There’s one medication that has no nasty side effects and for which you don’t need medical insurance: the outdoors. On October 5th, doctors in Shetland, Scotland were authorized to prescribe “nature” to assuage the symptoms of patients with ailments including high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, diabetes, stress, and heart disease.
The program comes with a leaflet outlining nature prescriptions by month. Suggestions include: “bury your face in the grass,” “notice every bird you see,” “create a rock sculpture on a beach,” and “feel the exhilaration of wind and rain on your face.” There are also location-specific suggestions, such as “walk the core path at Lunga water” and “take the coastal route to the Broch of Burraland.”
