Impact of Gardening on Mental Health

Get your hands dirty to feel better! Gardening engages you physically, mentally, and socially. Health benefits are numerous and you don’t need to live in the suburbs or the country to experience gardening and its benefits. Gardening can positively impact a number of health outcomes, including: Reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety Decrease in reported stress and mood disturbances Decrease in BMI Higher reported sense of community Increased physical activity Improved cognitive function Gardening has both immediate and long-term effects on health. For individuals with mental health conditions, horticultural therapy [...]

Janine Monico2024-04-18T11:12:44-04:00April 24th, 2019|Anxiety, Community, Depression, Mental Health, Stress|

Coping with Stress

Since 1992 The Health Resource Network (HRN) has sponsored Stress Awareness Month in April, with National Stress Awareness Day observed on April 16th. Stress affects all of us, so take this time to learn how to identify your stressors and familiarize yourself with the tools for coping with stress. Kinds of Stress There are two forms of stress: acute and chronic. We all face acute stress each day - from the traffic on the way to work to the realization that you didn’t prepare for tonight’s dinner. Acute stress is [...]

Janine Monico2019-04-15T20:16:05-04:00April 15th, 2019|Anxiety, Awareness, Self-Help, Stress|

Optimism: An Awesome Antidote to Stress

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms: to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. Victor Frankl Have you noticed those upbeat people in your environment who never seem to let anything get them down? They seem to manage life’s stresses and challenges with a smile on their face and a skip in their step. No matter what lemons life seems to throw at them, they are still able to make lemonade. What is [...]

Janine Monico2021-01-02T20:39:10-05:00December 1st, 2017|Anxiety, Self-Help, Stress|

Active Commuting: A Route to Physical and Mental Wellbeing

Dana Careless
Clinical Operations Manager for Health Promotion
DBHIDS

Nur Atiqa Asri
Project Analyst
Center for Active Design

"Walk it off." How many times have you heard someone say that to a person who needs to blow off some steam? We have heard that getting some fresh air and exercising can be a great way to relieve stress. But are our cities designed to encourage this? And if they're not, what does this mean about our stress levels and emotional well-being?

Nur Atiqa Asri, from the Center for Active Design, tackles this head on as she explores what it means to "actively commute" to work and how this shift can dramatically improve our physical and mental well-being. Check out her blog contribution below:

Janine Monico2021-01-02T20:14:28-05:00September 30th, 2015|Mental Health, Self-Help|