How sending people plants could prevent the looming mental health crisis

With the long-term prospect of enforced physical distancing and limited social interaction due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the ensuing challenges it will pose to the mental health and wellbeing of populations, South Korea is sowing seeds of hope with a novel scheme: pet plants.

Last month the East Asian nation, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, announced it would offer thousands of free “pet plant kits” to people living in self-quarantine to help them battle depression and other mental health conditions caused, or worsened, by the global health crisis.

In the first batch of several planned, coralwood, an indigenous plant that in Korea is associated with bravery and is believed to have healing properties, will be offered to those suffering from mental strain during prolonged periods of isolation.

370,000 people have received psychological counseling for stress and anxiety since South Korea was hit by COVID-19 in late January

“Nature has inherent healing powers to help us relax, to make us less stressed and to help refresh our state of mind,” said Lee Yong Kwon, director of the forest education and healing division at the Korea Forest Service, which was involved in launching the project. “By bringing nature into people's homes, we believe it will improve their quality of life.”

The idea is that the pet plants will “ease the loneliness” felt by those in isolation, added Lee, particularly those living in densely-packed cities like the capital Seoul, where there are cramped apartments for the estimated 45,000 people living in each square mile. For South Korea’s elderly, among others, the plants will also provide “a daily responsibility and activity that can bring joy”.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, some 370,000 people have received psychological counselling for stress and anxiety since South Korea was hit by COVID-19 in late January.

Experts believe that the greenery project is on solid ground and could well take root as a success. “Especially in this COVID-19 situation, people are spending a lot more time indoors and in cities often have small homes or apartments,” said Melinda Knuth, who researched the health and wellbeing benefits of plants as part of a PhD at the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M University. “Depression and anxiety are likely to spring up more, and domestic suicide and violence are on the rise.”

According to Knuth, the introduction of plants into people’s homes has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression while improving concentration and creativity.

“It’s in part down to that basic physiological connection with nature,” she added. “But it also gives people something to concentrate on and keep active. It’s bringing the outdoors, indoors, and I think the project is going to be quite successful.”

A collaborative report published last month by the WWF and Mental Health Foundation further underlined the positive role that plants can play in improving mental health. “From forests and rivers, to parks and gardens, to window boxes or even house plants, we can find nature wherever we are,” said Will Baldwin-Cantello, chief adviser on forests for the WWF-UK and co-author of the report.

“Interacting with nature can be not just enjoyable, but also beneficial to our mental health and wellbeing, aspects of our health that are particularly important to look after.”

“Interacting with nature can be not just enjoyable, but also beneficial to our mental health and wellbeing"

In addition to the pet plant scheme, Lee said the government of South Korea has set up a Forest Healing Program for coronavirus first responders, allowing their families to stay overnight in green spaces around the country. There are also plans for the Ministry of Health of Welfare to create indoor gardens at hospitals that are treating COVID-19 patients.

Despite recently experiencing a second wave of infections, South Korea has largely managed to control the outbreak of the highly infectious respiratory disease through rigorous testing, aggressive contact tracing, social distancing and quarantine measures, limiting cases to 12,904 and deaths to 282, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control.

But last month the government unveiled a series of measures allowing people to restart some economic and social activities while maintaining physical distancing to slow the spread of the virus, meaning that loneliness and depression could persist. A two-week quarantine is still mandatory for anyone who may have been in physical contact with those confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus. – Peter Yeung

(Photo credit: Galina N/Unsplash)