Plant With a Doc

Plant with a Doc

Plant With a Doc is a new, four week, medically proven, nature-based stress management and burnout (moral distress) technology for employees.

It was founded by Dr. John La Puma to help people begin to reduce workplace stress, improve their health and stress-related medical symptoms (anxiety, depression, back pain, neck pain, palpitations, difficulty breathing), and to achieve better life-work management by reconnecting with nature. The program also improves efficiency, productivity and the office itself, beautifying it and enhancing it.

The program consists of 12 texts, tailored to each individual’s preferences, present nature connection and experience. In addition, there are three components.

1. Plant and Pot gift

2. Choice of Mindfulness Exercise

• Boundary Ritual
• Reset breath
• Meditation/Breathing App

3. Going outside daily

The program can be adapted to be digital only, without the plant, in those environments where going outside is preferable.

The program has been studied, and statistically significantly improves perceived stress (PSS-10), reverses burnout symptoms (Maslach Burnout Inventory) and improves clinical symptoms.

To learn more, get the nature therapy primer, free…

SELECTED PRACTICAL RESOURCES:

About Food for the Brain

• Drew Ramsey, MD (The Today Show)
• Brain Food List (Refinery29.com, at the end)
• Culinary Medicine (NPR)
• Foods for Mood (ChefMD Video Blog)
• Alcohol and the Brain (ChefMD Video Blog)

Go Outside

• About Green Exercise (LinkedIn)
• Spend 17 minutes outside daily for optimal wellbeing (Nature study: sitting, walking, biking, watching)
• Nature therapy for clinicians (video, MDVIP Annual Meeting)
• Green Exercise Research (Essex)

Meditation and Mindfulness (mindfulness is a form of meditation)

• What is mindfulness? (Mindful.org)
• Meditation basics (Headspace.com)
• Traditional MSBR, videos, free (Palousemindfulness.com)
• Care and Feeding of an Avocado (EdibleSantaBarbara.com)

Nature Therapy: How, Why, Resources

• Nature therapy (AGreenrx.com)
• How Nature Works to Alleviate Stress (American Heart Association)
• Sunlight Through Windows at Work Improves Mood (PLOS.org)
• Swedish nature-based MSBR course (Int J Environ Res Public Health)
• Nature Therapy as an Essential Prescription (Alternative and Complementary Therapies)

Stress and Burnout/Moral Distress

• Burnout Prevention and Treatment (Help Guide)
• Burnout Prevention and Treatment in Health Care (American Academy of Family Practice)
• Five Tips for Coping with Stress at Work (American Psychological Association)
• Stress Management at Work (American Psychological Association)
• Moral Distress in Health Care (NY Times)