Treating Modern Isolation and Stagnation with the Nature Archetype

Eliot Rosenstock
Antioch University Los Angeles

Eco-psychology professes to bridge the divide between psyche and nature, soul and
world, inner and outer, and so on. (Buzzell and Chalquist, 67) A laymen might say, what
does this actually mean? For people who arent depth psychologists, and many patients will
not be, how can we explain to them eco-psychological teachings and more importantly, give
them the benefit of what eco-psych has to offer? Eco-psychology is a branch of Jungian depth
psychology that attempts to connect the patient to their environment; getting the patient out of
the stagnation and isolation of the technological, social-media centered world. Depression is
generally described as a lack of interest in things, an apathy of sorts caused by various
things. Eco-psychology addresses the fact that society is creating depressive states in the
general population by isolating us with technology and ways of being that are disconnected
from our peers, families, and friends.
The archetype of nature will be interpreted in a multitude of ways by each individual
person. If you ask a thousand different people, what is nature? you will get a thousand
different answers. With this in mind, we must attempt to put forth a general archetype of
nature that is used in eco-psychology to connect people to the world around them, affecting
permanent change in the way a person views the world that they live in. Natures archetype is
generally thought of as vast, fragile, having potential, influenced by both natural and unnatural
things (natural being referred to generally as things that are from the earth with no processing
by human hands), and most importantly, nature includes us as humans, even if we use and
create unnatural things (raw earth material transformed and processed). A client who is
isolating themselves with technology may associate nature with bugs, disease, or even a
hiking trip they were forced to go on as a child. The eco-psychologist is charged with the task
of not only changing the clients view of nature/environment, but to make the client want to
exist in the environment as opposed to an isolated technological bubble of their own design.
Social media is a major part of modern life, and is at the forefront of how our day-to-

day needs and desires get sublimated in more isolating ways. People use social media
because it gratifies urges to connect in ways that are perceived as safer than actual
interaction; and more importantly, it gratifies the user of the interaction impulse in a simple,
easy way. (Al-Menayes, 45) For example, say two professors, a man and a woman, from a
small town university, get along very well and respect each other academically. They may feel
attracted to each other, but rather than one of them taking the risk to ask the other out to
coffee, their interactions are limited to writing each other nice comments on each others
Facebook pictures. This would satisfy one professor that the other one likes and respects the
other, and the urge to connect with each other outside of the context of social media would
decrease, due to the fact that the need to connect is fulfilled. The sort of fulfillment that is
brought on by social media may seem isolated and perverse to some; however, the fact
remains that online communication of this nature satisfies our urge to connect, no matter how
isolating the side effects of making it a major method of communication between peoples.
Our world, with all of the technological wonder it now contains in it, is a world that is
constantly becoming easier and easier to isolate oneself in. Not only do we as humans no
longer have to worry about things such as hunting for food in order to not starve to death, but
now we dont even have to spend time around people in order to satisfy our drive to connect.
The eco-therapy influenced psychotherapist should keep in mind the positive effects of
technological communication before addressing the side effects of it. Social media makes it
easy to catalog moments in video, picture, or words that might otherwise be forgotten; in
addition, social media makes it easy to maintain contact with friends and family who live
thousands of miles away from us. The feeling of isolation from humanity.
An intelligent person is viewed by most people as someone who possesses masculine
rationality, as well as social success. (Raty and Snellman) Facebook is a place that allows
people to see themselves as both rational and socially successful. If one organizes their

Facebook page to only put forward information about them that fits the way that they wish to
perceive themselves, then they have created a public image of themselves that they can feel
good about.
People using Facebook are creating an controlled archetype of their very selves! When
people interact in real life, conversation is in real time. There is no thinking of a witty retort for
two minutes before responding to someone talking in your face. Real life can be
embarrassing, nerve-racking, and unforgivably real as every emotion is played out not only
with the words in a conversation, but with facial expressions and body postures. There isnt
the control available in real life as there is in an online environment that people are becoming
more and more accustomed to having.
In conclusion, the eco-psychologists job should be to get clients to accept the
randomness and lack of control of their environment (anything outside their apartment/house,
offline). The benefits of interacting in an environment where one does not have control about
the outcomes of each interaction is that it gives the opportunity to be affected by the
environment. Being safe and stagnant can cause people to forget that there is anything
besides their day to day routine, even if all their needs are being filled. When people get tired
of a relationship, is it because the person is becoming worse and worse? Possibly, but more
likely, the environment in which the couple interacts is becoming stagnant. Being out of
control is something that people are constantly fighting against. But the price of being overly
cautious is to live in a world that is never changing, never being colored by changes that are
happening in the environment.
Merely getting out of the house at a time where one would usually stay inside opens up
a wealth of possibilities! Staying inside and enjoying a movie on Netflix while typing away on
Facebook may fulfill the need to be stimulated and to interact with people, but it lacks the
possibility of something happening that will color the world in a new and different way. People

can easily get locked into the routing of getting their needs fulfilled in ways that are repetitive
and that isolate them from the outside world. Eco-psychologys theories arent just some side
branch of psychology, some mere curiosity; rather, the theories touch on an important
common vein of modern life: isolation through technology and the stagnation of comfort. What
to do about this isolation and stagnation can vary from person to person, but the first step is
the same: dont be afraid to get outside your comfort zone and interact with people and the
environment that surrounds you.

References

Al-Menayes, J. (2015). Motivations for Using Social Media: An Exploratory Factor Analysis.
International Journal of Psychological Studies, 7(1). pp 43-50.
Buzzell, L. & Chalquist, C. (2009). Ecotherapy: Healing with nature in mind. San
Francisco: CA: Sierra club books.
Raty, H., & Snellman, L. (1995). On the Social Fabric of Intelligence. Papers on Social
Representations.