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The Why Factor: Why does nature calm anxiety?

Why does nature calm anxiety?

29/07/2019 GMT

BBC World Service - The Why Factor, Why does nature calm anxiety?

We find out how the natural world affects our mental health

Anxiety is one of the world’s most diagnosed mental illnesses, a growing number of people think our urban life is causing it.

As the world grows more urban, humanity moves further away from nature. Could this be the reason anxiety has become the most diagnosed mental illness in the west? The idea of mindfulness is becoming more popular as the mainstream grows more aware of how panicked we all are. How are we tackling this issue? Jordan Dunbar dives into a niche of researchers and therapists who are learning about and treating the negative symptoms of urban life with a dose of nature.

Lea Kendall, Therapist and James Kendall, Wilderness Instructor
Birgitta Gatersleben, Environmental Psychologist
Patricia Hasbach, Clinical Psychotherapist
Harini Negrenda, Professor of Sustainability at Azim Premji University, Bangalore, India
Layla McCay, Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health 

Presented and Produced by Jordan Dunbar
Researcher Julia Webster
Editor Richard Knight

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Why does nature calm anxiety?

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