F E AT U R E
“‘To simplify everything, it’s just about having a committed action in the morning and immersing yourself in something that you love.’ In this way, Dawn Days is a positive activity for all.”
conditions manage their rehabilitation, recovery or ongoing health states.” In the way that the research of Dr Roger Ulrich first highlighted the health benefits of nature, or green spaces, in the 1980s, the research of White highlights similar, and is some cases more powerful, benefits of blue spaces on human health and wellbeing today. And while nature itself has been proven to aid mental wellbeing, Guest highlights the need to take a step away from normality and just allow yourself to be totally present in a moment. “This is what we practice through meditation and mindfulness, and through certain sports,” he tells me. “It’s about being encouraged in a moment to stop thinking about the future or worrying about the past and just being right there.” By tapping into this feeling and sharing it publicly, it inspired others to share their moments. In a term that Guest calls ‘mindful moments’, it became clear to him that by sharing content online and through social media - abstract videos, photographs and steam of consciousness prose - others were offered a short break from normality. And the opportunity to immerse himself in the ocean each morning also sparked a conversation between others in the community and became a focal point for the exchange of experiences and insights. In this, Guest began to talk about his own mental health and realised the relief that was found in doing so. “I decided to be really open and honest, and, in a way, it showed people that it’s ok (to talk),” he says. “It became more and more about sharing what I was going through in the hope that it might help someone else.” On the World Health Organization’s website, it states that, “Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease.” Here in U.K., 1 in 4 people will experience mental health problems in a given year. And while there is no gender bias globally, the rate of severe depression and suicide of men in the U.K. is three time higher than that of women. The primary factor in this is the role that gender stereotypes play and that the archetypes of masculinity are disassociated with the expression of feeling. This can lead to a sense of entrapment and subsequent mental health problems. The importance of talking is something that Guest is keen to highlight, particularly among men. “Something I’ve learned in the last year is being able to open up with other men, which is really important,” he tells me. “Maybe if men are able to talk more about their feelings and anxieties, we can have a more connected society.” And while Guest is quick to note that Dawn Days is a concept that can alleviate daily stresses and help us to talk and feel more connected, it is not something that can remedy mental health concerns alone. He speaks highly of the therapy and care that he undertook alongside Dawn Days and notes the positive coping mechanisms that must be built around this activity, for it is not always possible to be at one with nature during the blue hour. As a result, Dawn Days should become part of the process, not the process in entirety. “It’s about learning and finding out how you can integrate that feeling into the rest of your day so that when you can’t go out, you’ve got ways of coping.” And while the inception of the project began with the ocean, it is a concept that lends itself to any natural space, be it a forest, a field or even a small space of green in an urban environment. The action itself is about removal from the norm, whatever that might be. “To simplify everything, it’s just about having a committed action in the morning and immersing yourself in something that you love.” In this way, Dawn Days is a positive activity for all.
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Oceanographic Issue 19