Ординатура / Хирургия / Библиотека им академика М.И. Перельмана / Книга_5516_Библиотеки_им_академика_М_И_Перельмана

had animated conversations with the practitioner about how much they loved spending time in nature and how this helped them manage their anxiety. One older woman began a session crying, stating that she was so plagued by anxiety that even coming to the walk had caused a huge increase in anxiety (e.g., worrying about being late, being able to find the meeting point, parking). She visibly calmed down during the ses­sion and was very open when it came to sharing positive experiences during the walk with other participants. After the walk, she contacted the guide and provided the following feedback: “It’s now nearly 8 hours since I came home, and I’m still feeling so relaxed. My mind isn’t full of ‘stuff,’ and I don’t feel any anxiety—something I’ve been plagued with for nearly a year now. I’m going to be making regular trips to the park and bathing in the sights, sounds, and smells of nature.” Two older men commented that normally when they walked, they marched through at a fast pace, feeling angry about life, and did not take in their surround­ings at all. The walk made them stop ruminating on problems almost in­stantly and see their local park in a completely different way, and it helped them slow down and relax. Since the walk, one of these men has been reading about how to rekindle his connection with nature and has been practicing the activities every day in the park. In addition to col­lecting informal feedback about patients’ experiences, the practitioner collected survey data at the start and end of the walks. She found a 54% reduction in ruminating about problems and a 34% reduction in anxiety. These are the most notable benefits patients reported from forest bathing walks, noting that the activities allowed them to put aside their usual anxious thoughts and preoccupation with progress and to-do lists.