How beekeeping therapy can help you fight stress and anxiety

But this isn’t the only way bees help humans; they can also aid them with mental health issues like stress, anxiety and depression. Specialists call it beekeeping therapy because it has similar effects to other forms of therapy designed to alleviate mental health conditions. One group of patients is getting the most from this kind of therapy, military veterans. Many people suffer from mental health problems such as PTSD and stress after they leave the military because of their war experiences. They often find it challenging to create a productive life after they leave the military. Depression, stress, and PTSD can affect military veterans, and the only way to treat these conditions is to engage in therapy. Reports show that beekeeping can calm their minds and help them process the problems they have. This recreational activity helps them think about something different; they’re just thinking about the bees and how they can care for them.

People experiencing mental health issues like anxiety, depression, or stress feel like uncontrolled and unwanted thoughts torment their mind, and they need something to clear them out. The buzzing of the bees can replace the negative thoughts with something else.

Let’s take a deeper look at how beekeeping therapy can improve mental health.

Beekeeping can reduce stress and anxiety

If you suffer from stress or anxiety, beekeeping can be very helpful for you. Studies show that people find a sense of peace when they care for the bees. The people who deal with mental health issues say that they experience a sense of calm that allows them to focus on positive thoughts instead of the unwanted ones they experience because of their stress or anxiety.

Even if it may sound strange for some, many people think that the buzzing sound of bees can clear their minds from other thoughts. Beekeepers state that they experience a sense of comfort when they’re around the bees that allow them to escape the day-to-day reality.

In time, the more you learn about beekeeping and practice it, the more it will grow on you and keep your mind occupied. Harvard Health documented the benefits watching nature has on the human brain. It seems that when people are in nature for longer periods, they show less activity in the prefrontal cortex, the area in the brain that triggers negative emotions.

Beekeeping gets you outside

As mentioned before, spending time outdoors watching nature is beneficial for your mental health. Beekeeping is an outdoor hobby that gets you out of the house and in nature where the bees live. Even if you keep their hives in your backyard, you still get outside the house and expose yourself to sun rays. The sun is very important for your mental health because it encourages your body to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with wellbeing and mood. When you’re growing bees, you need to place their hives in a space with plenty of plants nearby because they love to stay active and pollinate. So besides caring for the bees, you also need to care for your garden, which is another activity that gets you outside the house.

Beekeeping and gardening go hand in hand because it’s common for people who take care of bees also to grow their own flowers and crops to provide the bees with the needed food to produce honey. Beekeeping is a recreational activity that gets you outside in nature, where you’re surrounded by greenery and flowers. This activity alone can lower your anxiety levels and relax you.

No matter your age, you can become a beekeeper because it requires skills you can easily learn. And don’t be worried about money because it’s an investment that repays. You can also purchase the necessary tools and equipment at affordable prices if you buy them from an online directory like Direct Bees that specialises in beekeeping supplies. Besides selling honey and beeswax, you can also sell some of the bees if you find it challenging to care for too many hives.

Beekeeping helps you take your mind of the things that stress you out

Having the bees buzzing around your head is more than enough to distract you from the negative and annoying thoughts you may have. Beekeeping is a productive hobby that requires plenty of attention and time, which is great for helping you deal with stress and anxiety.

Also, we should not forget about the benefits of watching nature. It’s very therapeutic to see the bees at work in your garden. You can even travel with the hives and get your bees closer to lands of sunflower or other plants they can pollinate and produce honey. Bee tourism is a trend. Even if you’re not actively handling bees daily, simply observing them can keep you fascinated for hours.

Beekeeping is a hobby like many other ones, but you can use it as a method to let loose, relax, and fight mental health issues like stress, anxiety and depression. Therefore, if you have considered it before, you should give it a try.

Beekeeping offers you a sense of accomplishment

Becoming a beekeeper can be a rewarding experience. From buying your first bees to purchasing supplies and creating a place where they feel comfortable, it’s a journey that brings you joy. It takes a couple of months to establish a colony and start harvesting honey and beeswax, but during the process, you’ll feel enthusiastic seeing the bees how they fly healthily around. The process of accomplishing something can help you fight stress because it keeps your mind and hands busy.

Beekeeping offers both short and long-term goals because you can watch something grow under your eyes. Setting the hives and harvesting honey takes time, but seeing your hard work pay off can feel very accomplishing. And let’s not forget that with every new hive you add to your colony, you encourage the population of bees to grow and prevent the planet’s decline.

Cynthia Madison is a young blogger and economics and marketing graduate. She writes about home, lifestyle and family topics and is a senior contributor to popular niche publications.