Shinrin yoku, or how can forest fear turn into "forest bathing"?

🌳 First and last time at uncle's homestead

When I was a pupil at a primary school, I got lost in the forests of Dzūkija. I wanted to reach my uncle's homestead faster, but it turned out to be the opposite (it seems that the tendency to think independently already manifested in early childhood).

The strangest thing is the following: when you get lost in the forest, time seems to stretch. A couple of minutes can feel like a couple of hours. So, I can't say how long I wandered, but there was plenty of anxiety, confusion, and eventually panic.

On the one hand, I'm proud of myself because I didn't stop and kept walking until I hit the road and finally reached my uncle's house. On the other hand, I soon realized that I don't want to get into a similar situation anymore.

This was my last visit to my uncle's homestead.

☯️ Fears help, but also hinder us

A young brain is like a double-edged sword: it absorbs information brutally fast, but it also jumps to conclusions in seconds. Practical but not necessarily rational:

The forest is a threat ➡️ a threat means danger to our life ➡️ you must avoid the forest (and everything that resembles a forest) ➡️ the threat is gone.

Thus, the fear of the woods around the uncle's homestead eventually turned into a fear of any "foresty" space - the so-called xylophobia.

Mushroom and berry picking, walks in regional parks, and (funniest/saddest of all) forest scenes in computer games were all no-gos.

💚 The need for love or acceptance is an incentive to change

Fortunately, people's brains do not stay young forever and are formed up to the age of 25, not to mention the neuroplasticity of these or the tendency of human neural networks to "regroup", thanks to new experiences.

The parents or guardians indeed play the biggest role in the early years, and in the later years it is usually other people who are important to us, specifically, their expectations and feedback.

In my case, this function was performed by my girlfriends. And more precisely, the desire to be accepted and loved.

After moving to Vilnius and starting to look for the other half, I soon realized that the route "Vincas Kudirka Square > Bernardinai Garden" is the main place for first dates.

Despite the initial stress of walking into uncomfortable territory for me, the need for love was stronger than the desire to escape or reveal my (at the time it seemed) silly and trivial fears.

In the long run, the Bernardinai Garden was replaced by walks to the Hill of the Three Crosses, Vingis Park, Pavilniai Regional Park, and finally - hikes in the forests of Madeira.

In other words, my fear of the forest prevented me from walking with people in forests or regional parks. It took me a while to realize that the forest is not so frightening as it is healing!

🙈 Briefly about overcoming fears

The most effective way to overcome many fears is the so-called "exposure therapy" or gradual exposure to the source of fear. The sooner we experience that the stimulus (such as being at a height or flying in an airplane) is not dangerous, the sooner the fear subsides.

On the other hand, it is quite difficult to overcome fears when they do not interfere with life, or at least we convince ourselves so. For example, "Lithuania is good enough for me" (fear of flights), "I like to fall asleep in the lamplight" (fear of the darkness), or "I call my husband and the problem is solved" (fear of spiders).

🌲 Forest therapy is not a "new age" invention.

Shinrin yoku means "forest bathing" or "forest therapy" in Japanese. According to a systematic literature review (2020), time spent in the woods (e.g., walking or deep breathing) can reduce levels of anger, depression, and especially anxiety [1].

As another systematic review confirms, forest therapy not only reduces subjectively experienced anxiety levels but also blood pressure [2]. It means that the effect of forest therapy is not only experienced but also objectively measurable!

So, it seems that spending time in the woods can be both an enjoyable form of time well spent and a means of improving mental health. But how do you take advantage of shinrin yoku if walking through the forest seems boring or (as in my case) scary?

🇵🇹 Levada therapy - fear and charm in one

Levadas are Madeira's irrigation channels, often accompanied by walkways, that connect different parts of the island into one large (about 2,000 km) network. Towns, valleys, mountains, waterfalls, tunnels, slopes, and, of course, forests are an inevitable part of many levadas.

While spending my winter holidays in the forests of Madeira, I realized that there is a much greater risk of slipping into a ravine, falling off a slope, or being bitten by a suburban dog than getting lost in the forest. It's strange to realize how little it took to replace the fear of the forest with, for example, a fear of heights, tunnels, or dogs.

However, my time in the levadas has taught me that facing existing or potential fear can be a pleasant and fascinating/captivating process if we approach it with common sense and respectful curiosity. Especially when it takes place on an island of spectacular beauty!

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[1] Kotera, Y., Richardson, M., & Sheffield, D. (2020). Effects of Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and Nature Therapy on Mental Health: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. International Journal of Mental

Health and Addiction, 20(1), 337–361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00363-4

[2] Stier-Jarmer, M., Throner, V., Kirschneck, M., Immich, G., Frisch, D., & Schuh, A. (2021). The Psychological and Physical Effects of Forests on Human Health: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1770. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041770