Hands in the soil.

[JustGetThroughTheDay]

I've spent the past few hours mowing the lawns and cutting back everything that's got tatty in the garden. I was dreading doing it because it signals the end of summer but I've actually really enjoyed it. There's something about having my hands in the soil that really calms me. Is that odd?

Not at all odd and something lots of passionate gardeners would relate to.
Also potters, bread bakers, in fact in a slightly different way anyone who does things with their hands - knitting springs to mind.
But that tactile thing of earth/dough/mud/clay - I've just been repotting some plants and got thoroughly into it. Partly it just helps to switch off the cognitive functions, and we probably spend far too much time being cognitive than is good for us.

Nope - I love digging and weeding and planting! I rarely wear gardening gloves even when doing filthy jobs because I want to feel what I am doing and get filthy and scratched with thorns.

I also am happiest when up to my ankles in muck tending to my horses, covered in horse hair and hay - if we are passionate about our hobbies then we want (sometimes literally) to be up to our necks in them.

At the beginning of lockdown I spent so much time tidying the garden and ordering plants from the local garden nursery. It helped so much to have that distraction.
Thanks for both your replies.

Not odd at all. I find gardening very therapeutic.
I would far rather be working in the garden getting dirty than doing housework.

Not strange at all. Am 6 months pregnant and one of the things I've found most frustrating is wearing gloves and trying not to get dirt on my hands etc when gardening (lots of cats spending lots of time in our garden!)

After 6 months of washing hands religiously, I've realised that some of my happier times have been with manky hands with mud-ingrained fingernails .

I'm not a fan of gardening gloves apart from when I'm getting rid of brambles or nettles. I like the feeling of earth in my hands, and in fact I do a lot of my gardening bare-footed and enjoy mud under my feet as well.

It's not odd at all, it's a real chemical reaction! I'm not a gardener but heard about it on a radio 4 program. Trying to remember the details...

Treatment of mice with a ‘friendly’ bacteria, normally found in the soil, altered their behavior in a way similar to that produced by antidepressant drugs, reports research published in the latest issue of Neuroscience.

These findings, identified by researchers at the University of Bristol and colleagues at University College London, aid the understanding of why an imbalance in the immune system leaves some individuals vulnerable to mood disorders like depression.

Dr Chris Lowry, lead author on the paper from Bristol University, said: “These studies help us understand how the body communicates with the brain and why a healthy immune system is important for maintaining mental health. They also leave us wondering if we shouldn’t all be spending more time playing in the dirt.”

Interest in the project arose after human cancer patients being treated with the bacteria Mycobacterium vaccae unexpectedly reported increases in their quality of life. Lowry and his colleagues reasoned that this effect could be caused by activation of neurons in the brain that contained serotonin.

www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2007/5384.html

Really interesting you can actually notice this happening to you, OP.

That is really interesting, I think hiking in bare feet will be my next step

just stuck my hand in my soil and pulled up 4 beautiful carrots and a huge potato!! it's the best time of year :)