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What you you think about nudism as a mental health therapy tool?
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Yep. Totally. Absolutely!
I am reading a GREAT BOOK called Hooked!, about how Buddhist values can be an antidote to the consumerism plaguing the Western world, especially in regards to greed, desire and the urge to consume.
The more I read this, the more I see how Buddhism and nudism promote non-attachment and letting go of the "self" and all of it's false images. Both encourage a minimalist lifestyle, and support the belief that goods (ie: clothes and stuff) do not bring happiness, but instead a sense of community is what's important.
When you are a nudist, or a buddhist, what's important is the person, not what they have, or what they do for a living. This is very similar to the precepts of buddhism. As well, there is increadible mental-health benefits from the relaxation that nudism brings. A relaxed mind is a healthy mind. -
quote:Originally posted by nacktman:
What you you think about nudism as a mental health therapy tool?
I suppose it would depend on what you are trying to achieve in the capacity of mental health therapy. What immediately comes to mind is a potential increase of self-esteem as a result of viewing one's own physical attributes in a more positive or accepting form and light rather than a negative viewpoint.Comment
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I believe related therapies have been tried and been found successful for treating things like social phobias, body dysmorphic syndrome and related issues like bulemia and anorexia nervosa. I can see the value in those approaches.
I think I would be cautious to try nudism as a primary therapy for schizophrenia....although ironicly a certain amount of people with schizophrenia and other delusional disorders are sometimes found wandering naked in the street.....hmm.
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Even though that was not my primary goal, I found that nudism was instrumental in fighting my anxiety disorder. Agoraphobia, panic attacks; I've experienced all of those. What nudism did was make me confront my fears face to face. I did have a panic attack at my first social nudist experience, which almost sent me running off the beach. But I decided to face the situation and work with it. And my healing process began at that point.Comment
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Weelll, I've had 'stage fright' since I was 6. Had to sing "Easter Parade" at school. Teacher harped on not getting stage fright for 4 weeks. I had never even heard of it. Anyway, I clammed up when I found that ALL the people were staring at ME, ONLY!
Now, on occasion, I find myself all ALONE, on stage doing Karaoke. I would never try that with clothes on!!
The family atmosphere at WTP is directly responsible for this deplorable state of affairs!!!
No matter how I badly I botch a song, nobody laughs AT me, and everybody is full of encouragment. Remember, none of us make a living at singing. It's like doing it in front of close family members only. Which is the atmosphere at resorts in general as it should be!
That's my story, I'm sticking with it!!
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Hey, for me it works!!Comment
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Therapy, Nudity & Joy, by Aileen Goodson Ph.D.Comment
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In my thread "Body Image in the Sexual Offender" I said:
quote:...I have read a little (very little) about the positive affects of nudity in therapy, and considering the equalization of people while nude, I would think it would be beneficial to teach these kids that all bodies are essentially the same. After a while, I believe that even a sexual predator can be healed by the nullification of the sight of the human body. By nullification I mean the acceptance of a body in a neutral way. I firmly believe that mere nudity is not sexual, it is actions taken by a person which denote a sexual context....
More recent research indicates that nude therapy has become shunned by such organizations as the American Psychology Association. However, unless they can show a detrimental effect, I will continue to disagree with them.Comment
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Ketchum the APA is a bit of a tight sphincter organization all right.
I have several patients suffering from varied mentall illnesses and do not make a 'stink' about the nudity any of my schizophrenia/schizoaffective patients are apt to display. Unlike the social workers and oddly enough the nurses that deal with them daily as well.
This negative reaction on the part of the social workers and nurses confuses the patients and causes negative behaviors in them. Such as using their "nudity" to shock and offend by sexualizing it or fouling themselves for the gross out factor.
Then I have to work to repair the damage with the individuals and retrain the staff to not react to nudity but to react to the individual and their needs. The patients are the easy ones to deal with.
I do not use nudism as a therapy in and of itself, just that my non-reaction to nudity has been an eye-opener for some patients and a few staff and they are better off for it.Comment
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My "library" reading right now is a book called Therapy, Nudity & Joy by Aileen Goodman. It is about therapy sessions held in the 60's by Bindrim, Hartman and Fithian. It is a slow read, but I am slowly working my way through it.Comment
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Being clothesfree sure helps my mental health. It's one of the few activities where all my problems, stress and worries disappear when we enter our club. It does wonders for self esteem and self confidence.Comment
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Absolutely!!!! Being naked sure helps my mental well being... just wish it could happen more often!!!
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quote:Originally posted by nacktman:
What you you think about nudism as a mental health therapy tool?
Nudism (or nudity) as a clinical mental health tool -- NO.
Nudism to restore one's mental health, or maintain it by engaging in nudism as a form of recreation - absolutely.Comment
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I think, too, that this is a question that invites a couple of different answers, depending upon the situation.
I think that social nudity as a therapy for clearly diagnosed problems: probably not, not necessarily.
But for fostering and improving mental health for someone who's already into simplicity and vulnerability, sure: it works for me!
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