As new research from Mind reveals that almost two-thirds (63%) of UK adults believe spending time gardening or in nature helps their mentalhealth, Stylist speaks to one young woman about the transformative impact being outside has had on her life.
“I was about 14 or 15 when I finally admitted that I had a problem and needed help. Before I reached out, I always thought I was in control of what was going on, and no one really noticed what was happening until I was in the grips of my anorexia. At that point, however, I’d been struggling for quite some time and things had become really, really serious.
“When I first started getting professional help, it was a very different system with a very different view of mental health compared to what we have now. I really didn’t get on with the help that was offered and ended up having to seek private treatment, but that didn’t help either. They weren’t focused on looking after my mental health; they were focused solely on my physical weight and“If anything, the whole experience made me worse – and that really put me off treatment for the longest time.
“I felt at a complete loss when I got out of hospital, but my experience also helped me to realise that no one was going to help me unless I helped myself. Luckily, there was a very small independent treatment group at the time that was just starting called , and my experience with it was fantastic. It was the first time professional treatment had really helped me, and that began to restore my faith in mental health services and helped me turn a corner.