A national park is urging people to spend time in nature to help manage anxiety.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and the South Downs National Park is encouraging people to spend time there to ease stress.

Anxiety is something most people will experience in their lives and is a normal human emotion.

But sometimes feelings of intense worry can get out of control and escalate into something bigger.

Kate Drake, the park’s health and wellbeing officer, has some ideas for experiencing nature that can help boost your mood.

The national park is continuing with its health and wellbeing strategy which was launched three years ago and aims to connect more people with the South Downs as a “natural health service”.

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Kate said: “Anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues and is a natural human response when we feel that we are under threat – almost like our own internal ‘alarm’ system.

“I want to offer some simple tips that are no by means a ‘cure’ for anxiety, but incorporating more nature connectedness into your day-to-day routine can certainly do wonders for your mental health, wellbeing and general mood.

"Exciting research is going on all the time, but we know that having the sensory experience of being in nature is deeply soothing for the mind and can give it a chance to rest and reset.”

Kate’s five "pathways to nature connectedness" are:

1.     Senses - Tune into nature through your senses. 

  • Go into your garden or local park and listen to the sound of birds.
  • Listen to the sound of the sea or the trickling of a stream.
  • Take a stroll through a green space and notice what you can see, hear, smell and touch (taste may be a bit more difficult!) Focus only on the present moment, not the past or future (phone on silent and in your pocket can help)

2. Emotion - Feel alive through the emotions and feelings nature brings.

  • Forest bathe – spend an hour or so in peaceful woodland and notice how your sense of urgency diminishes and calmness develops. Did you know that almost 25 per cent of the National Park is covered by woodland?

3. Beauty - Notice nature’s beauty.

  • Head to a stunning location and soak up the picturesque views, such as St Catherine’s Hill, Butser Hill, Devil’s Dyke, Kingley Vale or Ditchling Beacon.

4.  Meaning - Nature brings meaning to our lives.

  • Keep a nature diary and jot down things you see and how you feel.
  • Take photographs of wildlife and frame your best ones to display proudly in your home or as gifts for friends and family

5. Compassion - By caring and taking action for nature supports the natural world too.

  • Help wildlife by planting wildflowers, keeping a “wilder” area of your garden, or creating a mini-pond in your garden.
  • Help the environment by recycling, buying local where possible and using less water.