Just Going Outside Starts Your Mental Recovery

Staying home is easy.

Going out is tiring.

That's why you don't want to go out as much as possible.

When your mental health is down, many people feel this way.

However, in reality, the act of "not going out" can be the biggest cause of delayed recovery.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the time spent cooped up at home has increased, and the number of people complaining of mental health issues has surged.

In this context, the importance of "outdoor activities" is gaining renewed attention.

• Walking
• Parks
• Hiking
• Camping
• Cherry blossom viewing
• Sitting on a bench and looking at the sky
• Eating lunch outside

Many studies have shown that these "acts of going outside" bring mental relaxation and have a positive impact on mental health.

In short, humans cannot become healthy by staying "only inside the house."

Why Cherry Blossom Viewing is Good for Mental Health

For example, cherry blossom viewing (Hanami).

Why does just looking at cherry blossoms make your heart feel so much lighter?

One reason is that it is "outdoors."

• Bathing in sunlight
• Feeling the wind
• Looking at the sky
• Walking
• Touching nature

Just doing that starts to relax the brain.

Furthermore, spending time with family, friends, or a partner secretes the happiness hormone "oxytocin."

In other words, cherry blossom viewing is an activity that satisfies four things simultaneously:

• Outdoor activity
• Light exercise
• Communication
• Contact with nature

It is an extremely beneficial behavior for mental health.

"Not Going Out" Stops Recovery

Even psychiatric patients tend to shut themselves indoors when they feel unwell.

I feel bad.

I get tired easily.

I don't want to go out.

So, they stay in bed all the time.

However, there is a pitfall there.

Not going out.

Not getting sunlight.

Not moving.

Then, serotonin is not activated.

The body clock gets disrupted.

Sleep gets worse.

You become even more lethargic.

In short:

Not going out

↓

Losing more energy

↓

Wanting to go out even less

You enter this vicious cycle.

That is why I say, "The worse you feel, the more you need a morning walk."

Of course, it's different if you are in a state of severe depression and cannot move.

However, for many people, it's not that they "don't move because it's hard," but rather "it becomes harder because they don't move."

Going Out Itself is Rehabilitation

When recovering from mental illness, many people think, "I'll go out once I'm cured."

But the order is reversed.

You recover because you go out.

This is very important.

Going to the hospital.

Going to a workshop.

Going to daycare.

Taking a walk.

Going to a convenience store.

Each of these actions is rehabilitation.

It's meaningful because it's hard.

It becomes training because it's tiring.

For example, returning to society requires:

Waking up in the morning,

Getting dressed,

Going outside,

Commuting,

Interacting with people,

And being active until evening.

You need that kind of physical and mental strength.

Therefore, unless you gradually overcome the state where even going to the hospital is "hard," returning to society will be difficult.

Of course, overdoing it is forbidden.

However, if you continue to "not do it because it's tiring," you will gradually become unable to move.

Recovery is "Increasing What You Can Do"

Mental recovery is not about suddenly becoming well one day.

Being able to stay outside 5 minutes longer than yesterday.

Being able to bathe in the morning sun.

Being able to walk to the convenience store.

That is also a respectable recovery.

"I was able to go outside today."

Even just that is a big step forward for the brain.

So, don't think of staying cooped up at home as being "safe."

Go out even a little.

Bathe in the light.

Look at the sky.

Walk.

The accumulation of those things will recover your heart.

P.S.

Thank you for reading to the end.

Kabasawa's vision: "Prevent mental illness and suicide through information dissemination."

With this thought, I update X and YouTube every day and continue to write books.

Now, once or twice a year,

I go camping with my secretarial team.

Clouds are covering Mt. Fuji, making it visible and then invisible,

But the weather is great, and it feels very good.

Even if it's not camping,

There is usually quite a bit of greenery in neighborhood parks.

Going outside,

Looking at the sky,

Feeling the wind,

Staring blankly.

Just doing that

Recovers the heart more than you might think.

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