Beet the stress

Beet the stress and make thyme for you

Adela Kacorova takes a look at gardening as a stress buster

Working in mental health can be incredibly rewarding, but we are all too aware of the worryingly high rates of burnout amongst mental health professionals. The BABCP, alongside other organisations, are working hard to raise awareness around compassion fatigue and the need to value our own wellbeing. Having just completed my training in High Intensity CBT, I tried to use many of the popular stress-management strategies during the intensive course, for example, exercise and yoga. However, one unexpected activity came out on top; gardening.

Having worked in target-driven IAPT services, I am familiar with managing high caseloads and the dangers of burnout. When I progressed to do my High Intensity CBT training, I was mindful of the importance of looking after myself during a stressful year. During the course, I often felt incompetent and like an imposter; not an uncommon experience. As the deadlines intensified and my caseload was increasing, I noticed my stress levels rising. Having recently acquired a small garden, I decided to do some gardening.

The result surprised me; when I was digging, planting or weeding, the garden became my sanctuary. Even though I was never interested in gardening growing up, I came to realise that looking after growing, living things was incredibly satisfying. I became engrossed in mindful activity and felt a deep sense of calm. The courgette plant did not require a risk assessment, the raspberry bush did not need any empathy and my roses did not need formulating (just pruning!). In the garden, I could just ‘be’.

Over the coming months, my partner and I planted a new lawn, created a flower border and started a small vegetable patch. Having now finished the course, I reflect on my experience and acknowledge that the training was paradoxically easier than other, less demanding courses I have done. Whilst gardening cannot take all of the credit, it proved itself one of my most effective stress-management strategies. For me, the most rewarding aspect was the sense of achievement it gave me.

Sometimes, therapy sessions with clients felt laborious and it took time to see clients’ symptoms improve. In contrast, in my garden I quickly saw the product of my labour and felt instantly uplifted. Gardening forced me to focus externally, be present and helped me to leave my work behind. During the hot summer months, I watered the garden twice a day which gave me structure and purpose, mirroring behavioural activation work which we commonly use when treating depression.

It also forced me out of the house when deadlines were looming and the more strenuous tasks, like digging, were good exercise. Such physical activity not only increases serotonin, but also decreases cortisol, our main stress hormone. Additionally, home grown produce can encourage a good quality, balanced diet and I relished cooking the organic vegetables which we harvested. When reflecting on this, I wondered why I found gardening so helpful. My investigations lead me to the ‘Biophilia hypothesis’, which suggests that we all have an innate need to connect to our natural environment. I found that this hypothesis resulted in two main theories. Firstly, Roger Ulrich proposed that by viewing nature, we can support our physiological recovery from stress and discussed this in his Stress Reduction Theory (1983).

Fundamentally, he argued that nature can be beneficial because of its aesthetics, which are relaxing and can trigger the calming parasympathetic nervous system response. Secondly, Stephen Kaplan proposed the Attention Restoration Theory (1989) which states that nature allows us to replenish depleted ‘directed’ attention (attention that requires effort and is limited). In other words, natural environments are restorative for our attention fatigue and can help to decrease stress and prevent future stress.

In my experience, I can relate to both schools of thought. Being in my garden, watching the bees pollinating my flowers and the squirrels playing in the trees certainly helped me to switch off from my day-to-day stressors and the experience always felt restorative. As well as that, the diversity of colours and shapes in the garden was aesthetically pleasing and I would often happily spend an afternoon with a cup of tea, observing the natural world.

My experience appears to be mirrored in the research literature. In fact, a recent study carried out with Swedish public healthcare workers showed that nature-based stress management can decrease burnout and sick leave, as well as increasing work ability. Different labels have been used over the years for nature-based interventions, ranging from ‘therapeutic horticulture’ and ‘ecotherapy’ to ‘green care’.

Regardless of what label we use, everyone has access to nature in some form and can reap the benefits, if they wish. Furthermore, gardening can be an enjoyable, stress-relieving hobby, whether or not you have a garden. Hanging baskets outside your window, having plant pots outside your front door or simply getting indoor plants can make a huge difference. Balcony gardening is now all the rage in many urban areas. Community gardening can also provide a non-threatening space for individuals to garden together and helps to fight isolation and loneliness.

Allotment popularity has grown exponentially over the years and is another option, although waiting lists can be a deterrent. Gardening does not require expertise or expensive equipment and studies show that people enjoy gardening, even if they did not have a prior interest in this area. My hope is that this article has planted a seed, dangled the carrot and will inspire others in our profession to take a leaf out of my book and try gardening or at least increase their contact with nature in some form. Personally, I know this is something I will continue to do, as I adjust to working as a qualified CBT Therapist. Gardening is a great hobby all year round and with the winter ahead, there is plenty to be getting on with…

You can find the compassion fatigue resources mentioned in Adela’s article at https://www.babcp.com/Therapists/ Compassion-Fatigue.aspx