Scotland’s Shetland Islands are windswept and rugged, full of
wide-open vistas, thousands of squawking migratory birds, awesome rock
formations, and winding trails. An epic place for long, lingering walks
and time spent decompressing in the joys of raw nature.
It just so happens that doctors are increasingly starting to realize time spent outdoors can be an excellent treatment for chronic health issues. So doctors in the Shetlands are now issuing “nature prescriptions” as part of an initiative to address health issues without drugs if you can imagine that.
For everything from high blood pressure to diabetes, anxiety, and
depression, the medical community is learning (though lots of us have
always known) that many ailments and diseases can be treated with
activities like birdwatching, maybe a little kayaking, perhaps combing a
beach for shells, even skipping pebbles across a slow-moving stream.
Even just sitting silently in a forest, meditating (see: Japan, forest bathing).
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