Doctor! Doctor !I think I might have….Nature Deficit Disorder!

Today, I’m taking a look at Nature Deficit Disorder.

Those Were The Days!

I remember the stories my parents use to reminisce on with me, at the dinner table, about their youth.

Long days spent away from the house.

Playing with friends and only returning home when hungry or called for tea.

I too had similar experience growing up in Mid Wales.

At those times, it would have been unfathomable to imagine that one day the tables would be turned and parents would be yelling for their children to go outside once in a while….. and yet this has become more reality than imagination.

We are at a critical point in our history and as animals ourselves we seem to have given up our innate need for outdoor time and contact with nature.

This I argue has also hindered our attempts to save other animals on our planet and the climate we so desperately rely.

Is it more than a can’t be bothered or not my problem type of attitude? Well perhaps it is when we consider Nature Deficit Disorder .

What Is Nature Deficit Disorder?

In 2005, author Richard Louv coined the phrase in his best selling book, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.” Nature Deficit Order is the belief that people, especially children, are spending so little time with nature that it is acutely affecting their behaviour in negative ways making them unable them to achieve a peaceful mind and happiness.

Richard Louv has said that the term should

“encompass a description of the human costs of alienation from the natural world”.

Framing the problem in this way forces us to look at the fact that we and our children are suffering because of our lack of exposure to nature.

Richard Louv suggests that there are many contributing factors including,
The decrease in open spaces for children and adults to play, Increased traffic, Parental fear for children due to the increasingly negative news, Less appreciation of the natural word in private and public education, The tremendous increase of screen and electronic communications.

We have become so reliant on technology and the economy for our day to day lives that nature has become a luxury instead of what it is. The second most crucial thing that’s sustains our life on this planet and second only to air.

It is something we have to schedule in on the weekends IF we’re lucky enough in our time poor existence.

Is it a child or parents fault. Not entirely.

Is it a schools fault, perhaps not.

Is it the media’s and those driving the economy, absolutely!

Even with movements such as Forest School there is a keen sense children are persistently and consistently missing out on something so important in the some of the best years of their life.

Nature and nature connection.

Is It Bad For Us?

Do you want to know the worst bit?

It’s actually harmful to our health.

An expanding body of scientific evidence suggests that nature-deficit disorder contributes to; diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, conditions of obesity, and higher rates of emotional and physical illnesses.

Research also suggests that the nature-deficit weakens ecological literacy and stewardship of the natural world.

Simply to understand earth and give a damn about taking care of it.

These problems are linked more broadly to what health care experts call the ‘epidemic of inactivity,’ and to a devaluing of independent play.”

Though we seemingly have everything, we are missing the very thing that feeds our bodies and souls as nothing else can. That thing is Nature.

What Are The Signs and Symptoms?

While this disorder undeniably seems like a grim issue, the first step in treating it is being able to realize if you’re struggling with it.

To identify whether you and your family are struggling with this very real and widespread disorder, take a look at these telltale signs:

1. You spend very little time spent outside.

If you are constantly indoors and find yourself moving from one indoor space to the other without taking time to be outside in nature, you may be nature deficient. Whether in adults or children, this can happen because of a lack of appreciation, understanding, or connection with the natural world.

2. You just don’t feel right

For example, you might find yourself feeling unwell on more days than not. You can’t put your finger on it, you just don’t feel right. Your doctor wasn’t able to find anything wrong. But you notice you feel better after a walk in the woods.

Parents of children who are nature-deficient may have made multiple trips to their doctor trying to pinpoint what is causing their unwell feelings. Blood tests come back negative and medications don’t help. Perhaps they just need to spend more time in nature.

3. Loss of interest in things and activities outside of electronics

This telltale sign is often easy to pinpoint in children who would rather be playing Fortnite than hide-and-seek outside. But can you spot it in yourself?

• Are you spending your lunch break playing games on your computer instead of enjoying lunch on a bench outside?
• Do you come from a day spent in front of the computer at work only to log back in as soon as you walk through your door?

These types of behaviours can point to a decreased interest in nature, a hallmark of Nature Deficit Disorder.

Can I Be Cured?

The obvious question now is. Is there a cure?

The answer is absolutely. Guess what the cure is?

The only way to overcome Nature Deficit Disorder is to spend more time outside. Literally.

Breaking ourselves and our children away from the addictions of electronic devices can help return us to the natural world that we thrive in best.

The world that provides us with water, sun, and the nutrients that we need to survive is the world that we should be immersing ourselves in regularly.

Want To Know The Best Antidote?

One of the best ways for you to do this both? You guessed it! Forest School.

In my opinion it is the perfect antidote by exposing families back to nature in allotted weekly time slots so you have no choice but to turn up when you commit to a session.

Not only this but through the sensory nature of Forest School, meaning getting stuck in with your eyes, ears, nose and sense of touch, you are able to ground you and your child’s body and begin to play in the natural world; like times I remember so fondly as I’m sure you do to.

If this wasn’t all enough you’re child will be learning life skills to see them right for the future, as they go whilst you will be able to socialise with other parents.

You have the choice and the power. Don’t let this disorder rule your existence.

In Louv’s later book, “The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age,” he asked perhaps one of the most important questions of our time;

“What could our lives and our children’s lives be like if our days and nights were as immersed in nature as they are in technology?”

There’s no time like the present to find out.

You’re Just One Session Away!