Outcomes For Outdoor Adventure Education

How does interacting with nature effect brain physiology, facilitating improved stress responses and overall mental and physical health within wilderness and nature based therapy programs? How does stress help facilitate potential positive outcomes for outdoor adventure education and adventure therapy participants?
 
Understanding stress and how it effects overall health Stress arises as a transaction between person and environment, it begins as an imbalance between demand, either physical or psychological, and response capability under conditions where failure to meet demands has important consequences, likely resulting in a loss. Stress can bring out our best performance or it can cause people to crumple under pressure. Therefore an important factor in how an individual responds and performs under stressful conditions is their perception or interpretation and appraisal of the situation and their own emotional response. There have been debates among experts as to whether an individual initially reacts to stress emotionally or cognitively, however it’s commonly understood that too little or too much stress can be harmful especially over longer periods. The right amount of stress is motivating, while too much can cause physical and psychological problems. Excessive chronic stress can result in disability effecting physical, emotional and mental wellness.
 
Physical wellness Physical stresses manifest both internally and externally. External stress presents itself in injuries