Nicole Christina: Psychotherapist & Zestful Aging Podcast Host

Episode 15

In this episode psychotherapist and Zestful Aging Podcast Host talks about her reasons for getting outside and how she helps her clients to take an "aesthetic walk" outside. Nicole says by taking outside breaks you are respecting  and resting  your brain -- so you can feel better mentally and physically.

Nicole Christina is the host of Zestful Aging Podcast, an interview show heard in 92 countries. She’s also a psychotherapist of 30 years, specializing in eating disorders. 

Find out more at  ZestfulAging.com.

Nicole Christina practices in Syracuse, NY, in the Syracuse University area. She specializes in food and body issues, mindfulness, and positive aging. 

I love her Podcast Zesful Aging, so much so that I asked Nicole if I could be on her podcast before I started mine. There we learned how much we both loved and needed nature. ​I will link to that podcast on my website Treesmendus.com

Nicole Christina in addition to being a podcaster, you are a psychotherapist. How does nature and your outside mindset figure into the way you treat clients? 

I have an example of a client I had yesterday. He was struggling like many people are these days, feeling very isolated. They were not able to do the things he normally does well – getting together with people, doing the hobbies that they normally do. 

Our lives are all up ended now. I asked him what has he been doing in terms of getting outside. I am not talking about a fitbit, 10,000 step walk, I talking about what I call “an aesthetic walk” which is just walking around for the value of being outside. 

And a lot of the value I learned from your book, but a lot of the value I don’t think we truly understand. But we know that we are outdoor creatures, that we evolved to be outside, and that not getting sunlight, not getting near trees, grasses… and just being in your apartment is going to cause trouble. It is going to make feeling bad even worse. 

So one of the prescriptions I gave him, and this is just a first session - and this is a guy who is pretty athletic -  “I just want you to go on an aesthetic walk, you are not trying to increase your cardiovascular level, the whole point is to go outside to feel good: your body, your spirit, and of course we know it helps mood, anxiety, and emotional regulation. 

So that is sort of a basic prescription that I use for people who come to me and say “ I feel terrible; I am anxious.” 

It is not to say a walk around the block is going to cure everything. It is not going to cure Covid, worry about starting college, being scared, or solve the economic crisis, but it sure helps. And it is free, and we know it works. So that is something that is a go-to for me when I am evaluating someone, one of the questions I ask them is "how often do you get outside?"  

That is a long winded answer, but some of these things are basic. And I have been in practice for a long time, so I know to start with the fundamentals. I also ask how much coffee are you drinking? If the answer is I drink 12 cups and I am anxious, well maybe we should start there. Or I stay in my apartment, or I stay up until 2 in the morning watching Netflix…I mean there are certain things that we know our body needs – fresh air, fresh water, a decent diet, and limiting a lot of the toxins that come in (and that is literal and metaphorical). 

We need to be outside. Nobody comes back from a walk and says I wish I had not taken a walk.

For a complete transcript of this episode please visit my website Treesmendus.com