The Mind Garden: Tending To Our Mental Health - Choosing What to Grow

In this series, avid amateur gardener and qualified Mental Health First Aider, Leif Radford (Data and Tech Recruitment Director) hopes to make looking after your mental wellbeing more accessible by combining two topics he’s passionate about, Mental Health and Gardening.

Leif Radford -Data and Tech Recruitment Director at The Candidate

Choosing what to plant in your garden can be a fun and exciting process, but it can also be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start – just like looking after your mental health.

Here are some factors to consider when deciding what to plant in your mind garden:

1. Growing conditions: Plants are adapted to different soil types, levels of sunlight, temperature, and water conditions. When you plant a species that is well-suited to the conditions in your garden, it will be more likely to thrive and grow healthily. Likewise, if we focus on cultivating mental wellbeing practices that suit our own specific circumstances, they’re more likely to flourish.

An example of this could be choosing activities that you can do alone if you are a more introverted person, such as mindfulness or breathing exercises. Alternatively if you’re more extroverted, a sports team or club could be a good way to clear your mind, build a sense of community and get an endorphin rush.

Ultimately, you wouldn’t plant a cactus in a pond and expect it to work, so don’t try and force yourself to do something if it doesn’t work for your specific circumstances.

2. Purpose and goals: Think about the purpose of your garden and what you hope to achieve with it. Are you looking to grow your own food, create a beautiful landscape, or attract wildlife to your yard? Your goals can help guide your plant selection. In the same way, thinking about what we want to change or develop with regards to our mental health can help us work out how to do so. For example, if you’re looking clear some space in your mind and worry less, then practising CBT can be an effective way of managing this symptom of anxiety. Alternatively, if you want to become more in touch with your feelings, investing time in to journalling could help work towards this. Start with what you want to achieve, and then find activities that work towards this specifical goal.

3. Maintenance requirements: Consider how much time and effort you are willing to put into maintaining your garden. Some plants require more care and attention than others, so it's important to choose plants that fit your lifestyle and level of commitment.

If you lead a busy work life and then have family commitments when you get home, it’s sometimes difficult to try and squeeze in an hour of quiet yoga. Instead, could you use your commute time to practice mindfulness, which is low profile and can be done pretty much anywhere – such as on a tram ride home. Set yourself achievable goals that fit around your schedule, and that you have enough time to dedicate to.

Whether its choosing activities aligned with our personality traits, setting goals to guide our mental health journey, or considering the time and effort we can realistically commit to, a mindful and personalised approach is key. Just as a well-tended garden thrives and blossoms, our mental health can flourish when we cultivate practices and strategies that align with our specific circumstances and goals. So let's embrace the idea of the mind garden and nurture our mental wellbeing with care and intention.

Thank you Leif! Make sure you check back soon for episode 2!

Take a look at all of our live jobs!

Check out our latest opportunities in:

You can also read our latest blogs on industry news and advice!