Imagine falling deep into an abyss, a place you've never been. You fall deep enough to hear the voices of others. You reach out for a torch, turn it on and see people all around you drowning in the dark. You reach out with a light, take their hands and pull them beyond darkness to where light shines all day. First they are blinded, you comfort them, then once they focus on that light and see its joy and beauty, they are released.I have never personally suffered from mental health issues, but have been in some dark places long enough to notice it, deal with it and help others embrace life beyond it. 25 years of working in the healthcare industry has taught me that there are many forms of mental health suffering, whether it be disease based or onset from trauma, and treatment is under the care of professional health care workers through medicines and counseling. However in recent years photography has opened my eyes to see things differently.
My huge passion for travel and outdoor photography has given me the possibility to share the skills I've learnt with other photography enthusiasts via social media, forums, podcasts and even with workshop clients and friends alike. One thing that I have noticed is that there is a common pattern with many of us passionate outdoor photography enthusiasts with regards to mental health. Landscape photography is a huge magnet for people that suffer with mental health problems of all sorts that seek this passion as an outlet or cure to heal their mental health problems.
“Seeing a workshop client on day 1 with his/her invisible barrier up, not letting me inside, until day 2 reveals itself. We share a moment together, begin to see and on day 3 a tear or laugh reveals itself and you now know you've done your job. A podcast host releases their deepest thoughts about healing a trauma through taking photographs, or a recovering alcoholic opens up on social media”. It's a very common pattern I am sure a lot of you have observed too.
Is it the peace and tranquility in the landscape that numbs that pain or is it the creative stimulus within the art of photography that is the synapse within that neuron that turns that suffering into joy? Or both?
A new survey from APA finds about half (46%) of Americans use creative activities to relieve stress or anxiety, such as playing the piano, crocheting a blanket, dancing with friends or solving crossword puzzles. Americans who rate their mental health as very good or excellent tend to engage in creative activities more frequently than those who rate their mental health as fair or poor.
Another study titled “Creativity in the Wild: Improving Creative Reasoning Through Immersion in Natural Settings" showed how nature affects creativity.
Atchley RA, Strayer DL, Atchley P. Creativity in the wild: improving creative reasoning through immersion in natural settings. PLoS One. 2012;7(12):e51474. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0051474
A group of hikers who spent four days immersed in nature and disconnected from technological devices increased performance on a creativity/problem solving task by 50%
Since collaborating with my close friend Paul Thomson on various photography projects, Paul has been very open about how he suffers from depression and how his daily struggle to fight the battle is treated with the help of outdoor photography. Due to his personal experience and my observations over the years, Paul and I are very sensitive about the topic and both would love to do more to tap into this disease and use our experiences as ways of helping others. Not only are our workshops that we do together are ways of learning photograpy, discoverying new parts of the world and learning new cultures, but we have the opportunity to use them as a tool to focus on the individual who asks for help.
Not only do I feel personally obliged to help people see the light through darkness with the gift of photography, but I would like the global community itself to be more aware of the topic and when you see it amongst other friends or photographers, reach out….it's more common than you think and you can help.
