Escaping life's pressures in the company of nature and the outdoors...

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, Nigel Jones (Sales and Marketing Director, Practice Plan) has written an inspiring blog about how a lifestyle change he made 5 year's ago made an immeasurable difference to his positive mental wellbeing.

"It had been one of those very short December days. Got up in the dark. Got ready in the dark. Drove to work in the dark. Didn’t leave the office until…….it was dark. After a tough day during a tough week in a tough year, I felt pretty miserable to be honest.

"As I drove home (in the dark), I thought about how wrong it was that I hadn’t seen any natural daylight. I’m an outdoors kind of person anyway and was aware of the health benefits associated with spending time outside, so how was it that I’d let the busy-ness of life squeeze out something that I enjoy doing and was good for me?

"At that moment, with January 1st rapidly approaching, I decided upon a New Year’s Resolution to take a break outdoors in daylight every single day for the whole of the coming year. But like many of us, I can be hit and miss with resolutions so I needed an angle that would help me stay true to the good intent. 

"By the end of my commute home, I knew what I’d do: I would take a daily photo to evidence my break and would post that picture on the day it was taken to an Instagram account specifically set up for that purpose.

"More than 5 years later, I’m rapidly approaching 2000 posts and have only missed one day.

"Of course, I slightly wince at the knowledge that such a stat means I’ve not had much of a break from social media in all that time; but like any tool, social media can be used for good and the benefits to me of that New Year’s Resolution have been incalculable, especially during the challenges of the last couple of years. It’s also been very easy to put into practice as I’ve not needed any special equipment or memberships – just my phone and the scenery around me!

"To explain why this practice has been so valuable, it might be helpful if I draw upon the guidance that mental health charity MIND provides about the five ways to wellbeing. These are: be active; take notice; learn; give; and connect. Although I didn’t realise it at the time of inception, my daily habit ticks all five boxes.

"The fact that I’m being active is pretty obvious. Even if it’s only a lap around the Oswestry office or a walk along a canal towpath in Birmingham, I’m being active. However, that would make for a pretty boring Instagram feed after a while, so I found myself working further and further to new and different places just to keep it vaguely interesting.

"It was this desire to keep the feed engaging that tapped in to the “take notice” element. As MIND says on its website, “studies have shown that being aware of what is taking place in the present directly enhances your well-being and ‘savouring the moment’ can help to reaffirm life priorities”. The challenge of taking a good photo of either a fleeting sunrise or chance encounter with wildlife illustrates that most easily, and those times when I’m stuck in an otherwise dull urban environment force me to be constantly looking for suitable subject matter.

"Which brings me to the third element, the importance of learning. This can be as simple as finding out more about a colleague or reading a book. In my case, I have learnt more and more about photography and how best to compose a picture. In addition, I’ve become intrigued about the places I’ve been and the nature I’ve encountered.

"I also found that other people were interested in this practice too, and I started getting requests from followers for details about the locations in which certain photos had been taken so that they could visit. I occasionally share some of the info I glean about wildlife. OK, it’s a bit of a stretch to categorise that as “giving”, but I like knowing that through my feed I can remind some people of the natural beauty most of us tend to walk past every day.

"That’s also how I satisfy the “connect” element of the MIND guidance. Although it’s not a huge number, I now have over 400 followers, most of which I’ve never met but with whom I have a shared interest and exchange messages and comments. I learn a huge amount from those connections, finding myself constantly inspired and motivated by their feeds and insights. And of course, my daily photo has become a talking point with those that I interact with at work and is often a catalyst for conversations in which I glean more understanding about what makes my colleagues tick.

"So, what started off as a fairly gentle attempt to make sure I stepped away from my laptop every day has become something so much more. December days are still short. I still get miserable from time to time. But I know that the simple change I introduced into my life five years ago has helped me get through the darker days and I hope that, perhaps using the MIND guidance, you have or can find your own practice."

As it’s Mental Health Awareness Week, we’d love to hear from you! Comment below to share one thing you do for your personal wellbeing. It could be going for a run, it could be having a regular catch up with a friend, it could be just popping into the garden on your break to get some fresh air.

You can view Nigel's daily photographs on Instagram by visiting @NigelKJ on the platform.