Protecting the Environment and Promoting Mental Health - A Case for Early Educational Intervention
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Abstract
Belief systems are developed from childhood through various internalized stimuli that affect our minds and are crystallized to form behavioral repertoires. These belief systems can be formed through the educational process and imbibed as the student develops. What we believe and practice in adult life stems from what we learned as young people. Therefore, environmental education needs to be invested among children at school inception. This can occur through the collaboration of content, pedagogy and exposure. Research also indicates that exposure to natural environments provide mental health benefits like reduced symptomology of depression and anxiety and improved cognition in children with ADHD besides lower levels of stress. This study proposes early educational intervention to promote environmental protection attitudes and parallel mental health through educational interaction. The paper also tries to develop a practical and mental health-based framework for promoting environmental education and mental health.