A psychiatrist watches birds during the COVID-19 pandemic: observations, introspections, interpretations

Abstract

Introduction: Nature-based therapeutic interventions are an increasingly researched form of psychological and psychiatric help incorporated in the clinical practice. Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was conducted via social media and email to ask psychiatrists working in Poland whether contact with nature, wild bird watching in particular, contributes to their mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic-related isolation as well as which bird species they have spotted. Results: Contact with nature, bird watching in particular, had many positive effects on the well-being of doctors during the epidemic. It met the basic needs, such as the need for security and a relationship with the good, permanent and accessible world of nature, which allowed for stabilization of mental well-being. It was found that the notions of freedom associated with birds allow for the mental experience of relativizing limitations and restrictions during isolation. This has become a part of recently increasingly investigated and discussed trend, which assumes that contact with nature, birds in particular, is of great positive importance for mental health. The respondents spotted a total of 22 bird species.