Out Standing : Changing my Brain with Nature

Out Standing

Ryan A. Robinson PhD.

Abstract

This book consists of a quest for whether people experience positive inner change when reconnected with nature and whether this immersion can alleviate stress. I will be looking at  whether nature, as a tool and a suggested self-help aid, can enable a person to find relief from their everyday basic psychological maladies as well as what positive change experiences Appalachian Trail (AT) Thru-hikers experience and describe in their journals from long distance hiking. With strong research, other’s research and proposals with empirical evidence I hope one day our medical institutions will prescribe nature as an adjunct to personal growth and to help with cognitive behavior therapies (CBT) and other actions we will investigate further.

Very little research has been done in this area.  Along with personal experiences and others’ experiences, I will also reference prominent figures in nature immersion. Beginning with our first friend Adam (2005) who found that nature helps control everyday issues that are linked to anxiety, stress, and depression. The research literature we will later read about, one can find cases that support the fact that people, who engage in outdoor activities, undergo positive psychological change, which improves their well-being.

This journey into research of nature will also provide the online journals of Appalachian Trail Thru-hikers and our digging into their journaling regarding any positive psychological experiences that long distance hikers encounter. Participants will not be aware of the study as the data collection will be derived from open-source journals at www.Trailjounals.com. Any reported inner changes written about will be analyzed using content analysis methodology.  If it is determined that positive experiences occurred for the majority of cases, such findings may offer insight for clinicians and counselors who professionally help those who suffer from stress-related maladies. It will provide an alternative to their clinical therapies by incorporating outdoor recreational activities into their client’s healing process. This research may also contribute to hikers’ and the general public understands the benefits of immersing one’s self in nature and its potential to create personal psychological growth, otherwise explained in this research as change. 

We all have our own journey through life and I hope I will be able to help you with my research.

KEYWORDS – hiking, Thru-hikers, Appalachian Trail, Gestalt, Ecotherapy, Eco counseling, forest bathing, content analysis, positive inner change, data mining

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments      iv

List of Tables (if tables used)

List of Figures (if figures used) Appalachian Trail Map

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION      1

Statement of the Problem (Hit Tab to add page numbers)

Purpose of the Study

Significance of the Study

Research Design

Research Questions

Assumptions and Limitations

Definition of Terms

Expected Findings

Organization of the Remainder of the Study

CHAPTER 2.  LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction to the Literature Review

Theoretical Orientation for the Study

Review of Research Literature and Methodological Literature Specific to the Topic or Research Question

Synthesis of the Research Findings

Critique of the Previous Research

Summary

CHAPTER 3.  METHODOLOGY

Purpose of the Study

Research Design

Target Population and Participant Selection

Procedures

Instruments (or Measures: quantitative studies)

Research Questions

Data Analysis

Ethical Considerations

Expected Findings

CHAPTER 4. RESULTS

Introduction

Description of the Sample

Summary of the Results

Details of the Analysis and the Results

Conclusion

CHAPTER 5.  DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction

Summary of the Results

Discussion of the Results

Discussion of the Conclusions

Limitations

Recommendations for Future Research or Interventions

Conclusion

REFERENCES

APPENDIX A. Thru Hiker insights

APPENDIX B. Word Clouds

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Nature

Thank you. You will always be there for me.  I am part of you and you me.

CHAPTER 1   

INTRODUCTION

Early Humans

All cultures until recent times acknowledged a deep connection to the natural world (Sabini, 2008). Humans evolved as an upright primate in the forest edges of Africa and emerged as homosapiens over 40,000 years ago. Most of that time, they were hunter gatherers and successfully survived in a life connected to a very wild nature. Medicine men and natural healers utilized what was around them to maintain the health and psychological well-being of their villages (pp. 79-102). 

Man’s original environment consisted of only the simplest of tools -- all manmade from nature. However, as time and the human race progressed, many changes began to separate humans from their earlier personal relationship with their natural environment. In children’s play and in the story books they read about nature and animals, one can see an innate kinship to living things today (Louv, 2008). Later in life, this desire to be connected to nature becomes subdued, especially, in those children brought up in urban environments, which deprived them of opportunities to connect with nature.

Disconnected from Nature

The enlightenment movement changed researchers’ minds regarding how to treat issues of stress and depression. This more resembled some psychological concept along the lines of individualism and the ‘I’ complex compared to the ‘we’ and ‘whole’ when Freud came along (Roszak, et al., 1995). This brought people out of nature into a psychiatrist’s office. Soon after that, came the Industrial Revolution, as well, which brought on the most disconnection of human from nature. However, this was further augmented with computerization, which has isolated man not only from the natural environment that he has thrived in for thousands of years, but also isolated man’s physical beings from others (Wilson, et. al. p. 32).  Bodnar and Roth (2008) term this a total detachment from society. Some think the human race is now more connected and together because of the internet, whereas, the fact is that technology is actually separating us more and more. Many people are detached from their daily world because of their wireless devices (Wilson, et. al. p. 32).  . Davis and Atkins (2009) concur that the anxiety and depression we see in our stressful world today are compounded by too many hours of television, movies, computers, video games, I Phones, tweeting and texting, which has only resulted in man living in an artificial environment. Stein (2008) delineates that the United States population [and those of developed countries] has developed a much more sedentary lifestyle than it had 30 years ago. Cohen (1999) also asserted that the average person in today’s society lives over 99.9% of their lives devoid of conscious sensory contact with attractions in nature, and spends over 95% of their time indoors. Life today has become an on demand information society full of individuals that expect instantaneous technological gratification of their needs. The problem is that we spend so much time dealing in this realm of electronic connectivity that we have lost our real connection to the source of all life that resides in nature. We have separated ourselves from our natural environment. Society has developed a high stress man-made environment that increasingly removes us from nature and into internet fantasy worlds (Sabini, 2008, pp.9-15). People, therefore, have become oblivious to any thought of being connected to their environment. Even though, people believe they can be attached to nature through the creation of the internet, this media completely lacks what we as humans really need, which is to relate to real nature and people in order to function at our best (Wilson, et. al. p. 32).

After the industrial revolution and following the last two centuries of technological and electronic progress, coupled with the associated mass migration of people from rural to urban communities, 80% of people now live in urban areas away from the reaches of their natural environment and have been thrown into man-made environments (Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, 2004). As the population increases and overwhelms our cities, stress has also increased in society, as at the same time, people become more and more distanced from their roots in nature. Largo-Wight (2011) emphasized the fact that a man made environment with its associated crowding and noise has psychological and environmental effects, which increase the likelihood of stress as people are no longer connected to nature. Bodnar and Roth (2008) stated that Shamanism, Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and computerization appear to be an incredibly condensed path to what has resulted in an American society as a continual detachment as a whole from self and community (pp. 548-560).

A separation has occurred, more than ever, between the individual and nature. Adams (2005) amplified that mankind has created an artificial world and a lifestyle completely devoid of our natural environment, an environment completely lacking of nature and what it has always offered the human race. Many researchers such as Ulrich (1993) have written about every day experiences that show how society has become overwhelmingly disconnected from nature, which has resulted in increased stress and depression. Many have also stated that man-made environments that lack nature’s connectedness may cause additional everyday stress (Dutcher, Finley, Luloff, & Johnson, 2007). Ketterer (2011) also reiterated that these [issues] and the anxiety they cause are all symptoms of this disconnection from our inner source of peace and tranquility that we achieve through engaging with nature. Largo-Wight (2011) added as well that environmental health issues consist of environmental factors that may threaten human health through our own biological pathways.  This is why people go out and hike long distances in nature to get back in touch with nature.  All people need to be cognitively connected to their surroundings.

Smyth (2005) said that over the years, as therapy counseling services such as Gestalt therapy developed for people to use, it has become less important for people to connect with nature. Adams (2005) has stated as well how the stress of modern living may [stem] from getting caught up in ideas and concepts which have helped to develop the human race and technology; a separation has thus occurred between humans and nature and between humans themselves, which has cut off their nature involvement. Due to this loss of our connection with nature, humans have become fixated on these abstract concepts thus separating themselves even more from their original connection with nature (Kuo, 2001; Reynolds, 2002). In The Earth has a Soul: C.G. Jung on Nature, Technology and Modern Life (Sabini, 2008) Jung elaborated on how we are our own worst enemies. With the development of consciousness, our minds have become increasingly elaborate and filled with content that taxes our thinking process (pp. 79-82).

A strong body of research (Cohen, 1999; Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2008; Davis & Atkins, 2009) supports the fact that positive experiences in nature not only improve the overall well-being of those who engage in outdoor activities, but also engender inner change. Cohen (1999) wrote as individuals are disconnected from nature, their inner balance has been lost; so much so that human stress has increased greatly. Bodnar and Roth (2008) also state that this, subsequently, has led to the annihilation of the part of the whole philosophy, which is no longer understood or thought of. So one no longer questions where or how one fits into the whole and how it all relates to nature. Sevilla (2006) also outlined that there seems to be a severed primordial association with nature and all natural things that has resulted in an ecological unconscious that suffers from nature estrangement, which is one of many possible root causes that threaten our health in the American culture. He added that problems start as estrangement with nature, but in many cases lead to alienation, and may finally lead to stress and mental illness (Sevilla, 2006).  This is something that researchers and practitioners must try to resolve not just necessarily in an office, but perhaps out in nature as well. Therefore, many new therapies are emerging to reconnect people to nature. These bring back certain wholeness to the person and a sense of well-being.

Necessity to Reconnect                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Bodner and Roth (2008) stated that this disconnection from nature leads to a compelling inner desire to reconnect to nature.  In a modern context, the links between nature and its positive effects on mental health can be traced back to the early part of the last century. Due to an outbreak of tuberculosis, doctors housed psychiatric patients in tents and found that their condition improved because of being outdoors. When the doctors sent them back inside the hospital, most reverted to their original chronic state. Ongoing research at the time studied the benefits of tent therapy and noted that psychiatric patients improved when living outside.

Beveridge and Rocheleau (1998) stated that since the early 19th century, an attempt has been made to acknowledge that man in distress needs to be connected to nature so mental health institutions are often situated in pleasant gardens or natural landscapes. (Wilson et al., p. 23).Since then, it has been perceived that these natural places help people relax and recuperate from their everyday inner maladies (Beveridge & Rocheleau, 1998). Humans are a product of their environment and being separated from nature has thus had its toll on people. This type of therapeutic outlet that involves being connected with a natural setting is now termed ecotherapy. The idea of therapeutically being connected to nature for positive change to occur is called ecopsychology (Adams, 2005), which Clinebell was the first to term ecotherapy (Jordan, 2007, p.27). These terms will be used interchangeably throughout the remainder of this book.

Burls' (2007) research concerning ecotherapy sought the views of service users, practitioners and educationalists through the use of interviews, focus groups, a nominal group, and an ethnographic case study group. Through the latter, Burls (2007) found sustainable recovery in most people and the phenomenon of a sense of peace, relaxation, raised self-esteem, connectivity; and solace in nature. Ecotherapy contained reciprocal nurturing and respect, direct and spontaneous relationships, and a re-evaluation of social positions based on co-existence with nature rather than on supremacy (Burls, 2007).

Adams (2005) stated that the main principle behind ecopsychology is to reconnect humans with nature, which thus creates a sense of being part of the whole as opposed to being a fractured piece -- cut off from the whole. Many researchers and practitioners are of the opinion that nature may be a useful tool that can reunite the person with their inner self by using their personal experience of the natural environment. Therefore, people may go and spend time on a farm or go on nature hikes to rediscover themselves.  Davis and Atkins (2004) also shared how ecopsychology can help change a person’s outlook from an emphasis on individual autonomy to one that includes the capacity for experiencing mutually enhancing relationships and reciprocity with the natural world (p. 212).

Largo-Wight (2011) also stated that stress reduction and mental reorganization can be a difficult and lengthy process; however, nature has been known to be a tool for stress relief and for clearer thinking.  The World Health Organization (1997) concurred that the whole dilemma of stress, depression and alienation may be resolved by reconnecting people with their natural environment and that this may be the key to man`s alienation from the world and others. Maller (2002) as well affirmed that there is widespread recognition that one’s health is influenced by many interrelated factors including nature. Kaplan and Kaplan (1989), as well as many others, also affirmed that there seems to be a strong psychological benefit of relating to nature.  Programs such as Outward Bound (OB) are based on the idea of nature being good for stress relief and of finding oneself through nature immersion (Outward Bound International, 2000). McKenzie (2003) acknowledged that the OB program helps individuals gain a better understanding of the interconnectedness of everything, the intrinsic value of others, and how it all relates to the rest of the natural world. Nature, therefore, seems to have an important part to play in not only one’s emotional well-being, but also in one’s overall physical health.

Bodner and Roth (2008) said that this disconnection from nature leads to many different ways to reconnect with nature. People do this in numerous actions in their daily lives. When working at their desks, people find a way to be part of nature by playing nature related online games such as farming games (Bodnar & Roth, 2008), or by downloading a soothing nature seascape for their desktop background, or by listening to meditative ‘nature music’ on their CD players. All these are partially therapeutic and considered as indirect nature contact (Largo-Wight, 2011).  Many people also have live plants in their offices as a means of connecting to nature. More and more, this need to reconnect to nature can also be seen in the news, and over the Internet regarding people’s use of pets. Velde, Cipriani, and Fisher (2005) state that pet therapy is a viable tactic that helps reconnect individuals with their environments so bringing a living thing such as an animal into an otherwise man-made environment can also help relieve an individual’s stress levels (Nature Sights and Sounds Can Help Reduce Patient Stress, 2003). Pets are a part of nature and often seem to come to people who are upset and are in need. Simply petting a dog can relieve stress. Thus, often animals are even integrated into senior residences and nursing homes. In Japan and other places, it is common to be able to sit in a Cat café and drink coffee while stroking a cat that lives there for people’s pleasure. Nature therapy may include any involvement with nature such as horticultural therapy, wilderness excursion work, time stress management, certain kinds of animal-assisted therapy, or taking a hike in nature. All these may tend to bring an individual back to a missing part of themselves.

The Appalachian Trail

This research puts forth the ideal that man must reconnect to nature in order to bring sanity back and alleviate modern day stress. Thus, outdoor enthusiasts such as long distance hikers of the Appalachian Trail called AT thru-hikers do much preparation and go off on 6 month long treks to reconnect to their inner selves. This research hopes to prove and thus bring a deeper understanding of the reported positive inner changes and benefits that these AT thru-hikers enjoy due to extended time spent in nature.

The Appalachian Trail (AT) goes through 14 states and is over 2,175 miles long.  It is commonly referred to as the People’s Path because nearly two-thirds of all Americans reside within a day’s drive of it (NPS, 2007). Goldenberg, (2008) in 2001, estimated that of the more than 299 million people living in the United States (United States Census Bureau, 2006) roughly 200 million people live near the AT ( p.27). Many individuals may go on the trail for just a day, a weekend, a week, a few weeks as what are known as ‘section hikers,’ while others, called AT thru-hikers, north bounders or south bounders, traverse the whole trail for varying lengths of time, hiking through (thru’) more than one state in a single stretch of time and often multiple times in a lifetime.

Figure 1: Map of the Appalachian Trail (AT)

For instance, one might hike from Georgia to Pennsylvania on one long excursion. A long distance hike is actually a huge physical feat, as the hiker must get used to the weight of the backpack, the height of the mountains he must overcome, and the inner self he must confront. 

Therefore, this proposed research will study the personal anecdotes of AT thru-hikers who journal online about their positive inner experiences in their journeys back to nature. This research has determined the significance of involvement with nature in alleviating the stress of everyday life and how it can help relieve depression and other issues that plague people in their day by day lives. The research also hopes to contribute to this field of ecotherapy and determine whether hikers experience any positive inner changes while in nature that might be applied to others who seek inner change or to overcome the stress of their daily lives. The final results of this project along with their subsequent development and implementation may prove quite dynamic and exciting for researchers and practitioners alike. 

Statement of the Problem

The vision of my study is to see whether improved well-being, deep inner change and mindfulness can be attained from a person’s reconnecting to nature and whether such an effort as long distance AT thru-hiking can result in stress reduction and bring about an all-around positive inner change. My research thus addresses whether such an activity as AT thru-hiking, a form of ‘forest-bathing’ or ecotherapy, can bring with it positive change similar to what would occur in a therapist’s chair. For many people, the luxury of going to a therapist is not a viable option. Many need an alternative to therapy whether it is temporary or permanent. Jackson (2007) declared that to bridge the gap… the current therapy could be continued on a self-help level outside the office on the client’s own. This proposed research aims to study the effects of nature on AT thru-hikers and analyze their described change as outlined from their online journal input to see if hiking in nature could be the alternative required. 

Purpose of the Study

This study is timely, considering that the average American has an overscheduled agenda with less and less time to invest in outdoor recreational activities, activities that could bring about positive inner change (Sabrini, 2008, p.16). From a literature review, Adams (2005) purports that only some research supports claims for any positive psychological effects on individuals from nature experiences. To date, relatively few qualitative studies have been done in the area of ecotherapy to assess the positive experiences of people in nature such as those of AT thru-hikers by data mining their journals. Even fewer research studies such as those done on Outward Bound have been based on actual case analyses, which provide definitive empirical data concerning the lived experiences of individuals.  Much of the existing research is only posited based on theoretical and philosophical supposition, drawn from eclectic and newly emerging fields such as Attention Restorative Theory (ART), bio-psychosocial-spiritual well-being (Stein, 2008), and refined formalism (Parsons & Carlson, 2004). In one case study, however, by Bodnar and Roth (2008), a client who had long distance hiked the AT, reported calmness and no longer needed the prescribed drug Adderall that they had been doctor prescribed.

A vast gap seems to exist between those who know the positive effects that nature can have on someone and those who know nothing about it. For the purpose of this study, it is thus important to explain the AT sub culture and its given environment as the hikers’ experiences of it are crucial. The underpinning variable for counselors who may want to use this research later with their clients is that the hiker has no socioeconomic status as this sub culture pays no attention to status or money– everyone is equal. This means that for them, at the outset, a certain layer of stress has fallen away. Exploring in depth the experiences of an AT thru-hiker may thus not only let one understand hikers better, but also give one a better grasp of a hiker’s appreciation and reactions to being a part of nature. Newman (2001) augments this by saying if we are to fully appreciate the aesthetic character of the natural environment and how experiences of it may bring about change of the individual, then what we need are precisely the eyes of a connoisseur of one who knows -- an AT thru-hiker.

The rationale behind this proposed research is thus intended to aid in a greater understanding of the natural environment and the positive influence it can have on people. The research work will thus add to the few and far between studies that have been done to date in this area of ecotherapy –therapy from being immersed in nature. As this proposed qualitative study has no earlier precedent from which to draw from, this research work aims to fill the gap in the literature and add to the existing research literature regarding the positive experience or inner change one can have when one is involved with nature over the long term. It may also clarify the factors in nature or a person which contribute to the process of inner change. The overall purpose of this study is to provide a deeper understanding of positive inner changes that occur from being immersed in nature, i.e., mood, satisfaction, and mental wellness that could possibly be an alternative to visiting a psychiatrist’s office. For any new therapy or self-help tool that involves ecotherapy to be developed, the philosophy behind it has to be backed by research. Only this would make it a promising tool for both individuals and therapists. Therefore, the purpose of this exploration is to augment the research base of the viable tools that link nature’s positive effects to humanity and so develop a new way of looking at the contribution of nature as therapy.

Significance of the Study

This research will be significant, as to date, no study has focused on long distance AT thru-hikers regarding their perceived change or positive experiences in nature that they have written about in online journals. This proposed research work will analyze for the first time the written expression of the positive changes self-reported by AT thru-hikers. It could thus possibly make two significant contributions to social science. First, the focus on the thru-hikers’ reported inner change evidenced in their journal writing might provide a rich and diverse description of multiple perspectives of change. Exploring these journals for common themes and unique knowledge might offer information regarding the types of things that people experience in nature that bring about inner change. This could provide new evidence that has not previously been studied in the mass of literature.

Studies and research in this area show that nature has a therapeutic effect so the premise of the research is supported in the current literature. It has also been observed that the natural environment can aid in counseling. Therefore, several other significant implications for the community at large may result from the study. Clinicians and counselors who treat those who suffer from stress-related maladies may acquire knowledge from this research data that would perhaps suggest that most people benefit positively when they incorporate outdoor recreational activities into their daily life.  This research could thus significantly influence family therapists, school counselors, medical practitioners, religious leaders and others as well as help them to more deeply affirm how experiences in nature can bring about positive changes. Encouraged by this data, these practitioners may refer to it so they can support their work helping clients find stress relief and improved wellness by reconnecting with nature. Apart from this, the research may also play a significant role for insurance companies and doctors who may become interested in supporting projects and efforts that involve nature experiences when they develop a patient care plans to relieve stress.

It is also anticipated that the findings could likewise be of interest to those individuals and groups who would like to explore alternative and natural methods for stress reduction and improved mental conditions.  More specifically, this study will also be of significant interest to AT thru-hikers themselves, as they realize that the positive things they experience can be knowledge that others can gain from. Thus, the proposed study intends to help the general community, as well as individuals seeking self-help, by offering them an additional tool to foster positive personal experiences and psychological change from relating to nature. These research findings will thus have significant ramifications for the following populations:

Family therapists, school counselors, medical practitioners and religious leaders.

Insurance companies and therapists.

Individuals who seek self-help methods (such as by backpacking and hiking)

Researchers who want qualitative inquiry to back their assumptions

Although, the OB program serves as a significant example of research and practice that best parallels this proposed study as it supports a positive effect on mental states; it must be noted that the present study speaks uniquely to the hiking population. Connectedness with nature may prove to have great clinical value and may serve to bridge that broken link between a therapist’s chair and change. As well, the information contained in the literature review and the actual research results in this study may differ; it is presumed that the outcomes of the study will go far to lend support to other related previous studies.

Research Design   

The Gestalt Theory has been utilized for this research as it not only is an excellent fit for mindfulness-based Gestalt psychotherapy, but mindfulness also is a great part of what Thru-hikers experience on their hikes.  As well, the methodology encompasses the background or the being of the individual hiker from their own perspective of ontological, axiological or epistemological questioning, which determines how the hiker reacts to their environment as well as the life issues they may be dealing with that bring about the inner change. The methodology for this proposed research will be carried out by reviewing the electronic journals written by Thru-hikers. Use of a research design consisting of strong within-subject data research enables one to have a strong data pool. Additionally, with this model, it may be possible to use the same subjects twice or more throughout the research endeavor and it also allows for a greater control.

This proposed research project will explore new therapeutic terrain. The research is narrowed down to study the experiences of the sub culture of thru-hikers immersed in nature on the Appalachian Trail (AT) to uncover how extreme sports such as this or those sports that involve one in nature can possibly help one attain a certain level of personal change. Sorensen (2003) believes that backpackers are a distinct and homogeneous category and that