A Bit of Outside Help: Nature-Based Support for Grief

Vocabulary and key concepts from Ruth Allen's article on the physiological impacts of grief and the restorative benefits of nature-based support.

Ruth Allen

An outdoor psychotherapist and author of "Weathering: How the Earth’s deep wisdom can help us endure life’s storms."

Mary-Frances O’Connor

A grief researcher who explains that profound loss requires the brain to rewire pathways and predictions from a loved one’s presence to their absence.

Physiological effects of grief

Increases in heart rate and blood pressure, a flood of stress hormones, and an increased risk for infections, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Physiological benefits of nature

Connecting with nature lowers blood pressure and stress hormone production, reduces inflammation, and decreases the risk of heart disease.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

A psychiatrist who famously formulated the idea that grief progresses in stages towards an endpoint.

UK Commission on Bereavement

An organization that produced a $2022$ report highlighting the need for better grief support at home, in schools, and in the workplace.

Linear stages of grief

A concept that suggests grief moves through steps toward an endpoint, which the author argues exerts undue pressure on individuals to "move on."

Circularity of grief

The reality that grief moves in cycles rather than a straight line and is never truly "done."

Nature-based support

An intuitive pairing for grieving people that uses green sanctuary spaces and social projects to provide a restorative and non-judgmental environment.

Outdoor psychotherapy

A therapeutic practice that uses the shifting landscape and sensory experiences of nature to promote mindfulness and help griever's anchor themselves.