As one who both works in wildlife conservation and suffers from mental ill health, I have very mixed feelings about conservation orgs jumping on the #WorldMentalHealthDay trend

The mental health benefits of spending time in nature have been demonstrated, but it's not a cure-all

Too often the message is oversimplified into "Oh, you're struggling with your mental health? Just go for a walk in the woods!"

Many people need far more than that. Mental health care is already severely underfunded, and overconfidence in cheap remedies will exacerbate that

Not to mention that not everyone has equal access to safe natural spaces, & mental illness is more common in people of lower incomes. So even if a walk in the woods would help a particular person, the advice isn't necessarily helpful

The psychological benefits of nature are real - I experience them all the time - but responsible conservationists should think carefully about how to promote them #WorldMentalHealthDay

At minimum, non-mental-health-related organisations tweeting about #WorldMentalHealthDay should include links to mental health services or organisations. That's what I do if I discuss mental health in my work newsletters.

@NatureMind4 I assume you've started following me because of this thread - since you're retweeting loads of the kinds of messages I was talking about, how about retweeting my concerns as well?