What the heck is that disgusting photo? Great question. I’ll get to that in a minute.
Did you know that multiple studies say spending time in nature can improve mental health, decrease stress, stave away depression, and boost your mood. Even the APA says, “time in nature can improve our mental health and sharpen our cognition.”
Awesome.
I have been told so many times that a “nature walk” would help with my anxiety. And, I have tried it. Hundreds of times. And most of the time, I become anxious about the nature walk.
Why?
Look back at that cringey photo above. That’s my back five minutes after allergy testing. The right side of my back is mostly foods (thank goodness I can eat most foods).
Know what the top left quadrant is?
Nature.
Yep. That life-affirming, mood-boosting mental health-improving panacea for all of today’s troubles might make me happier for a few minutes, but while it’s improving my mood, it’s also busy causing pussy yellow welts inside my sinuses.
The cause of the grossest of those nasty little puss bubbles above are grass, pine trees, oak trees, and pollen. So, like, I’m allergic to all of nature.
Before you ask, yes I have a prescription to help, but it doesn’t really make a big difference when I go outside to try to “ground myself” or commune with nature.
Unlike most people, I am forced to respect nature for the prickly bitch that she is. (I love her for that. I’d crawl up my nose and napalm my sinuses too if I were her. Humans are a pesky adversary to say the least.)
So, what is the point of this rant? Well, it’s not really what you think.
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