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      Vis Medicatrix naturae: does nature "minister to the mind"?

      review-article
      1 , , 2
      Biopsychosocial Medicine
      BioMed Central

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          Abstract

          The healing power of nature, vis medicatrix naturae, has traditionally been defined as an internal healing response designed to restore health. Almost a century ago, famed biologist Sir John Arthur Thomson provided an additional interpretation of the word nature within the context of vis medicatrix, defining it instead as the natural, non-built external environment. He maintained that the healing power of nature is also that associated with mindful contact with the animate and inanimate natural portions of the outdoor environment. A century on, excessive screen-based media consumption, so-called screen time, may be a driving force in masking awareness of the potential benefits of nature. With global environmental concerns, rapid urban expansion, and mental health disorders at crisis levels, diminished nature contact may not be without consequence to the health of the individual and the planet itself. In the context of emerging research, we will re-examine Sir J. Arthur Thomson's contention that the healing power of the nature-based environment - green space, forests and parks in particular - extends into the realm of mental health and vitality.

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          Most cited references67

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          Natural Versus Urban Scenes: Some Psychophysiological Effects

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            Coping with add: The Surprising Connection to Green Play Settings

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              Online communication, compulsive Internet use, and psychosocial well-being among adolescents: a longitudinal study.

              The present study investigated the relationships between adolescents' online communication and compulsive Internet use, depression, and loneliness. The study had a 2-wave longitudinal design with an interval of 6 months. The sample consisted of 663 students, 318 male and 345 female, ages 12 to 15 years. Questionnaires were administered in a classroom setting. The results showed that instant messenger use and chatting in chat rooms were positively related to compulsive Internet use 6 months later. Moreover, in agreement with the well-known HomeNet study (R. Kraut et al., 1998), instant messenger use was positively associated with depression 6 months later. Finally, loneliness was negatively related to instant messenger use 6 months later. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Biopsychosoc Med
                Biopsychosoc Med
                Biopsychosocial Medicine
                BioMed Central
                1751-0759
                2012
                3 April 2012
                : 6
                : 11
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Genuine Health, 775 East Blithedale Avenue, Suite 364, Mill Valley, CA 94941, USA
                [2 ]Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, 40 Crescent St., Suite 201, Waltham, MA 02453, USA
                Article
                1751-0759-6-11
                10.1186/1751-0759-6-11
                3353853
                22472137
                7290d337-9eab-473c-836e-2d060b9e4ada
                Copyright ©2012 Logan and Selhub; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 11 November 2011
                : 3 April 2012
                Categories
                Review

                Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry
                Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

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