Friday, April 3, 2015

Ward Off Depression with Urban Gardening

Feeling down? Don’t reach for a glass of wine – grab your garden tools and head to the flowerbeds instead. Research has shown that gardening can improve your mood so much so that you may just get addicted to gardening just as people get addicted to alcohol! There are actually practical premises to this feeling of happiness and it is deeply rooted in our nature to nurture and care, which instinctively gives us joy.

The psychology That Connects Gardening with Happiness 

Experts are of the opinion that the sensory experience of gardening "allows people to connect to this primal state, which is always associated with feeling happy and contended. Just as a mother feels happy tending to her children, gardening gives us all joy that we are hardwired to feel when caring for someone. To prove that gardening indeed was useful, some social scientists went on to test the effect on a controlled group that suffered from clinical depression symptoms. After a period of a few months, improvement in depression symptoms was evident. What's more, their mood continued to be better three months after the gardening program ended. To be happy one did not have to be a full time gardener, taking it up as a part time hobby and doing it with decorative planters will also give you all the pleasure you need.

The Chemical Connection Between Happiness And Gardening 

Psychological explanations were not enough to satiate scientists who were looking for a more tangible proof. Someone came up with idea to inject mice with common bacteria found in soil which later proved that the bacteria were indeed capable of improving mood significantly. Now there was another school of thought that attributed happiness to chemical changes brought about by that bacterium.

So, What Do You Do To Feel Happy? 

The simplest thing that you can do to feel happy is to begin gardening. That is the simplest possible way to feel good about yourself and give you something that will keep you happy no matter what circumstances in life are. Here are some tips to get you started with gardening.

  • Getting Creative With Gardening 
Combining gardening with other activities will make things very enjoyable for you. The more natural elements you add the better you are going to like working in your garden. Garden retailers offer ready-made kits that can make fast work of establishing a pond or other water feature in the backyard. In case you do not have the expertise to handle the installation on your own, you can always find plenty of water garden companies and installers who can suggest a design and put in your desired water features.

  • Incorporate Interesting Elements In Your Garden 
Plain old gardens never make for an interesting place to work in. Using Garden furniture and decorative planters to add elements of interest will get you closer to happiness!
Why spend money on spas when you can have your own therapy session in your backyard. Garden furniture & decorative planters can completely transform your garden into your personal relaxation centre.









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