Alert reader Rachel sent along a couple links in UK-based publications about the relationship between walking in the country and improving one’s mood.

The study by the University of Essex compared the benefits of a 30-minute walk in a country park with a walk in an indoor shopping centre on a group of 20 members of local Mind associations.

After the country walk, 71% reported decreased levels of depression and said they felt less tense while 90% reported increased self-esteem.

This was in contrast to only 45% who experienced a decrease in depression after the shopping centre walk, after which 22% said they actually felt more depressed. Some 50% also felt more tense and 44% said their self-esteem had dropped after window-shopping at the centre.

Wow, and here I’d thought shopping was good for me. The other link from the BBC discusses rising use of antidepressants and mentions alternate therapies:

In the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium and Slovenia, patients with depression are prescribed agricultural work.

Holland has 600 care farms that are part of the health service compared with 43 in the UK none of which are aimed at mental health.

I will say this: the idea of other people working on farms improves my mood.