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Casting off clothes as well as cares may be the key to happiness and well-being, research suggests.
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That's the joy of nudism / clothes-free recreation and all that jazz...
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A pleasure reading a article about the positive psychological effects of nudism. I agree from personal experience that nudism has made a difference in my life, I sense a deeper connection with our planet, environment and enhanced social interaction. I feel more energized and creative and far less stressed.
Dr West concludes that public nudity once WAS a psychological dysfunction. I sense for many it still is. I have selectively shared my interest/passion in nudism with a few people outside of nudist friends. The reaction is either a blind stare or nearly shock! Even a fellow artist looked at me in horror! Her words were (something like)... you have to be sick to do something like that! My response, in a very positive way with a smile on my face... its liberating and empowering, try it, maybe you too will enjoy it! Misconceptions out there still, especially for those who think that nudists are basically sexual deviates or at the very least, exhibitionists!
The Dr also points out that naturism may offer a simple SOLUTION to body dissatisfaction. This may be true for some, but I sense for many who are heavy or have disabilities being nude in public can be frightening. You can explain that nudism is non-judgmental, but I would suggest only a few will believe this!
Closing on a positive note, it was encouraging to read that the dr agrees that nudism is worth investigating. Thanks for posting.
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I've always emerged from any nudist activity in a better, more relaxed mood. If it weren't for nudism, I'd likely be dead by now.
Nothing like a day "at the camp". Nothing like a week at the Cove. Nothing like a soak in the hot tub, alone, or with my wife, or with friends.
It's all good. It all works. With due respect to the writer from Belfast, many of us know first-hand about the topic in that article.
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I'm always happy when I'm nude, unless I am cold.Comment
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In an article in the Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/lif...ldren-happier/) Jemima Lewis confirms this from her own experience.
I am not sure if the link works for all (it is part of the paid service) so the text of the article is below. Why casual nudity can make you – and your children – happier
Jemima Lewis
There is something you could do right now that would make you – and everyone around you – happier. It is simple, cheap (free, in fact), and universally available. Yet despite all that, you’ll almost certainly be reluctant even to try it. Researchers at Goldsmiths University have found that taking your clothes off in front of other people produces a marked improvement in wellbeing. Dr Keon West, a psychology lecturer, surveyed 850 British adults and found a strong correlation between “naturist” activity (anything from topless sunbathing to going on a nudist bike ride), and high levels of contentment.
To understand whether this benefit derives from existing attitudes common among naturists, or from the actual experience of disrobing, he attended a naked fun run in Yorkshire, where he assessed the participants before and after they stripped off. In every case, being bare produced “immediate and significant improvements in body-image, self-esteem and life satisfaction”.
But the magic only works if you’re in company. Dr West’s data suggests this is because seeing other people in the buff is more important than being naked yourself. Being surrounded by real, hairy, lumpy bodies enables us to look more kindly on our own physical imperfections.
It certainly worked for me. I grew up with singularly immodest parents: not naturists, just too lazy to put on a dressing gown. My mother would get dressed – as I do now – in a state of perpetual motion, pulling on her knickers with one hand while dragging a sleepy child out of bed with the other. My father, a writer, would often be seized by an idea first thing in the morning and rush to his desk in only his socks. When he stood up, his buttocks would be criss-crossed with the imprint of his wickerwork chair.
It left an imprint on me, too – this routine, unremarkable exposure to real human flesh. It seems to have inoculated me against the bodily anxieties that torment so many women (and, increasingly, men) in this age of Photoshopped perfection. Only 3 per cent of British women feel totally happy with their body, according to a 2015 survey – and somehow, I am one of them.
When I stand naked in front of the mirror, I don’t just see the body of a 45-year-old mother of three. I see echoes of the people I love. I see my mother’s dainty ankles and big breasts; my grandmother’s wide, flat bottom; my father’s pale, moley skin and my sister’s square shoulders. I couldn’t hate this body, any more than I could hate the family that gave it to me.
I am hoping the vaccine of casual nudity might also take the edge off ageing. My grandmother, like her descendants, was completely lacking in physical self-consciousness. She would often summon me for a chat while she soaked in the bath, or recruit me to bolt her into one of her giant, articulated “brassieres”. So I know what my body will look like if I am lucky enough to grow old – and it doesn’t frighten me one bit.
It’s worth remembering that you don’t have to be a naturist to benefit from nakedness. There’s no need to join a club or sign up for any organised disrobing. The only “public” you need is your family. And if they don’t appear to notice or care – if they don’t even look up from their smartphones as you Hoover around them in your bra, then you know you’re doing it exactly right.
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