Feeling Connected
Article written by: Ross Reilly - SAMH Peer Practitioner
Finding space for self-care in such a busy world can be a real challenge for many people. Day-to-day tasks, workday routines, life admin amongst other competing demands can all reduce time available.
Yet, it is in being mindful of self-care that you can ensure energy, interest and zest to cope with the demands of each day. Pausing in a space where you can find a sense of peacefulness is so important. It can allow time to gain perspective on issues and to provide time to be thankful.
Often, the sense of feeling thankful for your lot is overshadowed by the next task, event, caring for others or keeping a roof over your head and ensuring the cupboard has a few tins of food. In creating moments to relax I would suggest greenspace as a motivator for ensuring time for self-care. Nature is the most honest of spaces, growing and developing to the tune of natural vibe.
SAMH’s garden in Kirkcaldy, Evergreen, ensures that people can have access to an outside space on their mental health journey. Evergreen is a long-established SAMH gardening project in Fife which offers so much more than a supported space for wellbeing.
The project is transformational as it encompasses a sense of connectedness with planting, tending and caring for the greenspace. This along with the changing seasons offers a sense of perspective away from the hustle bustle of modern living.
A sense of shared purpose is evident in the passion and care that the project attendees offer in tending to the spaces.
Dave Ross a SAMH Horticultural Practitioner with decades of experience in green space mental health support shares, “There is something within us all that longs to be in nature.
“There are days at the service where it is more about noticing what is around us and hearing the birds, feeling the sun or the wind and experiencing the smells of being outside than what we may achieve in the garden that day that helps people.
“To plants seeds in the ground and see how they come alive from the dirt is something I still find amazing. To think plants can take water from the ground, carbon dioxide from the air and use sunlight to make produce we can eat is truly magical.
“So where better to celebrate that and be part of that than getting outside, leaving your phone behind and immersing yourself in the here and now and see what the natural world offers.”
If you are interested in attending the service please give us a call on 07595 244753 or email: Evergreen@samh.org.uk
Sam’s Fife walk-in peer support is available across Fife. samscafe.org.uk | samh.org.uk
Photo credit: Google