Well, this one is a tough one. Not the joy part–the “one thing” part. I treat joy like a full-time job. Overindulgent? I don’t think so.

I was struggling through the worst symptoms of Endometriosis when I caved and went the hormone route. Before then, I was reading book after book on my illness and natural pain management to learn to live. Living is hard when you’re in constant pain with overwhelming fatigue.

In Beating Endo, the authors taught me about managing my pain through managing my neurobiology. I spoke about this in depth in my post about how to cure burnout. Another message that really stuck with me was to try everything at once. Endometriosis is an inflammatory illness, as is depression. There are many ways to reduce inflammation through diet, exercise, sleep, exposure to allergens and pollution, heat, supplements–the list goes on.

Previously, I used the scientific method for problems in my life. If I chose to try to fix something at all angles, how would I know which thing worked, and which was a waste of time?

The authors of Beating Endo gave me permission to focus on a swift outcome–feeling better–rather than scientific discovery. The worst case scenario with this method is you feel good but you don’t know why. Every choice is good for whole-body health, so you’re not setting yourself back. If you run out of a supplement or break a good habit and continue to feel fine, you know that specific variable may contribute to overall health but may not necessarily impact pain symptoms.

Applying this method to joy

Endometriosis is a hell of an illness–people who suffer with endo go through extremes to rid themselves of the symptoms, from a hysterectomy at 31 to suicide.

You know what’s also a hell of an illness–a leading cause of rash decisions and low quality of life? Anxiety and depression, both of which I’ve suffered from throughout my life, as did the women in my family before me. My life is better when I’m okay. My relationships are better and their lives are better, too. I stay ahead of potential depressive episodes by attacking it from all angles–dopamine decor, self care, dopamine dressing, ritual, avoiding social media, making art, building community, practicing gratitude–the list goes on.

The one I want to expand on today is gardening.

Gardening for Joy

Gardening offers so much. The benefits include:

• exposure to nature which has been shown to increase in attention, cognition skills, empathy, and mood while decreasing stress and risk of psychiatric disorders
• cut depression risk by 23% (without being part of the ecological disaster that is golf, another recommended activity in that article)
• an antedote to perfectionism: you can’t control nature, so you must learn to have serenity with what you can’t control
• increasing biodiversity of plant species leads to an increase in species throughout the food chain, repairing the ecology
• sequester carbon: to help save the world from overheating
• remove invasive species
• personal agency: make a small dent in the future through a contribution to nature
• creativity: making something from nothing is gratifying
• physical activity
• sunlight: thought to increase serotonin levels
• Vitamin D: a deficiency of which contributes to a variety of negative symptoms in both physical and mental health
• caregiving: an act that reduces depression (outside of caregiver burnout, of course). Much like caring for a puppy or a child, it feels good, natural to nurture life, including plant life
• social interaction
• a sense of belonging, community as you greet passing neighbors and those neighbors become familiar
• connection to our ancestors: “We live with our evolutionary past, or rather it lives through us,” Dr. Stuart-Smith writes.
• support your skin microbiome: dirt is abundant with microbes
• Mycobacterium vaccae: a soil-dwelling microbe that reduces inflammation and anxiety
• better soil: biodiversity goes both ways, not just up the food chain, but down to the soil, when you increase the variety of plant species
• slow down: the opportunity to take in stimuli at the speed in which nature intended, rather than the hyper speed Disneyworld of sensory information we receive in our tech-focused society
• being present: a mindfulness technique you may struggle with during other tasks more quickly becomes second nature
• a form of meditation
• silence and solitude: contributions to mental and physical health alike
• meaning and purpose
• reflection: mindfulness, caring, silence and solitude lend to opportunities for introspection. There’s a reason why there are so many metaphors rooted in gardening: thinking about plant life gives you the opportunity to reflect on the commonalities shared between all forms of life.
• organic, healthy food: if you’re growing produce
• live longer

Need I say more?

When I embarked on an attempt to break down the benefits of gardening, I knew there were many, but didn’t realize the extent. After fulfilling the research required for the links provided above, I don’t think there is an activity more beneficial for human life. On a more spiritual/evolutionary history level, I believe homo sapiens were quite literally built for being stewards of the land. Fulfilling the task we were made for, rather than a simulation, feels natural.