew developed diabetes suddenly. Another developed extremely high blood pressure that resulted in a hemorrhaged eye. Another told me she would have jumped out the window of the hospital if it was able to open. The list goes on and on. The phenomenon of real PTSD in parent caregivers of children is only now being recognized.
My child has thankfully been healthy for years now, but my desire to bring healing from the natural world back to family caregivers thrown into the hospital environment has never left me. In fact, it won't let go of me at a very deep level. I can offer my life experience, my study of ecopsychology, a broad understanding of medical lingo from working for hospitals over 20 years, and compassion.
WHAT DO I HOPE YOU GET OUT OF THIS?
WHAT IS ECOTHERAPY?
There are many forms of ecotherapy you can participate in, including pet therapy with dogs in hospitals. My dream is to make support of conscious nature connection available to all caregivers.
Healing Outdoors wants to help with stress reduction, grounding and centering during crisis in the following ways. I am open to collaborating with anyone who has something to offer toward the vision list below.
Guided restorative 1-hour nature walks at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily.
Free book of 20 nature connection activities you can do on your own.
Free nature images to bring back to your hospital room.
TESTIMONIALS
"It [Naturography] is so accessible and doable and lovely photographs. Thank you! I am sharing it with my boys as part of their science curriculum."
~ Leslie Whitcomb, Institute of Graduate Education, Akamai University
"I get in a walk one or two times a week. It really helps with the coping skills by getting out on the trail. I bring it up as I believe its importance was brought to my attention by your sharing experiences with me."
~ Anonymous Family Caregiver
Your experience beautifully articulates the potential peace and healing that nature provides especially for those experiencing the immense stress that caregivers experience. Thank you for your creation!
~ Anonymous Nurse
WHY DO I WANT THIS FOR YOU?
Hospitals are unnatural, sterilized, and often anxiety-producing environments. They are also intended to heal and are essential when an emergency strikes. If your loved one is in the hospital, chances are you:
- Have not slept much.
- Have been required to make tough decisions.
- May be completely disconnected from anything in the natural world for any length of time, as many hospital floors do not allow live plants or flowers.
- May be emotionally exhausted and/or in shock.
Based on my own experience over 2-1/2 years of my daughter's cancer treatment, the single-most healing thing that gave me strength to be fully present for her needs was nature connection. An opportunity to have a volunteer sit by her side (when medically stable) for 30 minutes so I could walk and leave my tears with the rain, feel restored by watching a nearby lake or sink into a patch of grass and just be.
Caregiver stress is real. My heart never stopped pounding hard for an entire year. I broke 3 of my teeth in half from grinding them in my sleep. I gained 60 pounds in 6 months. Another parent I knew developed diabetes suddenly. Another developed extremely high blood pressure that resulted in a hemorrhaged eye. Another told me she would have jumped out the window of the hospital if it was able to open. The list goes on and on. The phenomenon of real PTSD in parent caregivers of children is only now being recognized.
My child has thankfully been healthy for years now, but my desire to bring healing from the natural world back to family caregivers thrown into the hospital environment has never left me. In fact, it won't let go of me at a very deep level. I can offer my life experience, my study of ecopsychology, a broad understanding of medical lingo from working for hospitals over 20 years, and compassion.
WHAT DO I HOPE YOU GET OUT OF THIS?
- Space to breathe and just be without judgment, decisions, or demands.
- Find supportive reciprocity from something in nature - it can be absolutely anything - that you find attractive.
- A return to your own senses through touch, sound, hearing, sight, and taste (if a blackberry happens to be nearby).
- Possibly a reduction in heart rate and blood pressure.
- A walk at your own pace to release some of the stress hormones.
- Nurtured in some way.
WHAT IS ECOTHERAPY?
There are many forms of ecotherapy you can participate in, including pet therapy with dogs in hospitals. My dream is to make support of conscious nature connection available to all caregivers.
Healing Outdoors wants to help with stress reduction, grounding and centering during crisis in the following ways. I am open to collaborating with anyone who has something to offer toward the vision list below.
- Bring healing power of nature to caregivers inside a hospital environment in the form of nature images and sounds.
- Facilitate and/or co-facilitate 1-hour outdoor sensory workshops for acute family caregivers in nature settings/parks in close proximity to hospitals.
- Work with occupational, physical, and social work therapists to develop nature connection workshops utilizing hospital healing gardens or courtyards.
- Publish nature connection activities to make available to hospitals and caregiving facilities.
- Provide ongoing support to caregivers and shared resources via blog and Facebook community.
- Guide 'forest bathing' walks for caregivers, possibly as part of a caregiver day retreat hosted by a campground, spiritual center or other site.
- Partner with groups to facilitate in-house family caregiver retreats focused on nature connection as a restorative process.
Photo Credit: Carli
