Lake Life | 2023

THE BRANDON SUN • LAKE LIFE • SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2023 Nature as medicine

Time in nature, whether its golfing or going for a walk, is an important part of Gerry Friesen’s mental health tool- box. The former farmer says it’s important to get outside every day. “From my own personal experience, I’m often re- minded of the fact that I need to get outside for the fresh air, for the exercise and for the sunshine,” said Friesen, who is also the chief administrative officer of Manitoba Farmer Wellness, a non-profit organization that provides no-cost counselling to Manitoba farm families. Friesen uses light therapy in the winter – the practice of sitting in front of a light box that is designed to deliver a therapeutic dose of bright light to treat symptoms of

Friesen seems to under- stand what doctors are now beginning to believe — that time in the outdoors leads to increased feelings of calm- ness, increases production of the hormones that pro- mote feelings of happiness, restore the capacity for con- centration and attention and reduces symptoms of anxi- ety and depression, as well as irritability and feelings of isolation. As the world shakes off the last vestiges of a global pandemic and grapples with news of war in Europe while also navigating a cost of liv- ing crisis, it’s no surprise that more and more people find themselves more anxious than ever. » Continued on Page 21

A pair of Trumpeter Swans swim on a pond in Riding Mountain National Park on a rainy and misty morning. (File/The Brandon Sun)

seasonal affective disorder. There are many reasons that being outside can help people feel their best, Friesen says. “It’s a well-known fact that sunshine is the ultimate happy light, so that’s number

one. Number two is to feel that warmth. Number three, fresh air, without question. And number five, well, num- ber five is nature helps us get out and socialize with other people, and get out from in- side our own heads.”

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