Forest Bathing
You're Not Alone...Really
Coping With the Ups and Downs of Being an Expat by Andrea McKenna Brankin
Managing Stress by Immersing in the Green The “Green” issue of the AWA Magazine means something special to me and how I manage my own mental health. I love to walk in the beautiful parks in Singapore to calm my mind and make me feel renewed and grateful for my life here. I’ll be sharing that with the Listen Ladies group and other AWA members who wish to join for what the Japanese called “Forest Bathing,” or Shinrin-yoku. (Keep an eye out for “Walk-And-Talk” signups on the AWA website in 2022!) This style of “green therapy” is gaining popularity here in Singapore. There are some counseling services who offer “Walk and Talk” sessions instead of office visits, including our friends at Harmony Counseling, who have done Zooms for the Listen Ladies and AWA during the Covid-19 lockdown. I like to meet my counselor at the Botanic Gardens. Why does it work? It’s really just a matter of being in nature and sharing your thoughts, feelings or maybe deeper issues. Then again, silence is enough and just being present--read: Mindfulness-- can benefit your mental health and wellness. Profoundly 32
AWA Magazine March/April 2022
connecting to nature in this way may give you pause to enjoy your life more. You can imagine that birds, bugs, trees, grass and flowers and sometimes monkeys (!) also sound a LOT better than traffic or a droning office building. Shinrin-yoku was created in Japan in the 1980s because the governmental and health leaders saw a significant rise in illnesses caused by stress. (We’ve probably all heard about the Japanese work ethic.) With that, Japan created certified nature trails to guide people. The research gleaned from this shows that forest bathing can help reduce stress, improve attention, boost immunity and lift mood. The stress, attention and mood parts are about reducing stress hormones like cortisol and encouraging the happy ones like oxytocin. One Japanese study even theorized that natural tree oils can help keep depression, anxiety and even blood pressure problems at bay. Other studies suggest that tree oils that contain 3-carene can lower inflammation and anxiety, improve sleep and prevent infection. The immunity part is interesting, as Harvard Medical School’s Health Publishing reported that, “trees give
