The great outdoors: it's the place to head for when you're in need of peace and quiet, open spaces, beautiful scenery and exercise. Whether a huge mountain range or a local country park, these natural areas are a perfect tonic for our stressed-out lives, and their therapeutic effect is being used more and more to treat mental health.

As an example, in the foothills of the Snowdonia National Park in the UK, specialist therapy sessions are held to help people who suffer from depression, anxiety and stress. Outdoor art-related activities are held for patients, but the setting alone has been credited with improving the mood of patients. Art psychotherapist Pamela Stanley told the BBC that there was a "growing body of evidence" to support eco-therapy.

It's true that for most of us connecting with the natural world definitely lifts our spirits. But the mental health charity Mind says eco-therapy has been recognized as a formal type of treatment that can sometimes be prescribed to someone by a doctor. It doesn't involve taking medication, but instead it just develops a person's relationship with nature. This natural remedy can take on many forms, but can include doing yoga in a forest, gardening or even hugging a tree.