Eco-Therapy & Living With a Brain Injury
There are many kinds of brain injuries and each person’s experience with a brain injury is unique. Acquired brain injuries are brain injuries that occur after birth and can range from injury due to external force (Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), concussions) or injury due to an internal event such as a stroke or infection. People can also experience brain injuries from the time of birth due to genetic conditions or illnesses.
Within the same type of injury, there are so many different ways that someone may be impacted. Due to this, people living with brain injuries can often experience a wide spectrum of challenges, depending on which part of their brain was impacted by the injury, how severe their injury was, and if they have experienced multiple injuries over time. I am not a neurologist nor an expert but I am someone with a lived experience of TBI and Eco-Therapy dramatically impacted my well-being. I also actively look into research on brain injuries and support people in my therapeutic work who are living with brain injuries. Due to this, I wanted to share a few ways that Eco-Therapy may be a support for people living with a range of brain injuries and experiences.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness has been shown to be a support for recovery from brain injury as it can help with mood regulation, cognitive functioning, and improved memory. Eco-Therapy provides many opportunities for mindful awareness and can allow people to explore mindfulness in many different forms. If it is difficult to engage in a guided meditation or visualization practice, there is access to look or feel around the natural world that you are directly within or to use a photo, scent, or natural sound to focus on. There are also opportunities to engage in mindful awareness through movement practices (walking meditations), art practices, or simply noting what you can sense around you in the natural world.
Movement Outdoors can Improve Cognitive Functioning
Walking has been shown to increase cognitive functioning and walking/exercise outdoors has been proven to have even more positive impacts on our brain. It has been shown that movement outdoors can support with increased attention, working memory, and inhibitory control. Walking also supports our health overall as exercise can release chemicals that support our mood and movement can support our muscles, joints, coordination, and physical health. While walking may not be accessible for everyone after a brain injury, if there are ways to engage in bilateral stimulation (rhythmic engagement that involves both sides of our brain) such as tapping, there can still be supportive benefits.
Sensory Awareness
Being outdoors and/or engaging in Eco-Therapy indoors allows for space to tune into our senses. Different senses may feel more or less accessible for people living with brain injuries based on their particular injury and/or where their brains have been most impacted by the injury. The beautiful thing about Eco-Therapy is that it allows for sensory engagement in many different ways. If sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch feel the most accessible for someone, there will be a way that a relationship to the natural world, both indoors and outdoors, can provide space for them to connect to that sense. Sensory awareness can allow people to feel more present in their bodies (something that can be greatly impacted by a brain injury) and to feel more connected to the present moment and sense of place, which can bring someone back if they are experiencing an increase in anxiety, fear, or dissociation.
Multiple Forms of Expression
Another impact of a brain injury can be a change in capacity to recall words, to speak, to move in certain ways, or to remember events from the past or in the short-term. This can feel very discouraging. Some types of therapy rely heavily on speaking and processing and this may not be as accessible for someone living with a brain injury, depending on where their brain was impacted and how far into recovery they may be. Eco-Therapy allows for expression in many different ways. An Eco-Therapy session could have very limited verbal processing and focus more on being in a calming place outdoors, getting to engage in sensory awareness and mindfulness, creating art or connecting with natural beings in different ways.
Increased Sense of Confidence
When someone experiences a brain injury, it can completely shift how they can engage in their daily life. Sometimes, this could be temporary and people may be able to return to their previous activities and, sometimes, someone may need to completely restructure the way they live their life. Eco-Therapy provides many opportunities to begin to rebuild self-confidence. Maybe someone is able to move with greater ease or comfort each session as they continue to recovery. Maybe someone is able to engage in a mindfulness practice for a few more moments each session and retain information or stay focused on the present moment more and more. Maybe someone is able to feel their body in different ways as they engage with their senses, move, and practice engaging with the rest of the natural world. Maybe, there is an ability to hike a certain trail, engage in a certain nature-based activity, or try out something new or different in an Eco-Therapy session that could renew someone’s belief in their abilities or help them discover something they did not know they previously enjoyed. Eco-Therapy comes in many forms and there are so many ways that people could recognize their own capacity if they are feeling discouraged or disheartened after a brain injury.
These are just a few ways that Eco-Therapy can support people living with brain injuries and I hope they can be encouraging if you or someone you know is recovering from a brain injury. There are also necessary medical precautions to take before engaging in certain activities after a brain injury so please consult with your doctor about what is best for your body.
If you are looking for more resources for recovering from a brain injury, here are some great places to start:
If you are interested in learning more about Eco-Therapy and how it could specifically be helpful if you are someone living with a brain injury, please reach out to me!