In my coaching, I repeatedly come across people who are depleted from the stressful nature of their job situations. The ongoing, hectic pace of the 21st century workplace tends to create a disconnection that often results in chronic stress, and resultantly, mental and/or physical illness. For these individuals, I work to reconnect them both to their innate instincts and with the slower pace of nature with a technique called Ecotherapy. Ecotherapy, a fusion of psychology and ecology, and thereby, a ‘green’ therapy, works to restore mental/emotional/spiritual health in individuals suffering from symptoms stemming from industrialized cultures’ increasing disconnection from the natural world. Ecotherapy, especially when experienced in a retreat setting, specifically offers a holistic approach to job stress that helps individuals and teams use the innate intelligence of nature to transform their challenges into opportunities for vital expansion.
A Common Job Stress Scenario
Tina had recently been promoted, and had been working long hours. Her life became imbalanced, and she began to feel exhausted–experiencing splitting migraines and fitful bouts of sleep. She tried to push through and ignore the problems, but her performance at work began to suffer, and she became increasingly irritable–even around her family and friends. Tina needed her job and didn’t feel like she could risk taking time off or afford to slow down and fall behind. She felt like she needed to escape and recharge for a little while. Tina was manifesting early warning signs of the type of stress that could lead to chronic health problems. Like most employees at some point, she was in fact, depleted from the unnatural pace of the contemporary work environment, and in actuality, desperately needed to reconnect with nature.
Job Stress-A Prevalent Problem
Job stress has become a common and costly problem in the American workplace, leaving few workers untouched. For example, recent work surveys have revealed the following:
• 40% of workers report that their job is “very or extremely stressful.”
• 26% of workers report they are “often or very often burned out or stressed out” by their work.
• 29% of workers report they feel “quite a bit or extremely stressed” at work.
All humans respond to stressful situations as threats that require either a ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ response. Hormones are released to prepare individuals for either response, causing them to specifically become alert and poised for combat or escape. This pre-programming serves a vital function, and therefore, the catalytic experience of occasional stressful events is, generally speaking, not harmful to the individual. However, problems tend to occur when people remain in long-term stressful situations, which specifically cause the body to remain in an elevated state of ‘fight-or-flight’ arousal. Such a prolonged physical state can result in exhaustion and a compromised immune system. Contemporary workplaces tend to be consistently fast-paced and demanding, and thereby, environments that routinely expose workers to long-term stress.
Studies specifically reveal a relationship between job stress and chronic health problems such as cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal problems, and psychological disorders. Early warning signs of job stress typically include mood and sleep disturbances, work injuries, digestive problems, headaches, short temper and depression. Such accumulated stress not only puts employees like Tina at risk, but is very costly to companies. Low morale and high turnover can also result from job stress, and a previous report from a leading labor statistics clearinghouse manifested that workers who must take time off work because of stress, anxiety, or a related disorder will usually be off the job for approximately 20 days.
Ecotherapy—A Solution for Balance Restoration and Daily Stress Management
Many people intuitively seek time outside to decompress; gardening, golfing, swimming, cycling, running, hiking are a few examples. These activities quiet the mind and help relax the body. Ecotherapy, which is based on the emerging field of ecopsychology, simply builds on such instincts to seek healing outdoors. Ecotherapy harnesses the healing power of ‘wild’ places to help individuals find balance, connection, and guidance, by deepening their relationship with the natural world. A Pulitzer Prize-winning sociobiologist lended theoretical support to this therapeutic approach, asserting that people have ‘biophilia’–an intrinsic biological need to be in contact with nature.
Nature, in biophilic theory, holds the key to health and satisfaction. Ecotherapy enables participants to strengthen their sense of connectivity and responsibility towards both the environment and their own health, through direct external experiences with nature and transformative therapy.
The combination helps align individuals with their intrinsic, innate intelligence. Ecotherapy is essentially a “de-frag” function for disconnected, depleted individuals, that helps them to reconnect with restorative systems. The goal of Ecotherapy is to help such individuals return to their daily lives–with stress-management coping strategies grounded in the wisdom of nature.
Ecotherapy Retreats
Ecotherapy retreats, generally, are restorative ecotherapy events that are conducted in untouched, natural environments, and accompanied by, a) cleansing, chef-prepared cuisine; b) deep sleep; and, c) interactive outdoor activities (“adventures”). Each retreat should also include guided imagery, breath work, workshops, reframing activities, and ample time for relaxation. The best ecotherapy retreats for individuals and corporate groups are custom-designed, to optimally realign the participants with rejuvenating natural forces, and provide them with personalized strategies to manage the daily stresses of their particular lives.
The four main goals for a successful ecotherapy retreat should be, to: 1) harness ecological wisdom to release tension and promote sustainable lifestyle patterns; 2) provide participants with opportunities for personal healing and transformation; 3) reawaken a sense of interdependence and provide support for participants (as they learn to work with others in diffusing their sense of isolation); and, 4) on the larger scale, foster a sense of responsibility for the environment. Ecotherapy and Ecotherapy retreats are viable, contemporary, de facto green coaching processes, that can enable any employee or team of employees to alleviate accrued, debilitating job stress, and re-establish their connection with themselves and the natural world.
Please contact me to learn more about Ecotherapy for your individual needs or to design a custom Ecotherapy retreat.
