Working on a voluntary basis for the RSPB, local nature reserves, Wildlife Trusts, etc, is therapeutic. There is a lot evidence pointing toward working with nature as being beneficial for mental and physical well being. The friends you make, the exercise and the fresh air are all conducive to feeling better when you have the blues.
I've been volunteering for around thirteen years now. I began with the local authority nature reserve, but more recently worked with the Scottish Wildlife Trust, the RSPB and the National Trust. Heathland management, invertebrate surveys and boardwalk laying on Handa Island have been just a few of the activities I have undertaken.
Losing our connection to nature, to be boxed in with tarmac and concrete, can only increase life's stresses, and if prone, nudge you that little bit closer to mental illness. As conservation in the UK would not happen without the help of volunteers, a symbiosis can occur. The depressed volunteer enters a social world where they actively protect wildlife. In doing so, they conserve areas of nature which they themselves and others can enjoy. That feeling of giving may then override any self critical thoughts, even for just a short while. Whether you are in therapy, on pills from the doctor, or just feeling the blues deeply and have no one to talk to, meet up with your local groups and get involved!
And how does this inspire the writer? Writing is an emotional process. You have to feel your characters, feel your atmospheres, feel your way through plot lines that often remain unclear. Depression shrouds the creative process in darkness. Sweet-scented air, dappled shade playing upon bluebells, the laughter of others you work with, brings back the light.
