Neurodivergence and Nature Therapy

Restoring Attention in an Age of Artificial Intelligence

Nature and Mental Health → Nature and Neurodivergence

I’ve written before about how Nature saved me. But lately, I’ve been wondering — can it also restructure the way neurodivergent minds like mine work?

As someone newly diagnosed with ADHD, I’ve come to see that Nature isn’t just my sanctuary — it’s my therapy. Last month, October is known as the ADHD Awareness Month, I find myself reflecting on what it really means to live with a brain that’s wired differently in a world that seems to demand constant focus, speed, and digital precision.

While modern life rewards multitasking and perpetual connectivity, the human mind — especially a neurodivergent one — was never meant to live in an endless loop of notifications, tabs, and to-do lists. We were designed for rhythm, for rest, for the kind of gentle attention that comes from watching light move through leaves.

Why This Matters: The Neurodivergent Era

It feels like everyone has ADHD these days — or at least, everyone’s attention is fractured. The line between diagnosis and distraction has blurred, and our nervous systems are on constant alert.

Artificial Intelligence now mirrors — and magnifies — our own cognitive chaos. While it promises efficiency, it often leaves us overstimulated, fragmented, and detached from our own senses. I’ve felt this myself: endless drafts of writing splintered across screens, duplicate ideas competing for bandwidth, each one demanding attention.

Richard Louv, in The Last Child in the Woods, predicted this perfectly: “The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.”

Our brains evolved to process the fractal complexity of clouds, trees, and rivers — not pixels and algorithms. As the Kaplans’ Attention Restoration Theory (ART) explains, natural environments engage our attention effortlessly, through what they call “soft fascination.” This allows the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain responsible for focus and self-control — to rest and reset.

When I realized that, I understood why a simple walk outside could calm a storm that no medication seemed to touch.

My Story: When Nature Became My Therapy

My official diagnosis of neurodivergence came less than two years ago. Maybe it was adult ADHD, maybe anxiety — maybe the two were always dancing together. I tried to “fix” it the standard way: medication, productivity hacks, caffeine. But instead of clarity, I found insomnia, irritability, and chaos.

So I began subtracting. I removed things from my plate. I stepped away from my computer. I started each morning in my garden, barefoot in the soil, tending to something alive instead of something digital.

Then one summer, a family visited — a couple and their young son with autism. We worked together in the garden, pulling weeds, watering the beds. The boy’s eyes lit up as he touched the leaves; his parents exhaled relief that someone understood their son’s quiet language.

That day, our garden was more than soil — it was connection. Neurodivergent empathy made visible.

Over time, my nervous system began to regulate itself. My sleep returned. My thoughts slowed down. I could feel again — the wind, my breath, my heart. My garden flourished alongside my mind. Over time, my nervous system began to regulate itself. My sleep returned. My thoughts slowed down. I could feel again — the wind, my breath, my heart. My garden flourished alongside my mind.

From Overstimulation to Restoration

The science behind this transformation isn’t mystical; it’s biological. Research shows that even short periods in nature lower cortisol (Gillespie et al., 2019), improve executive function (Berman et al., 2012), and reduce ADHD symptoms in children (Kuo & Taylor, 2004).

When we immerse ourselves in forests, our brains shift from “directed attention” — the energy-draining focus we use to get through tasks — to “effortless attention,” a kind of cognitive breathing space.

In contrast, Artificial Intelligence — and the digital overload it represents — can “neuro-colonize” us, hijacking our senses and fragmenting our focus. The cure isn’t to reject technology, but to re-root ourselves in the natural systems that once shaped our brains.

As I often remind myself: The more we plug in, the more we need to ground.

Practices That Help

In my own healing, I’ve found that three simple Forest Therapy practices can gently rewire an overstimulated mind:

• Grounding: Walking barefoot, feeling the earth beneath you, activates the parasympathetic nervous system — your body’s “rest and digest” mode.

• Sit Spots: Returning to the same natural place over time deepens sensory awareness and focus, creating a relationship with the land that mirrors mindfulness.

• Attention Restoration Invitations: Watching ripples in a pond, noticing bird calls, or tracing the patterns of leaves cultivates “soft fascination,” giving your mind a restorative pause.

These practices have real physiological effects: slower heart rate, reduced anxiety, increased clarity. They bring the nervous system back into harmony — not through force, but through rhythm.

Neurodivergent Empathy and Ecological Connection

Maybe it’s no coincidence that so many environmentalists are neurodivergent. We feel the world — its beauty and its grief — with intensity. My father, a wildlife biologist, lives this way too. His attention moves with the wind and the wings around him.

Perhaps our sensitivity, often labeled as a “deficit,” is actually an ancient attunement — a way of perceiving the living systems we’re part of.

Since Nature saved me, maybe it’s time for us neurodivergents to help save Nature.

Call to Action: Join Me in the Forest

If this resonates — if you’ve ever felt scattered, overstimulated, or out of sync with yourself — I invite you to join me for a Nature and Neurodivergence Workshop.

Together, we’ll: 

🌿 Learn about Attention Restoration Therapy 

🌿 Practice grounding and self-soothing techniques 

🌿 Create Nature-based habits and weekly rituals 

🌿 Experience guided Forest Bathing invitations

✨ Want to learn more? Visit my website to join the workshop and explaining how ART, ADHD, and Nature intersect.

I'm hosting a 1-hour workshop on Sunday night, December 14th for $22 dollars.

You can register through my EVENTS page or by clicking the button below!

Register for Workshop

Because while Artificial Intelligence evolves — our Natural Intelligence waits patiently, right outside the door.