Why everyone should be birding in 2026

Birding is on the rise and if you haven’t added it to your list of pastimes, I’m here to tell you why you should!

Ease your mind, relax your body: less stress, anxiety, and depression
We all know that being outside breathing in fresh air is good for us; time in nature has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety. Hearing birdsong relaxes our nervous system because it signals to our bodies that we are not in danger. Looking and listening for birds is an exercise of mindfulness, helping us slow down and ground ourselves in the present moment, letting go of worries about the future and rumination on the past. Birding is generally not a super rigorous activity, but it does often require walking and gentle movement, which can be beneficial for people of any age. A walk outside almost always improves my mood, especially when I get to see my little feathered friends hopping around or singing their songs.

Good for your brain: better focus, attention, and memory
When you’re looking for birds, you’re locked in paying attention to the sights you see and sounds you hear. You’re looking for movement, you’re listening for subtle noises, you’re zoning in on one or two stimuli. I hear so many people talk about how they’re not able to focus these days because their brains have been hijacked by the quick dopamine hits we get from social media and the constant barrage of distractions supplied to us by our phones and other devices. Birding is the kind of activity that is SO GOOD for our brains because the more we challenge ourselves to slow down and engage in this activity, the more it increases our ability to focus and give our undivided attention to one thing. If you get really deep in it, you may find yourself staring at trees for hours and forgetting your desire for a distraction from reality.

Not all birders care about identifying what kind of bird they’re seeing, but if you do choose to get into identification, it can be a really great tool for keeping your brain sharp and improving your memory. There are over 10,000 species of birds in the world and at least 200 species that I know of that move through my area at some point during the year. Identifying these small creatures isn’t always a simple task and can require great attention to detail. Learning the names of different birds and studying the details that help you to tell them apart helps to create new neural pathways in your brain and improves cognitive resiliency. Being a bird nerd might help you maintain your cognitive functions longer, so go study the birds!

COMMUNITY: Parks as third places, intergenerational friendships, celebrating with others
Another optional part of birding is the social aspect (but I urge you to bird with other people because it’s way more fun that way)! I was mostly a solo birder in the early years of my birding journey but since having discovered the amazing community of birders in my area, I rarely bird alone anymore. There’s been a lot of discourse lately around the disappreance of “third places” in our world and while I agree that there aren’t a lot of places where people can go to regularly encounter and socialize with friends and potential friends, parks are the perfect third place for birders or bird-curious people! I’ve made so many friends at parks and being a birder makes it so much easier to befriend local park-goers. If you’re carrying a pair of binoculars or using your binoculars, it’s likely someone might ask you if you’ve seen or are seeing anything interesting. On the flip side, if you see someone else with binoculars, it’s very easy to start a conversation with them asking about what they’ve seen on their outing. The majority of birders are super friendly and happy to tell you all about what interesting finds they’ve had that day. Some might even show you their special birding spots and invite you to join them to look for birds together!

One great thing about the birding community is that it generally includes people of all ages since it is such an accessible hobby. There aren’t many spaces where I interact with people who are of a significantly different age than me, but birding has helped me build friendships with people of all ages- from kids to retired folk. I think it’s so important to have connections with people from different generations because they often have different perspectives and life experiences than you, giving you new ways to think about the world and potentially challenging your normal way of thinking.

One of my favorite things about birding is the excitement of seeing a new or interesting bird and the joy and celebration that follows! When you get to share this experience with another person or a whole group of people, there’s nothing better! I especially love seeing grown adults light up and high five or jump around because of a cute little bird they just saw. Nothing tickles me more than that. Celebrating with others creates bonds and increases your sense of belonging, so go jump around with some birders and experience the joy of being part of the birding community!

Spiritual benefit: Generates awe and appreciation of the natural world, encourages harmony with the earth, adds whimsy to your life
When you stop to appreciate the birds, you’re engaging in a gratitude practice for the natural world. You’re reminding yourself that there is so much beauty around you and allowing yourself to be in awe of it all. When you allow yourself to lean into awe and gratitude, you are likely to feel much more satisfied with your life. This may lead you to feel more at peace with simply being in the world and reduce the feeling that you need to constantly be doing and consuming.

Birding may also lead you to other nature-related passions as you spend more time outside, you notice more incredible wonders in the world around you. You may take up an interest in bugs or lichen or native plants or land conservation. You will likely start to see the interconnectedness of all living things and want to do your part to live more in harmony with the earth. Showing respect and care to our home matters so much and I do think we suffer in many ways when we are not in right relationship with the earth. Any activity that can move us more into harmony with our planet is an activity worth pursuing in my opinion.

I hope at this point I’ve convinced you to start birding, but if not, I’m urging you to just do it for the whimsy! Birders know that what they’re doing is a little silly and strange to some and generally they approach the hobby with a very playful spirit. Birding is a playful way to engage with the world and the people around you. It’s a way to point out interesting creatures and ask others to join you in your excitement around them. Maybe people will start referring to you as “the bird girl” or if you’re lucky “bird queen”! Maybe you’ll befriend a bird at your local park and chat with them when you’re feeling down. Maybe you’ll make a hoard of birder friends and not be able to go to any of your local parks without running into at least one of them. You’ll never know unless you get out there and let the birds (and birding community) change you!

Join your local birding club! Look for an Audubon chapter near you or search for other birding groups in your area! If you’re in Lexington, join me for a bird walk or bird event with my birding group Lex Bird Cult!

What Do You Mean By Religious Trauma?

Religious trauma refers to lasting harm to a person’s physical, mental, emotional, social, or spiritual health due to the beliefs or experiences they have had within a religious context. This kind of trauma is oftentimes complex because it generally involves a series of experiences and a system of harmful beliefs rather than a single traumatic event. People who have experienced religious trauma may struggle with low self-esteem, perfectionism, chronic anxiety, shame, depression, lack of trust in self, codependency, and sexual dysfunction.

There are a variety of religious beliefs and experiences that can have detrimental effects on people’s health and well-being. The following list is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather a compilation of some of the most common ways I have seen people negatively impacted by religion. I will mostly be referring to the Christian religion as this is where my personal experience lies.

Harmful Beliefs

-Inherent sinfulness: The belief that we are all inherently sinful by nature can be extremely damaging to self-esteem and self-worth.

-Biblical literalism: The belief that the bible is absolute truth can lead people to trust outside sources over themselves and may prohibit critical thinking skills from fully developing. 

-Purity culture: The belief that sex outside of marriage is sinful can lead to delayed social milestones, sexual immaturity, anxiety around sex, and sexual dysfunction. The belief that women must practice modesty to be worthy can lead women to feel shame if they are not ‘modest enough’ and can help enable rape culture in the church as some men will blame women for tempting them into the act because of their immodesty.

-Traditional gender roles: The belief that men should lead and women should submit has caused many women to feel inferior to men and to question their capabilities and worth. 

-Self-sacrifice: The belief that you should put others before yourself (as Jesus did) can lead to codependent and people-pleasing behaviors where people lack healthy boundaries with others and can hinder the development of a sense of self. 

-The belief that God is omniscient and omnipresent can lead to chronic anxiety and self-consciousness. 

Traumatic Experiences

-There are countless individuals who have been publicly shamed or ostracized from the church for doing something deemed sinful by the community (divorce, abortion, having a child out of wedlock, etc.). This kind of experience can lead to shame, isolation, feelings of worthlessness, depression, and suicidal ideation. 

-Many churches talk often about hell and what could land you there, leading many people (especially children) to feel chronically stressed, anxious, and hyperaware of their every move. Some churches even put on a performance around Halloween (aptly named ‘Judgment House’) where audience members are taken scene by scene through a story where young people die in a tragic accident and are then judged to determine their fate in the afterlife. You are taken to ‘hell’ where the scene is dark and ominous and there are actors pretending to be demons. You end the performance in ‘heaven’ where there are church members dressed in all white waiting to pray with you, using lines like “If you were to die after leaving here tonight, do you know where you’d spend eternity?” to elicit emotional responses from the audience. Church members (including children) are encouraged to participate and invite their non-believer family members and friends to the performance. 

-Many LGBTQ+ folks in the church have been told that they are living a sinful life. Some have been encouraged or forced to go to conversion therapy and to reject their identity. Others have been kicked out of positions in the church or pushed out of the church entirely because of their identity. This experience of marginalization and stigmatization can result in low self-worth, an inability to express oneself authentically, an inability to explore one’s sexuality, and sometimes suicide.  

-Sermons about tithing being a demonstration of your trust in God can be very manipulative and can influence people to put themselves through financial hardship to prove their faith or to avoid feeling guilty about not tithing.

Questions and Concerns

When you are immersed in religion, it can be very difficult to challenge religious thought or religious authorities because you are taught to distrust yourself since you are of a ‘sinful nature’. You are taught to trust the bible and the people who are interpreting the bible for you. You are encouraged to put aside doubt and have faith rather than critical thinking. This can cause religious people to feel they can’t question or challenge what’s happening within the church. Though they may be able to recognize that some of these beliefs and experiences are damaging, they may not feel they are able to challenge the authorities on them. 

When people do begin to challenge religious beliefs and authorities, it can feel very destabilizing. It’s common to feel confused and unanchored as old ways of thinking are shed and a new belief system and identity is built. Some people can go through the process of deconstructing their beliefs and remain religious, while others feel leaving the religion is an imperative part of their healing. Leaving a religion can be a very difficult decision to make, though, as it often comes with the loss of community and identity. A person who leaves their religion may lose friends and loved ones (or at the very least have their relationships altered drastically) as it can be difficult for people who are still part of the religion to handle the way these doubts and questions challenge their own beliefs. This can lead to feeling isolated and alone as you question your core beliefs and try on new ways of thinking.

Recovering From Religious Trauma

Following are some practical steps to work towards healing from the effects of religious trauma:

-Grow your critical thinking skills: Ask all the questions, get as many different viewpoints as possible, learn/read/expose yourself to different ideas, analyze and reflect on the information you gather.

-Learn to trust yourself: Observe and reflect on the feelings and physical sensations that come up in your body, listen to gut feelings, reflect on times when your intuition proved to be right, remind yourself that nobody does life perfectly and that we learn through experience. 

-Set boundaries in relationships: Identify relationships where you feel you betray or overextend yourself, determine how you want to feel in those relationships and what parts of yourself you need to preserve to make that happen, communicate directly and be firm with your boundary. 

-Challenge black and white thinking: Remind yourself that there are rarely only two options in a given situation, seek out nuance everywhere you can, challenge yourself to see how many different options/alternatives there possibly could be.  

-Explore who you are and what you believe: Journal, seek out new experiences, talk to new people, ask questions, go to therapy, observe and reflect on your reactions to new people and experiences.

-Find healthy supports: Seek out communities that are accepting of self-exploration, look into secular groups or groups for people recovering from religion, find a therapist who understands religious trauma.

If you are looking for mental health support as you begin your journey of healing from religious trauma, feel free to reach out to me at tivoli@tivoligardenscounseling.com to discuss working together!