THE WONDERS OF WATER

It wasn’t until I moved to Glasgow that I realised how much I loved living next to the water. Growing up on an island, seeing and hearing the ocean was part of my everyday life. I walked my dog along the beach as a study break and as a way to clear my head and I craved the calmness it washed over me as I studied for my university exams. The sea and lochs of Scotland are so beautiful and expressive and their vastness is perhaps what calms me down when I’m anxious as, in comparison, I am small and perhaps so are my worries.

– Catherine Andrews, 22, Islay Being close to the expanse of the ocean offers a sense of perspective – a notion of the extent of the world and our place in it. The water’s beauty, textures and sounds are stimulating, encouraging thought, creativity and reflection. I’d find it difficult to live away from the water now – I feel claustrophobic when I can’t see the sea.

– Mark Mckechnie, 56, Saltcoats

Spending time in nature, be it by a loch, at the coast or out in the countryside, is my favourite way to unwind. City living can sometimes be fast-paced and monotonous and it’s easy to feel stressed or trapped. Exchanging the traffic noise and stale air for the sound and smells of the coast has a profound effect on my state of mind. Concrete and pollution aren’t our natural environments as humans, so I think this is why it can take its toll on our mental health. I feel it’s instinctive to seek a natural environment as a retreat in times of stress or anxiety. Disconnect to reconnect.

– Kyle Barbour, 26, Arran