The new travel retreats addressing depression and grief

We combine outdoor activities with mental health support for anyone who wants to improve their health, regardless of their diagnosis.

At the top of a hill in England’s Peak District, life coach Zaida Roscoe leads a group of us through exercises to focus on the present moment and find a sense of peace. “Focus on five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste,” she says. The cheerful neon hiking clothes caught my eye against the cornflower-blue sky. I run my fingers along the feathery grass. Listen to the duet of birdsong. Feel the scent of the crisp autumn air. And nibble on some nutty trail mix.

This is the first of several mindfulness and nature connection activities you’ll do on this 6-mile hike. Chatsworth Estate and heart that crosses mountains. The organization hosts free wellbeing walks and low-cost weekend retreats led by mountaineering guides and qualified counselors or coaches in national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty across the UK. This is one of the few organizations. black dog outdoor with the UK hike my feelings In the United States, it combines outdoor activities with mental health support for anyone who wants to improve their health, regardless of their diagnosis.

These organizations are filling a canyon-sized gap between outdoor and wellness spaces. half of the world’s population They will develop mental illness during their lifetime. However, while many places offer self-care activities such as yoga and forest bathingThese programs rarely foster an atmosphere that encourages people to open up about their depression to instructors or talk about their grief with other participants. As a result, many people may feel isolated and unsupported in these situations.

Organizations like Mind Over Mountains are creating spaces where discussions about emotions and challenges are welcomed. At the first stop of the walk, Rob Kenning, a member of the wellness team, said to our group: “Today I have Rob who is a confident leader, but I also have Rob who is more vulnerable. I think it’s okay no matter how much you bring in.”

A path through the forest leads to a hunting tower built in the 16th century. Kenning invites us to share how we feel now compared to when we started. Three participants admitted that they almost canceled because they were nervous about meeting new people or because the location reminded them of an outing with a loved one who had recently passed away. But they’re all glad they took the courage to come here.

I thought the atmosphere during the mental health walk could be heavy, but the conversations are cheerful, open and supportive. Stroll through a beech forest and have lunch by the lake, taking photos of red and purple mushrooms and feeling the moss growing on the gnarled trees. If someone wants to talk privately with Roscoe or Kenning about an issue they’re having, they step back a little or walk to the side, and the rest of us give them time and space. It’s like a subtly choreographed dance of care and compassion.

Some participants and guides find it easier to share their struggles and immerse themselves in deep discussions when walking side by side in nature, rather than indoors looking into the eyes of a family member or psychotherapist. says. Matt Heaton, who attended the Mind Over Mountains retreat in 2022, says, “Being in nature was relaxing and opened my mind.” I felt connected to nature and the world. ”

Andy Higson, a civil engineer who started Blackdog Outdoors, noticed something similar in his cabin atop Russia’s Mount Elbrus. As he talked with other mountaineers about what brought them to the top, they found that nature was their therapy: getting out of their fast-paced lives, challenging themselves, and finding balance. I explained that this is a way to find out. “That got me thinking,” Higson said. “If I know that nature is really good for me, and all the people I’ve never met from all over the world think the same thing, why don’t I use the outdoors as a way to cope with my mental health?” Are there more people?”

Higson researched this issue and found that many people face barriers to participating in outdoor activities, including fear, lack of skills and cost. He founded Blackdog Outdoors to help people overcome those hurdles. The group hosts approximately 120 free hiking, climbing and paddle sports day trips each year, as well as low-cost mountain skills training.

Blackdog Outdoors events are aimed at beginners or those who have participated in outdoor sports in the past but have lost the confidence or motivation to do it on their own. This trip will be led by an outdoor expert and a trained mental health first aider, rather than a professional therapist. And while the organization doesn’t include mindfulness practices, mental health supporters can help with everything from chatting about relationships to alleviating anxiety about nerve-wracking activities. Masu.

Through research, both Blackdog Outdoors and Mind Over Mountains found that over 90% of participants experienced lasting mental health benefits from their events. Heaton was so inspired by the Mind Over Mountains retreat that he trained to become a mental health first responder and walked a marathon to raise money for the organization. “I still think it was the best weekend ever,” he says.

Ruth Israel, who attended the Mind Over Mountains retreat, said, “This walk was a catalyst for hope and personal growth. In hindsight, it was more lasting than I could have imagined from a single walk.” It’s going to have an impact. I’ve never participated in it before.” It used to be such an accepting and non-judgmental community… but now I’m sharing my own struggles more openly so that others can be encouraged and supported. ”

When I went on a hike with Black Dog Outdoors in the Peak District, one of the guides told me that it was a typical day like this. We don waterproof clothes and woolen hats to ward off the drizzling winds and push aside the primordial soup of mud. . Even the participant’s sheepdog, who started the hike with canine enthusiasm, looked at us like crazy as we pulled up the rain-slicked rocks by the steep waterfall.

Surprisingly, it’s fun. On both of these mental health hikes, the conversations felt connected and the guides were supportive, but I found that our main group therapist was Mother Nature. Nature seems to hold up a mirror that reflects various aspects of us and whispers metaphorical messages to us.

During a Mind Over Mountains exercise in finding trees that speak to us, the woman and I were drawn to a rowan tree whose silvery trunks branched and then intertwined. She reflects on the choices she made and the winding path her life took. As we sit by the river, Roscoe asks us to ponder what it is now time to let go and flow away.

Cold rain, slippery rocks, and treacherous slopes challenge us to find our inner resources and reach out through hardships on this Blackdog Outdoors hike. Then the sun appears, electrifying the clouds and sparkling across the Dovestone Reservoir. and i remembered that poem wild goose According to Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver, Solace for her sorrows in nature. Like geese, everything in this glorious landscape seems to be calling out through loneliness and despair.” [our] Located in the family of things. ”