Inside: Can an Eco-friendly lifestyle reduce stress? It most definitely can. Choosing green options result in being more intentional, encourage more outdoor time and encourage downsizing. All of these result in lowering your overall stress levels.
Can an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Reduce Stress? The impact of going green reaches far beyond simply helping the environment and reducing our carbon footprint. It also benefits us, mentally and emotionally by allowing us to live a more stress-free life. We get so caught up in the fast pace that we rarely give ourselves a minute to slow down. Let’s dive in to see how adopting an eco-friendly lifestyle can reduce our stress and benefit us from this day forward
Can an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Reduce Stress by Creating Peace of Mind?
Your mind is peaceful when mentally and emotionally you feel calm. Your mind is not bothered by anxieties and worries. How does living an eco-friendly lifestyle reduce those negative feelings?
Living an eco-friendly lifestyle brings with it peace of mind that you won’t get anywhere else. You begin to focus on the greater good, knowing that you are making a difference in the world around you. When you eliminate harmful chemicals from your home, you play a vital role in creating a safe space for you and your family. When you begin to live a more natural, toxin free life, you automatically feel better – mentally and physically. Growing your food gives you a sense of independence and freedom. Reducing your reliance on ‘stuff’ reduces clutter in your home and also in your mind. Getting creative around the house by designing systems for collecting rainwater, storing solar energy for use in your home and garden or designing a water feature in your yard to attract wildlife keeps your mind focused on the positive – you potentially save money and reduce your anxiety while helping the planet. You get peace of mind knowing that you are doing what’s best for the planet, while keeping you and your family healthy as well.
Create a water feature in your yard for peace of mind. Image by JamesDeMers from Pixabay
More Intentionality Comes from an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle
By adopting an eco-friendly lifestyle, you become more intentional about the way you live your life. You take more time to think about your choices, your actions, the products you buy and how you spend most of your time. Some of your purchases might be more expensive in the beginning, like a solar system for your home, but will provide long-term savings for you and the planet. You start to take an active role in your own life and do things that are more meaningful and fulfilling. Instead of buying things you don’t need, you hold on to what you do have with more appreciation and gratitude. What’s truly important becomes so much more clear and you start to set boundaries accordingly. This alone can be a huge stress reliever.
Solar Water Heater and gardening.
Image by Vijaya narasimha from Pixabay
More Time Outdoors Reduces Stress
Nature is, in itself, one of the best ways to reduce stress. Spending more time outside is a big component of living an eco-friendly lifestyle. Soaking up the fresh air, feeling the warm sun on your face and taking in the sights and smells of the world around you is good for the soul and your nerves. While working on your garden, the hours cultivating will melt away stress and frustration. Not only will you get a huge energy boost just from being outside, but your mood will improve, and it just makes you feel good. Take time to walk more, drive less and soak up the natural beauty of the world around you. Enjoy your garden and the fish in a pond you created with your own hands. You will add years to your life by reducing your inner anxiety and stress.
Spend time in your garden to reduce stress.
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Can an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Reduce Stress through Downsizing?
When you make space for the things that are truly important in your life and get rid of everything else, it takes a huge weight off your shoulders. Clutter, no matter if it is physical or mental, contributes to stress. How often do you really use most of the clutter that’s in your house? Take time to go through your home with a want/need mentality and donate, recycle or pitch anything that isn’t truly important to your eco-friendly lifestyle. In art, negative space without any color or objects is part of an appealing design. Create some negative space in your home by getting rid of stuff you don’t need. You’ll find yourself much more relaxed and less anxious.
““We have to cultivate contentment with what we have. We really don’t need much. When you know this, the mind settles down. Cultivate generosity. Delight in giving. Learn to live lightly. In this way, we can begin to transform what is negative into what is positive. This is how we start to grow up.” – Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo”
An Eco-Friendly Lifestyle is Lighter on the Pocketbook
Financial worries are stressful. Stuff cost money. Home heating and cooling and buying groceries can be hard on the pocketbook. An eco-friendly lifestyle can cut costs a lot. Growing your own food reduces grocery costs. Solar heating and rain water collection can reduce utility bills. Not only are you reducing your impact on the planet but you are potentially lowering your monthly spending. By reducing your financial burden, a source of anxiety and stress is reduced.
[bctt tweet=”“Try to leave this world a little better than you found it, and when your turn comes to die you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best.” — Robert Baden-Powell” username=”TeresaCoppens”]
Can an eco-friendly lifestyle reduce stress? The answer is an resounding yes! Going green itself doesn’t have to be stressful. There are simple ways to start. In fact, these are just a few of the many ways that adopting an eco-friendly lifestyle can reduce your stress and improve your mental health. If you want to learn more about adopting an eco-friendly lifestyle read the following in my eco-friendly series:
I’m Teresa Coppens, science geek, book nerd, educator, coffee lovin’ mom with a coconut aversion. My entire family is crazy about science including my cats! I am passionate about the weird and unusual. Here in my cabinet of science curiosities get your science geek on. Grab a cup of your favorite brew, get comfortable at Science Alcove and learn to love your inner science geek!
