We know that spending time in nature is good for us and the planet, helping us to feel our connection to the rest of the living world. So why is it so hard to do? It’s common to feel a disconnect from nature, even when we understand its benefits. This often stems from a combination of external and internal factors. The good news is that recognizing these barriers is the first step towards overcoming them, and ecotherapy offers a powerful path to guide you on this journey.
Navigating the Challenges
There are a number of reasons why reconnecting with nature can be difficult.
External Barriers
External barriers can make intentional, non-work-related outdoor time feel like a luxury rather than a possibility. These include:
- Lack of Free Time: Modern life often leaves little room for dedicated time outdoors.
- Limited Access to Green Spaces: Many individuals, particularly those in urban environments, may lack easy access to parks, forests, or other natural areas.
- Safety Concerns: For some, past experiences or societal biases can create a sense of unease or unfamiliarity in natural environments. For example, people of color may feel unwelcome or unsafe in outdoor spaces due to racism they experience from other people in those spaces. Or, for people who grew up in urban environments without access to green spaces, going outdoors may be scary because it is unfamiliar.
Internal Barriers
Beyond these external hurdles, internal barriers often play a significant role.
Uncomfortable Emotions
Because spending time outside helps us connect to ourselves, it can bring up uncomfortable feelings we would rather avoid. Though feeling them eventually helps us move through them, we often avoid difficult feelings (for example by staying busy or getting sucked into our phones). If we personally have been affected by a natural disaster, spending time outside may also trigger personally painful memories.
Spending time outside can also get us in touch with ecological and ancestral grief. As we notice the ecological damage around us, we may tap into the painful emotions of grief—including guilt, shame, rage, fear, and a whole bunch of feelings we would rather avoid. We also may tap into ancestral or historical grief, feeling grief or rage about all that was taken, or guilt or shame about living on stolen land. Our modern lives can encourage avoidance of these uncomfortable emotions, and the quiet of being in nature can bring these feelings to the surface.
Ways of Thinking
In addition to feeling painful emotions, rebuilding our sense of connectedness with the natural world involves recognizing and starting to shed the thought patterns we have inherited from our culture. The modern way of life is built on centuries of violence and trauma. If you live in the United States, your ancestors were very likely displaced from the land they originally lived on or were forced to separate from it in order to survive or practice their religious beliefs. They learned to disconnect from their love of the earth and to see themselves as superior and in control of it.
The sense of ourselves as separate from nature is deeply embedded in Western dominant culture. It is embedded in our language—we refer to plants and rivers as ‘it’ for example, and in our values—such as the belief that we should be “in control” of our emotions. One way these cultural beliefs show up in me is in the value I put on being efficient and productive. This belief can keep me feeling separate from the natural world by turning being outside into a self-improvement project! Furthermore, deeply ingrained cultural thought patterns, which often position humanity as separate from and superior to the natural world, can hinder our ability to truly feel interconnected. These patterns can manifest in subtle ways, like prioritizing efficiency over presence, even when we are outdoors.
These mental habits run so deep, they are hard to see in ourselves.
How Ecotherapy Can Help
Working with an ecotherapist can provide a supportive and guided space to address these barriers and foster a deeper connection with nature. Here’s how:
Processing Difficult Emotions: An ecotherapist can help you gently navigate the uncomfortable emotions that may arise when you spend time outside. This can include personal grief, ecological grief, or ancestral feelings that surface in the presence of nature. By creating a safe space for these feelings, you can move through them and find healing.
Challenging Limiting Beliefs: Ecotherapy and mindfulness-based exercises can help you recognize and explore the cultural thought patterns that contribute to feelings of separation. As you recognize and challenge beliefs that position you as outside of or superior to nature, your sense of yourself as separate can shift.
Cultivating Presence and Awareness: Practicing mindfulness in natural settings can help you to slow down and feel more present to the world around you. As we bring awareness to what is happening both inside of and you and around you, you may feel more relaxed, open and connected to yourself and others.
Reclaiming Your Innate Connection: Ultimately, ecotherapy can help you rediscover and strengthen your inherent connection to the living world. It’s a journey of remembering that you are an integral part of nature, leading to increased joy, well-being, and a renewed sense of purpose and engagement with the world.
The path to reconnecting with nature may not always be easy, but it is profoundly rewarding. If you find yourself struggling to feel that vital connection, remember that you’re not alone, and there are tools and support available to help you on your way.