What Is A Mental Health Retreat?

A mental health retreat typically uses complementary and alternative therapies within a holistic residential setting. The principal purpose is to improve a person’s well-being through the stay. “Wellness retreats” and “wellness tourism” are basically the same thing with just a different name to call it.

The concept of it is so diverse that it can be for any amount of time in any way that allows you to focus on your well-being. A quick retreat in the city might be an evening at a spa that allows deep rest through a hot tub or massage. A more extensive retreat might be for a few days or more at a remote location in nature where they offer extensive programs that help enhance the wellness experience.

Besides, getting away for a while is proven to relieve stress in itself.

How Effective Is a Mental Health Retreat?

A study in 2017 looked at participants who went on a one-week retreat to measure the effectiveness of a retreat. The retreat included aromatherapy, health measures, mental health-related questionnaires, and various tests to measure a person’s well-being.

Results showed significant improvement in a person’s wellbeing after a one-week retreat and the positive effects sustained for 6 weeks. As for physical benefits, it reduced weight, abdominal circumference, improved blood pressure, and sleep quality. There were significantly improved results in the depression anxiety stress scale and mood state tests as well.

This means that a mental health retreat can refresh a person enough to get them through for a while after they return.

3 Elements to Enhance A Mental Health Retreat

Here are 3 elements to look out for when you consider planning for a mental health retreat. If it’s difficult to afford (time and money-wise) a full getaway right now, you can still incorporate these elements in your life in small ways to mimic a mini-retreat within your everyday life.

Connect With Nature

Nature heals, soothes, and restores our wellbeing. Being in nature or just even viewing an image of nature reduces anger, fear, and stress while increasing pleasant feelings.

Just a 40-minute walk in the forest improves mood and feelings of health and robustness. Exposure to nature contributes to better physical wellbeing, boosts immune function, improves creativity, reduces blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and production of stress hormones. 

Pick a mental health retreat that allows you to indulge in nature or go for a short walk in nature. Go barefoot and feel the ground or dip your feet in the ocean. Even if it’s for a short period, simple direct engagements with nature can help recharge your mind and body.

Greening your office space can also help make you feel relaxed. Perhaps you can create a little mental health retreat in the corner of your room with plants for a relaxing effect.

A Healthy Diet

Our health is affected by what we eat. It’s not only physical, it can affect us mentally too. Science suggests that a plant-based diet rich in vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and healthy proteins lowers the risk of weight gain and chronic disease. 

There are retreat programs that provide healthy meals that help with dietary choices and eating habits. Eating healthy meals for a certain duration will give us a push in a healthier direction.

If a mental health retreat is difficult, you can go on a healthy diet for a few days to self-activate a reset.

You can find more on how healthy diets affects our wellbeing in our past blog post.

Hydrotherapy – Soak Yourself in Water

Did you know that soaking in water is beneficial for your health and wellbeing? Using water as therapeutic treatment is called hydrotherapy, water therapy, aquatic therapy, pool therapy, or balneotherapy.

According to scientific evidence, hydrotherapy improves immunity, management of pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, asthma, anorectal disorders, mood, fatigue, anxiety, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, hyperthermia, labor, etc.

The different effects on various systems of the body depend on the temperature of water and water quality.

Find a spa nearby for a mental health retreat experience or simply fill up your tub at home. If you like nature, perhaps an environment where you can swim in the ocean or lake would be nice. Hot-spring water can enhance health benefits with its mineral components in the water.

A Mental Health Retreat for a Relaxing Time-Off

Stress can build up no matter what kind of environment we’re in. It’s important to notice the signs and take time off when you feel strained. Sometimes a little getaway through a retreat is all we need to come back more energized. Plan ahead and make sure to schedule time off for your mental health!

References:

Association of Nature and Forest. (n.d.). Forest Bathing is an Evidence-based wellness practice. Https://Www.Natureandforesttherapy.Org/about/Science. Retrieved July 26, 2021, from https://www.natureandforesttherapy.org/about/science


Cohen, M. M., Elliott, F., Oates, L., Schembri, A., & Mantri, N. (2017). Do Wellness Tourists Get Well? An Observational Study of Multiple Dimensions of Health and Well-Being After a Week-Long Retreat. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 23(2), 140–148. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2016.0268


Harvard Health. (2017, June 5). Harvard researchers continue to support their healthy eating plate. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/harvard-researchers-launch-healthy-eating-plate


Mooventhan, A., & Nivethitha, L. (2014). Scientific evidence-based effects of hydrotherapy on various systems of the body. North American Journal of Medical Sciences, 6(5), 199. https://doi.org/10.4103/1947-2714.132935



University of Minnesota. (n.d.). How Does Nature Impact Our Wellbeing? Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing. Retrieved July 26, 2021, from https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-does-nature-impact-our-wellbeing

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Inside every sophisticated grown-up adult is a little kid just dying to get out.

Walt disney

Many people feel excited and uplifted when they come upon a new place, or a landscape they’ve never seen before. In today’s stressful society, mental health is becoming increasingly important, and according to recent research, traveling may reduce stress, help prevent disease, and improve health.

How is Traveling Related to Mental Health?

With the current pandemic forcing people to cut back on travel, some may feel deprived of methods to relieve stress due to their inability to go out. For some of us, traveling has been a way to relieve daily fatigue and stress. In general, popular travel attractions such as sports activities and relaxing spas, are considered healthy activities.

Despite the occasional negatives like bad weather, unexpected accidents, or sub-par customer service, we believe that most experiences we gained from traveling are positive. This is because we feel relieved from everyday life, get the opportunity to enjoy our hobbies, and experience freedom, all while having an extraordinary time. Yes, these are all the positive pleasures of travel, but is there actually any scientific evidence that traveling is good for us?

The Benefits of Chromogranin A

One case study tested human saliva to verify the stress-reducing effects of traveling by measuring the participants’ stress levels before, during, and after a trip. The human body secretes a hormone called “cortisol” when under stress, and conversely, a protein called “chromogranin A” is secreted when we are in a good mood. When these two substances were investigated throughout a three-day travel tour, the levels of cortisol decreased during the trip compared to before the trip, while the levels of chromogranin A increased dramatically during the trip. In particular, there were significant effects on people with low stressors on a daily basis, which suggests that travel was an effective way for them to feel refreshed. In addition, for those who felt high-stress loads, there was no significant effect, which suggests a re-evaluation of duration, location, and method for their future travels.

Planning A Trip Improves Mental Health

While traveling itself is of course beneficial, the excitement of planning helps relieve stress as well. Stress can be relieved through the build-up of excitement, curiosity, and adventure. We’re filled with anticipation when we search about the local scenery, foods, sights, or accommodations. If the planning itself feels too stressful, we can always opt for a group tour where everything is pre-planned and packaged together for us to save time.

Creating a plan we look forward to, will make our daily life more exciting! It will serve as motivation for our daily work or studies. The same can be said for events that we are excited about, not just trips.

Travel Experiences are Priceless

When we travel to unfamiliar destinations, we are bound to encounter a few unexpected events. If things don’t go as planned or problems arise, the hardships we face to think for ourselves and resolve situations will become an invaluable experience in life. Another positive we gain from traveling is learning new things and getting to know new people with different values. As our daily routines become more and more monotonous, we get used to our own lifestyles, which ends up narrowing our perspectives and values. When this happens, we can get frustrated about feeling stuck in a pigeonhole, ultimately leading to a build-up of stress. Enjoying a time of openness and exposure to new values can relieve the vast, unexplainable stress you feel every day.

Mental Health Care Through Wellness Tourism

The term “wellness tourism” or “health tourism,” is used to describe a medically-based approach to tourism that restores, maintains, and promotes health and wellness. In recent years, its effects are highly anticipated in terms of improving mental health.
The term “wellness tourism” has been defined in different ways, albeit with slightly differing terminology:

Wellness tourism [is] all travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing.

Global Wellness Institute

Leisure, recreational and educational activities removed from the distractions of work and home that use tourism products and services that are designed to promote and enable customers to improve and maintain their health and well-being.

Pollock & Williams (2000)

Wellness tourism is the sum of all relationships and phenomena resulting from a change of location and residence by people in order to preserve or promote their health.

Müller & Kaufmann (2001)

Wellness tourism has many potential benefits for mental health. Tourism for the purpose of physical and mental health are quickly gaining popularity across the world. These tours include programs such as:

・Physical activity (Healing through the use of hiking, climbing, pilates, yoga, etc.)
・Natuopathy (Meditations and/or massages that are held in nature)
・Dietary therapy (Healthy dietary menus and/or homeopathic medicines)

However, the scientific evidence on whether wellness tourism is effective in relieving stress and improving mental health is yet to be proven. More research is expected to be conducted in the future. One thing for sure is that the positive health benefits of travel can surely bring a smile to many people’s faces. Seeking healing away from the confines of daily life may become an essential element for the stress-filled people of today’s society.

Image：Unsplash
References：

Makino, H., Toda, M., Kobayashi, H., & Morimoto, K. (2008). The effect of stress relief which is caused by traveling. Japan Institute of Tourism Research, 19(2), 9-18. doi: 10.18979/jitr.19.2_9

Müller, H., & Kaufmann, E.L. (2001). Wellness tourism: Market analysis of a special health tourism segment and implications for the hotel industry. Journal of vacation marketing, 7(1), 5-17. doi: 10.1177/135676670100700101

Ohashi, S. (2018). Development of Wellness Tourism : A New Trend in Modern Tourism. Wakayama University Association for Tourism Studies, 18, 107-117.

Pollock, A., & Williams, P. (2000). Health tourism trends: closing the gap between health care and tourism. Trends in outdoor recreation, leisure and tourism., 165-173.

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