Gardening Therapy

By Mindy Lawrence

After winter’s chill,

Comes the sun and spring appears.

Time to plant with me.

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If your parents didn’t allow you to play in the dirt, you were at a disadvantage. Dirt itself is therapeutic. Soil contains an antidepressant called Mycobacterium vaccae which is now under study for its potential to stimulate serotonin in the body.

Gardeners breathe in bacteria which gets into their bloodstreams. The effect is thought to last up to 3 weeks. Getting out and working in the soil can help with depression and lift your mood. Go out and plant. It’s the season.

LINKS

Get Your Therapy in the Garden, Garden Tech, Jolene Nelson

https://www.gardentech.com/blog/gardening-and-healthy-living/get-your-therapy-in-the-garden

How Gardening Affects Mental Health, WedMD

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/how-gardening-affects-mental-health

10 Mental Health Benefits of Gardening, Psychology Today, Seth J. Gillihan Ph.D.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-act-be/201906/10-mental-health-benefits-gardening

How Gardening Became the Self-Care Staple I Never Knew I Needed, Everyday Health, Tonya Russell

https://www.everydayhealth.com/self-care/how-gardening-became-the-self-care-staple-i-never-knew-i-needed/

How Plants Improve Your Mental and Physical Health, Hillside, Atlanta

https://hside.org/plants-improve-mental-physical-health/

How Plants Improve Your Mental and Physical Health, Gardening Know How, Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQGyrP4U6mk

Gardening as Therapy, Chicago Botanic Garden

https://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/gardening_therapy

Antidepressant Microbes in Soil: How Dirt Makes you Happy, Gardening Knowhow,

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/antidepressant-microbes-soil.htm