From time to time we talk about the psychological advantages of being a nudist. The most common way of nude exercise is of course naked pilates or nude yoga.
This is also because body acceptance is a big thing these days, and that doesn’t come as a surprise. The more media and companies will tell us how to look, the more people will think that they can’t reach those standards and thus lose confidence in their own body. Nudism, nude exercise and public non-sexual nudity often help people to get a healthier lifestyle and more confidence about their body.
Nudism can be a cure for other issues as well. Stress for example. For many people, the thought of going naked, especially in public, already causes stress. Who would have thought that it could actually help you to get rid of it?
Well… We would.
What is stress?
We’re not doctors or psychologists so we’re not going to give you a technical explanation but rather our own definition.
Stress is a feeling that’s mostly caused by anxiety or overwhelming. Your heartbeat increases, your blood starts pumping and a bunch of hormones, of which adrenaline is probably the most known, start rushing through your body. Your pupils will get bigger and your hands start sweating.
Needless to say that stress has a lot of advantages. It’s a life saver in dangerous situations where you have to act smart and fast and it’s what keeps you focused when you have to study through the night or meet a deadline.
But when the danger, or whatever important situation has passed, the stress has to go away. And that’s where it sometimes goes wrong.
We live in a world where everything has to go fast. We drive fast cars to get at our jobs fast to complete as much work as possible so we earn as much money as possible so we can buy the latest cell phone, TV and computer everyone is talking about.
We have to be able to pay for dental plans and college and we have to make sure to keep some money on the side for later. Because difficult times are coming people.
We have to look good, our apartment has to look good and has to be filled with tons of expensive prestigious crap and meanwhile we have to maintain the relationships with our partner, friends and family. We have to go out to the latest bars, drink the newest cocktails, meet the coolest people and hope that we’ll become one of them someday.
And, if we have some time left, we need to get some sleep too.
This constant race against time and the bank causes stress that doesn’t go away and doesn’t really help us with anything either. It gives us headaches and sleepless nights and turns us into assholes when we’re stuck in traffic.
Undress your mind to a naked state
Everyone undresses several times a day for practical reasons: to change clothes, to take a shower, to go to bed or to have sex. We rarely think about it, it’s just what we do.
In fact, we spend a lot more time thinking about how to get dressed. What’s the occasion? Where are we going? Who will be there? What did I wear last time? Should I wear jewellery? Should I hide my tattoo?
What if you would get naked with the only purpose to be naked?
And what if you could reverse those “dress up thoughts” into undress thoughts?
Taking off your sweater represents that heavy file on your desk.
Your T-shirt is the guy who got in front of you in the queue.
Your pants are the packed subway train.
Your bra is the fight you had with your partner last night.
Your socks are the money issues
And in your panties you put everything else that has been bothering you today. After you took them off of course.
There you are. Naked. Both physically and mentally.
Of course this will not solve your problems, the bills won’t pay themselves and the issue with your partner still has to be cleared out. But take some time off from it, take some time to destress and when you put your clothes back on you can look at the things fromĀ a different perspective.
The nudist way of stress relief
When we said that nudism can help you handle stress, we didn’t exclusively talk about just getting naked. Regularly visiting a nudist venue also helps a lot. As we said before, the idea of being naked among others already causes stress for some. The idea. Expectations (and mostly not knowing what to expect) areĀ indeed a big cause for stress. What if I’m too fat, too tall, too small, too hairy, too I don’t know what?
The moment you actually are naked, the stress will go away. First of all because you see that the place is not full of playboy models and secondly because presenting yourself the way you truly are is one of the most relaxing things you can do. A huge pressure falls from your shoulders. There’s no way adjust, there’s no way to hide. There’s just you.
Of course this is all quite theoretical and we understand if you’re a bit sceptical about it. So let’s give you some more practical examples.
Your smartphone. It caused you stress when you didn’t have it because you had to buy one and you had no idea which one. And now that you have it, it causes stress again because the battery dies every three hours and you have to make sure that you don’t forget it and people are calling you at the most insane hours of the day and night.
Well, smartphones are not allowed in (most) nudist places. You put it in a locker when you arrive and take it back when you leave again. You have no idea what a relief it is to be unreachable.
Your status. By your clothing and accessories you’re trying to tell the world who you are. Or better, who you want them to believe you are. In a nudist place, everyone is equal. There’s no way show the others whether you’re wealthy or not or whether you’re a doctor, a truck driver or a writer. You don’t have to think whether people will recognise your status, because you don’t have one. Nobody does.
Your skin. Your skin was not meant to be covered in fabrics all the time. It’s used to absorb sunlight, how can it absorb when you cover it with layers and layers of clothes? From sunlight our body gets vitamin D and there’s a direct link between a lack of vitamin D and anxiety and stress. When you’re completely naked you can use your whole body to absorb vitamin D and meanwhile you don’t have to worry about tan lines anymore. Really, it’s a win-win.
Your environment. Most of the time your environment is partly what causes you stress. You spend your days in busy places, in the office, in the city and in traffic. Nudist places are oases of rest, often in nature. It has been proven that watching natural elements calms people down.
Still not convinced?
Go try for yourself and tell us if we’re wrong.
Picture credit: Our banner photo is property of the A Naturist Family website. The other photos in this post are coming from Google and Twitter. If you find one of yourself and you don’t want it to be on our blog, let us know and we’ll remove it.
Support Naked Wanderings
Do you like what we do for naturism and naturists?
Did we make you laugh or cry?
Did we help you find the information you were looking for?
Then definitely join our Patreon community!
My wife and I went to a clothing optional resort for a few hours on a vacation. I was interested, she wasn’t.
A couple years later I said I was going to try one close to home. I needed to find a way to get away from elder care pressures. Especially from being called all the time.
I went and spent 32 hours of relaxing by the pools and in a hot tub. Meeting new and friendly people. I was hooked. I was able to de-stress. No phone calls and no running errands. A year later my wife and I joined AANR. I also joined the clothing optional resort I had been attending. It is hands down the best way to relieve stress I have ever found.
Nicely and beautifully said!
Jan & Garyā¤
Great article! Totally understand the whole philosophy of destressing starting with my clothes!
We have been doing it as a couple since 2005. My husband introduced me to it. Best thing we ever did. We are members of TNS, AANR and our local resort.
Sounds great
I am very pleased I came across your blog through Twitter. Coping with all of the stresses of life can be very difficult, especially if you are a person prone to anxiety. We all experience some kind of stress at some point in our life, but some seem to be in a constant state of worry and fear. Finding your quiet place to undress and meditate, pray, or reflect on what’s going on in your life can provide amazing results. You have given me some inspiration for my next writing. Thank you. I will be a subscriber.
Good comment, Brandon. Getting naked is about taking off the cares of the world and thrilling to be your own natural self. It is a thrill when I dare to take off my clothes in a public space because I am daring to be truly me, the way God made me in his image, and asking other people to accept me like that. I have gradually expanded the spaces in which I do that.
Great article and very well said.
Very good
My job was very stressful and I did everything I could to relieve it on my days off. I started going naked around the house and I couldn’t believe how my stress went away. I have since become a home nudist and would like to visit a clothing optional resort. My wife is against it so I guess I’ll hang out at home like this. Maybe someday she’ll change.
Hi – Much as I appreciate what you are trying to do here I think using a photo of me (I am referring to the top one with my back to the sea) without asking first is a bit silly. Many naturists are afraid to share images online because of fear of theft to do so on a site that in many ways is positively trying to promote naturism is maybe a little short sighted. We are not against helping and supporting naturism and if you ask for an image and offer it the correct appreciation then I am sure we would let you have it. Though it would be good to maybe disable right-clicking on your images too.
Hi Anna, thanks a lot for letting us know and you’re absolutely right! When we started with Naked Wanderings we often used pictures we found on Google or Twitter and most of the time it was not possible to trace the real owner. Therefor we put the “Picture credit” line at the bottom of those posts, encouraging people like yourself to notify us. Today we have a lot of naturist photos of ourselves and although we can’t cover every topic with those, we do our very best.
We’ve added to the picture credit that the photo is yours, if you want us to remove it, let us know and we’ll put another one instead.
It really is a great way to destress. I just wish society would accept it more, if only we could stop sexualizing it, and get in the mindset that nudity isn’t sexual, but I know everything takes time. Maybe one day..
A well written article that makes me want to be naked more often.