00:00I'm Katrina Stewart, the Scotsman's Education Correspondent, and in the woods in Argyll,
00:19something truly special is happening. The addictions charity With You has set up a new
00:24project for people living with drug and alcohol challenges. The scheme is outdoors, it brings
00:30people out into nature and gives them the opportunity to take part in different activities
00:35away from traditional group therapy sessions and gives them the chance to bond with nature,
00:43experience the river and talk about the challenges that they're facing in a more natural environment.
00:50You can do things, you can put your hand in the tree and you can just ask the tree quietly a question
00:54and then you listen quietly to the answer. My name is Ailsa Wilson and I'm a recovery worker.
01:00The stone throwing is about getting people just to let go because people are often afraid
01:05of the feeling of anger and struggle with expressing that. So it's kind of like just a way of letting go
01:11of all that rage and anger and then I think when they first come they're quite often a wee bit like
01:16anxious and a wee bit like what's going on and you know energy's a wee bit high so I think sometimes
01:23when you get the the stone throwing it kind of it just kind of lets go of all that and then people
01:28kind of just feel a bit more relaxed a bit more release and ready then you can do the calmer stuff
01:33with them. If you're by the water you've got the negative iron so when water hits a stone it gets
01:42charged oxygen particles so you get this like feel good factor from the negative ions and the sound
01:48of the water and watching the movement of the water so you can do lots of metaphors about you know the
01:55water taking your anger away and your feelings away or you can just let go like release you know floating
02:02down the stream there's lots of soothing effects of just being by the water. How would you describe this
02:09to other people if you're telling somebody about it? Magical you know it's it's you're free from
02:16everything like that's going on and you could be anywhere um peaceful tranquil therapeutic yeah it's
02:26good not really thought about much what's going on in my head today being down here it's beneficial.
02:32It's helped me massively um it's just very peaceful yeah it kind of calms you doesn't it.
02:40So how often do you come down here? Depends the weather and stuff like that but we try and get
02:45down as much as we can because it is lovely down here it's good to get away from stuff because if we go
02:52walks people don't like to go walking in the town because then they think oh they're looking at me they're
02:57speaking about me so it's good to get away from that sort of thing. What do we do when they come
03:02down here? Make a fire and cook food on fire and just get back into nature and come down through
03:11stones in the river and stuff and scream and let go of your anger and frustrations and yeah just
03:17therapeutic stuff to get back into nature. Do you find that it makes a difference? Definitely I think
03:22just getting together with other people like in the same situation and stuff as well as well as
03:27being the nature that's the added bonus but yeah definitely makes a difference. I find that people
03:32before they're quite shy and reserved and when they come out and they're meeting other people then they
03:36open up more and it gets them used to being out and engaging with other people and being more sociable
03:43and yeah more open-minded to new possibilities and things. How do you feel afterwards? I feel more refreshed
03:51and that and my anxiety just goes because I think it's just because of the river and you're bought out
03:57of the trees and that. It's good to be in nature. Yeah just switch off really for me and just be free.
04:05So do you find this a lot easier than being in a more uniform group setting? Yeah because I'm not
04:12very good at speaking in groups and that and to give you your own time and that here. Take a handful of
04:18these and think of somebody you've lost or whatever due to substances and keep them in mind and we'll
04:25just scatter them in the river and let them go. I think we're going in the water in a wee while
04:29and I've not done that yet down here anyway but yeah I'm always out like from this now I'm always
04:38out taking pictures and I'm out twice a day walking about and all that because it does help me.
04:44Do you find the stone skimming and cooking and everything helps you? I like the cooking. I'm not
04:50really sure about the stone skimming. But what were you using for that when you were throwing stones in?
04:55Probably my stress at work at the minute. Well I'm volunteering and it's been very very busy.
05:01Well like kids that have have no connection to anything that have like grown up with nothing
05:06can form a connection to a tree or a piece of land you know because it's not trees don't judge you
05:11they don't give a stuff like what you do or where you're from or what you what happens they're just
05:15here and they just get on their own thing. Oh I love Eelsa. She's been a big part of my recovery
05:21in my journey and I probably wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Eelsa and with you. Yeah definitely.
05:30This afternoon we've built a fire and cooked our own food. We've had a little bit of a dip
05:36in this river. We've spoken to trees. We've flown rocks and it sounds a bit airy fairy. It might
05:44sound a bit odd but everything that happens here is backed by science. The incredible Eelsa has spoken
05:50to us about Celtic mythology and we've learned about nature and how nature interacts with how
05:57we as people feel and how we engage with what's around us. It's been a really interesting afternoon.
06:06I feel a lot more relaxed and a lot less anxious when I came down here and for the people that I've
06:12been speaking to this afternoon this is a really vital part of their week and they find it much more
06:17easy to take part in the activities away from the traditional group settings that are that are indoors
06:24that are more confined and they enjoy interacting with other people but having that ability to just
06:30walk off if they need to and take that space for themselves. So with you this new project here
06:38in the woods is a really brilliant initiative.
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