The $0.00 Cure.
Is this a scam? A sham? What’s the catch? No, no. This is perfectly real, and there is no catch really (unless you absolutely hate using your legs). This is a tried and true method that works great.
A few months prior to writing this, I had a patient who I was doing therapy with. Her anxiety was getting much worse to the point where she couldn’t really function. She was a cancer survivor and she was worried that a tumor would resurface. I could see the distress in her eyes during our video visits, and although I couldn’t even begin to imagine what she was going through, I sensed the restlessness, and felt the fear.
After a few visits and with some medication adjustments, she started doing a little bit better, but the anxiety was still there. One day, during therapy, she told me how she was previously very active. But because of COVID, as well as getting treatment for her diagnosis, she had to cut back on her exercise. A light switched on in my head. I remembered how all the times I was worried or stressed I would go off to either the mountains or the lake to think things over. And almost every single time, I returned with a sense of calmness and serenity which persisted throughout the week.
Even just 30 minutes once a week
can make a world of difference.
So that was actually my suggestion to her. Obviously the lakes or mountains can be rather far (plus gas prices nowadays would make the title of this blog post inaccurate), but something close would do. Turns out she had a park near her house with a bench. I told her to at least go twice a week, maybe walk around, maybe just sit and think, or maybe even just casually read a book.
The goal isn’t to block out those anxious thoughts, but face them in a place with a lot of SPACE. Let those thoughts come loose while staring up in the blue sky or watching some squirrels scurry around.
She followed through with my recommendations, and needless to say, after a few more sessions, she no longer required therapy and I only see her every now and then for med check.
So go ahead, next time you feel overwhelmed, burdened, stressed out, just give yourself 30 minutes. It doesn’t have to be a long drive to Yosemite, but something as simple as sitting under the large oak tree in your local park may work wonders.
