I love to go on vacations. I love to fly. I am down for any road trip, I guess you can say that I love having my daily routine disrupted.

I especially love to go somewhere that the destination will allow me to be able to just relax and take in the “healing”. Yes, I am about “earthing”. I love to be able to rejuvenate.

My favorite healing places always seem to be where I can be close to nature. I call it my “Nature Therapy”.

I used to have anxiety so bad that even when I was sitting still, I felt like my skin was moving. My arms would feel like jelly. My heart would pound so hard I could hear it in my ears. I felt like my heart was pounding so hard that my whole body was moving. I would have such an ache in my shoulders. I’d try to control my breathing, but sometimes crying was the only way I could keep myself from hyperventilating.

When I started experiencing anxiety (again) to the point that I could not function, I reached out to a therapist. I was also put on Zoloft. Anyone that has ever taken an SSIR (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor), knows it doesn’t just work immediately. It takes time for it to build up in your system before it helps relieve that horrible anxiety feeling.

Seeing a therapist was helpful for me. I could talk about things that were building up and were causing my anxiety. I laughed when I saw a meme that said, “Somebody’s therapist knows all about you”, because it is a true statement. When you are in a position that you can’t share a lot with anyone and battling tug-o-war with ethical as well as some political concerns at the time, and not to mention, having my first-born son in the military, a therapist was a great outlet for settling the solicitude I was feeling.

During one of our sessions, she asked me to close my eyes and to imagine being somewhere that I consider my “happy place”.

Closing my eyes, I settled into my tranquil nature therapy place. In my mind I could hear the seagulls squawking in the distance, the sounds of the waves crashing onto the shore and rolling back out, I could feel the sun warming my skin and the sand between my toes. My breathing slowed and my body was so relaxed.

I have experienced this serene place so many times physically as well as in my head. It is truly my go-to place for relaxing and is my “nature therapy”.

Whenever deciding on vacation destinations, it is most of the time near or on a beach.

Although beach therapy has been my “therapy” of choice, I have found in the past few years that any “nature therapy” is good.  As we get older I think we learn to appreciate all nature and it’s beauty.

Recently, my husband and I have visited the mountains. Just a few steps outside of our vacation rental home, we were able to sit by the river in the Adirondack chairs that were strategically placed on flagstone. The air was so crisp, clean and fresh. The sounds of the trees rustling with the breeze and the loud but gentleness of the river rushing by with its relaxing rhythm bouncing off the rocks in the riverbed was mesmerizing. It truly was so relaxing and although we did not have any elk or other visitors while sitting out there taking in the beauty around us, we wouldn’t have been surprised if there would have been, as we know that there were mule deer and elk not too far from the house when driving out to it.

We also were able to walk around a lake and enjoyed the sounds of the frogs croaking so loud until they heard one of us talking and then it was complete quiet until they thought they were alone again. It was such a loud and amazing sound. We drove to a visitor’s center, and everyone was pointing, when you are in the mountains and everyone is pointing, it is a sure sign that there is some kind of wild animal sighting. There we saw a black bear running. It was the highlight of everyone at the visitor center, as we all used the facilities and then were looking at the trails, we would be greeted from other tourists from anywhere from Baltimore to California, all of us so excited about the bear sighting we had witnessed.  It was a wonderful and memorable “get away”.

Nature can be healing for the heart, spirit and the soul.

Sunsets, sunrises, and so much more.

Honestly, I am already looking forward to my next “nature therapy” trip.