Mental Health Issues And Levels Of Participation - 1725 Words

Living in a state of positive, stable mental health benefits individuals in all areas of life. Attaining a positive state of mental health seems simple enough, but can be difficult when juggling many different responsibilities and leading a busy life. As the modern world becomes more and more reliant on technology, and an increasing number of occupations require employees to sit at a desk for long hours, there is a need to remedy the stress that is associated with these â€Å"desk jobs.† This report addresses the connection between mental health issues and levels of participation in outdoor recreation, and after presenting relevant data, gives options for dealing with the aforementioned problems. After multiple surveys were administered at†¦show more content†¦Research has shown that, when communities with â€Å"low recreation supply and demand, and high proportions of overweight and obese people† are provided with new outdoor recreation venues close to home, t he amount in which those citizens recreate outdoors increases. If local governments can identify these areas and build parks or trails and designate open space near them, it should increase the demand for outdoor recreation venues as a result of increasing the supply (Rosenberger, Bergerson, and Kline, 2009). This in turn creates a free mental health treatment options for members of these low-income communities. The purpose of this empirical report is to evaluate the relationship between individuals’ frequency of participation in outdoor recreation and the amount in which people struggle with negative mental health issues. The information provided will be used for improvements to public park and open space designation policy by parks, mountain, and open space departments at the local, state and federal levels, as well as academic institutions. This will be accomplished by presenting evidence of the mental health benefits obtained by students and members of the general population as a result of participation in outdoor recreation. This report is determines whether or not people who regularly participate in outdoor recreation