Such solace can be found in just watching your garden birds come and go, learning their nuances and finding out just who they are. After horrendously stressful days at work I’ve gone to a local site for them and switched off, by allowing their bubbly song to wrap me up and absorb my anxieties. Three years later he has become a spokesperson for the benefits of birdwatching, spreading the word everywhere from Radio 4 to Downing Street. By following the author’s journey back into the light, you can become conscious of common themes in your own inner conflicts and uncover unexpected connections with countless others who share these same struggles. Visual beauty can be found in the simple pleasures of nature; from the lush greenness of trees in late spring, to the wind-rippled surface of a lake on a snappy February morning.

The therapy programme - B.I.R.D

This observation is not new: it was introduced and popularized by biologist, theorist, and author, Edward O. Over the four years that I’ve been developing an interest in birdwatching, I’ve become attuned to my environment, so much so, that I feel a part of it. Yet, despite how common -- how shared -- mental health problems are, the subject still remains taboo.The exercises are repetitive in nature and it is not uncommon for families to experience issues relating to co-operation.

Bird Therapy: On The Healing Effects Of Watching Birds - Forbes

Residing in Norfolk, he has worked in the special education sector for over a decade and is a keen naturalist, focusing on wildlife in his local area. Birding is a meditative practice that immediately appeals to all your senses -- listening to bird sounds and songs, looking at their plumage colors and patterns, observing their complex and often subtle behaviors, identifying their habits and habitats -- but weirdly, I’d not made this connection between birding and mindfulness before. Joe started his (now defunct) Bird Therapy blog in 2015, which led to him writing a book, with the same title. In fact, mental health issues affect one out of four people every year, as we’ve learned during the month of May, which has been observed as Mental Health Month in the United States since 1949. He has written features for numerous publications, including: The Guardian, Condé Nast Traveller, BBC Wildlife Magazine, iNews, Birdwatch Magazine and Birdwatching Magazine.Nature is the ultimate distraction therapy, providing a platform and safety net for everyday issues to be cast aside, offering time for one to reflect and recollect.

A Dose of Nature: Why Birding Will Boost - Birds and Blooms

Good feedback is achieved through accurate movement patterning, which can be achieved either though passive patterning or active participation. Sometimes it is a bird that provides the beauty, such as the time when four bullfinches sat resplendent in a bare tree in front of me, their blushed pink and peach tones offset against their stark black heads. When Joe Harkness suffered a breakdown in 2013, he tried all the things his doctor recommended: medication helped, counselling was enlightening, and mindfulness grounded him.

They are a powerful piece of our own resilience toolkit, for removing ourselves from the chaotic trappings of everyday life.