Time and again, therapeutic gardening has been proven to be beneficial to our health and wellbeing. But the question is does it have the same positive effect in overcoming depression? If so, is it a much better alternative to taking anti-depressant drugs? What is depression in the first place?
Major depressive disorder symptoms are so hard to recognize, here’s why
One of the reasons why depression is difficult to detect is because it is usually mistaken as mere sadness. This is especially true after a job loss or a death in the family of the affected individual. If a person would rather stay home than go out and meet with family or friends, you wouldn’t think of it as a sign of depression, right? If you or someone you know have no appetite or is overeating, will you consider that as a symptom for depressive disorder? It goes without saying that the signs and symptoms of this mental illness are quite misleading.
Taking a deeper look at depression
Before we discuss whether or not therapeutic gardening activities can alleviate depressive disorders, let’s find out what depression really is.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) defines it as, “Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home. ”
Signs and symptoms of depressive disorder according to APA
- Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
- Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
- Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
- Loss of energy or increased fatigue
- Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., hand-wringing or pacing) or slowed movements and speech (actions observable by others)
- Feeling worthless or guilty
- Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions
- Thoughts of death or suicide
Gardening therapy for depression or antidepressant drugs
Truth is there’s no right or wrong answer. It all depends on the person being treated. However, according to research, after being diagnosed with clinical depression, patients would often opt for the natural way of treating this mental illness.
Common antidepressants such as SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are used to control the release of serotonin and dopamine. These are brain chemicals that are found out to cause the feeling of happiness, motivation and enjoyment.
The bad news is patients tend to be dependent on these drugs, which brings an even bigger problem. Not to mention, that these antidepressant drugs can have harmful side effects.
Gardening as a therapeutic intervention in mental health, on the other hand, is the natural way to treat major depressive disorder. The bacterium strain Mycobacterium vaccae found in soil has the same effect as antidepressant drugs. It triggers the release of serotonin and dopamine during gardening activities.
So does therapeutic gardening works for the treatment of depression? It definitely does!
If you or someone you know is dealing with the signs and symptoms of depression, now is the time to reach out and seek help.
