I escaped from the big city lights of Johannesburg to the natural beauty of St Francis Bay about 5 years ago. I was rock bottom, overcome by addiction again, ready to take my own life, again. I came to this beautiful seaside hamlet, where my Mom lived, to heal, to re-connect and start again on my journey of recovery.
Every day I took my dogs for walks, exercised in the sand dunes, the nature trails, and the beach. Daily exposure and connection to nature became part of my daily recovery routine, part of my process as I like to call it.
Of course, this was only one facet of working recovery fearlessly and thoroughly, but for me and many others I know living recovery in St Francis Bay, connecting with nature has proved to be an incredibly valuable tool in empowering me to manage my addiction and maintain a good quality of life sobriety.
Upon reflection, I’ve found that it has significantly served me in the following important aspects of my life:
Stress reduction
By connecting with nature, the ocean and a quieter way of being, I found my stress levels reducing almost immediately and then incrementally over time through continuous exposure. It is widely known that stress is a significant contributor to addiction, and studies have shown that being in nature can lower stress levels, leading to reduced cravings and improved mental health.
I can certainly testify to this.
Improved mood
With reduced stress levels I could feel the positive impact nature was having on my mental health, my general mood improved and did not fluctuate as frequently, my anxiety diminished as well as my depression symptoms.
Increased physical activity
By being out in nature as part of my daily routine, I was naturally engaging in increased physical activity… hiking with my dogs, swimming in the ocean, paddling on the Kromme River, running on the beach, playing golf, surfing …by adopting a healthier, active and more connected lifestyle, it absolutely amazes me every day the degree to which this connection has diminished my cravings to mostly non-existent.
Encourages mindfulness
Immersing myself into natural environments stimulated a more mindful state, the serenity and awe of nature’s power made me increasingly aware of my thoughts and emotions. Together with other important tools acquired through the 12 step program, connecting to nature and physical activity helped me to effectively manage my emotions which had always been such an incredibly difficult character defect to overcome.
Overall, I’d say that connecting with nature became part of my holistic approach to managing my disease by addressing both physical and emotional aspects of my condition.
Self belief
With all these benefits of my improved condition, I was able to start believing in myself again, I began to dream again. It was out in nature one day, hiking the seaside Two Harbour’s Walk with my dogs, where I first thought about opening an addiction treatment center or rehab as it is colloquially known.
4 years ago, staring at the ocean, I dreamed of being able to give others a chance to start again the way I did, with the benefit of everything that the beautiful ocean and the seaside nature of St Francis Bay has to offer.
I am incredibly proud to be writing about this for the launch of Ocean Bay Recovery, a means by which I pay forward what I was afforded in St Francis Bay to all our clients receiving the benefits of this most natural form of therapy.
And to those who say that recovery can’t be fun? I’ve just proved it can.
