Escaping the House When Sheltering in Place

If you live in the suburbs you have an advantage.

Social distancing and sheltering in place is hard. It’s stressful. Many have already stopped following official guidelines due to the immense stress that being alone can cause. Thankfully, there is relief that does not require you to go against your local laws.

Though the United States is in the process of reopening, many states still have statewide mandated shelter in place order. While the specifics of these orders differ from state to state, the vast majority of states include provisions to allow for outdoor exercise — provided you do not exercise in groups.

Some may choose to bike or walk through their neighborhood or city, this is perfectly fine and can be greatly beneficial to your mental state. Unfortunately for me, and undoubtedly others, the city is just more noise to be piled on top of the mountain of stress that staying at home all day every day creates.

I have always loved the forest. Simply visiting the woods fills me with awe and melts away my everyday stress. Clearly, I am not the only one to find the forest a balm for everyday stress. In Japan, one common method of relaxing is known as shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing.”

Forest bathing is not exactly exercising, nor is it merely sitting in a forest.

Forest bathing is allowing yourself to wander around without a specific goal or endpoint. You listen to your senses: you smell the trees and flowers; you feel the soil under your feet; you experience the wind blowing past you. Your only goal should be allowing yourself to become immersed in the beauty of nature and allowing the outside world to melt away.

Forest bathing is among the best de-stressing techniques I have used. I have the benefit of living about 20 minutes away from a county park filled with redwoods and gorgeous open areas, but unfortunately, not everyone lives near the forest. For those who don’t, there are still options to escape from the city or suburbs.

Hiking provides many obvious benefits. It is exercise, so it contributes toward keeping your body healthy, staying in shape and burning calories, but it has other benefits as well. It is not a cure-all, but for me, at least, it greatly reduces my depression. It can also, more reliably, improve your mood as well as reduce general anxiety.

Hiking also allows you, like forest bathing, to escape the city and explore nature. Although, unlike forest bathing, it allows you to set goals and plan a more structured outing which, for those who are task-oriented, can be easier to enjoy.

Thankfully, hiking is something almost everyone can do, unless you have no mode of transport to get to nature, or have no time off from work, you most likely can hike. It is more a question of whether you want to prioritize a trip to nature above other parts of your life.

Those of us who live in the suburbs have an inherent advantage. We tend to live closer to nature and don’t have to travel as far to get out of the city. Although many larger cites have sprawling city parks, they tend to be crowded, especially now that everyone is stuck at home. If your local county parks are still open, they are often comparatively empty.

Now, more than ever, in these times of immense stress, it is important to prioritize your own physical and mental health above things that do not matter. If you de-stress by doing things at home, that’s great, but perhaps try hiking or forest bathing instead to see if it can help more.

Note: Make sure to consult local guidelines for outdoor exercise before hiking or going to the forest, some ordinances require a face mask or have other requirements for going out to exercise.