Strong Emotions During Forest Therapy: How to Welcome What Arises
Human beings and plants have always shared the same living world. Modern lifestyles, however, can leave many of us spending less time outdoors and less time paying attention to the natural environments around us.
The Covid-19 pandemic and periods of lockdown made this absence especially visible for many people, creating a renewed desire to reconnect with nature. Forest therapy walks can offer one way to do that. Some people even decide to train professionally; if that interests you, you can read my guide to choosing forest therapy training.
But slowing down in nature can sometimes bring surprises.
One of them is the unexpected arrival of strong emotions. When noise, tasks and constant stimulation fall away, thoughts and feelings that have been in the background may become easier to notice. That does not mean the trees are causing or extracting emotions; rather, the setting can create space in which we become more aware of what is already present.
Allowing an emotion to be noticed—without forcing it away or turning it into a mystical obligation—can sometimes be useful. Let’s look at how to approach these moments safely.
CONTENTS
Why can forest therapy bring strong emotions to the surface?
Every person brings a different history
Forest therapy offers a structured way to reconnect with nature. During a walk led by a trained guide, people may experience many different emotions. Slowing down, focusing on sensory experience and spending time away from ordinary routines can make some feelings more noticeable.
Our personal histories and temperaments matter. Past experiences, current stress, grief, personality and expectations can all influence what someone feels during a forest therapy walk. There is no universal emotional response.
Nature, attention and memory
You may sometimes hear the idea that time in nature activates a special ancestral or ‘genetic memory’. There is no established scientific evidence that forest therapy activates inherited memories of ancestral hunting or gathering. What we do know is that attention, memory and emotion are closely linked, and sensory cues such as smells, sounds and landscapes can evoke autobiographical memories and associations.
Humans evolved in close interaction with natural environments, but that does not mean specific ancestral experiences survive as conscious memories in our genes. It is more accurate to speak about attention, learned associations, stress regulation and our long evolutionary relationship with natural settings. 🧠
What emotions might arise during a forest therapy walk?
Each walk is different. Alongside calm, pleasure and curiosity, some people may experience fear, guilt, sadness, anger or grief. None of these reactions is compulsory, and none proves that a session is ‘working’.
Fear
Thinking about the future can be difficult, especially when a walk brings us face to face with climate and biodiversity concerns. While admiring an old chestnut tree, questions may arise:
Will it still be standing in ten years?
How will stronger heat, drought or storms affect this place?
What kind of planet are we leaving to future generations?
What can we still change?
Because forest therapy takes place outdoors, it can naturally bring us closer to environmental realities and questions about vulnerability, loss and survival.
Guilt
Quiet moments can also allow unresolved thoughts to return.
Sometimes this relates to ecological concerns.
Sometimes it relates to personal relationships or past choices.
Perhaps something you once said in anger suddenly comes back to mind. Regret often becomes easier to notice when the mind has more space and fewer immediate demands.
There is no ‘right’ time for such feelings to arrive.
A forest walk can provide a quieter setting in which to notice a build-up of emotion. But forest therapy is not psychotherapy, and a guide should not position an outdoor walk as a substitute for professional mental-health care.
Anger
Why am I in this situation?
Why did this happen to me?
Long moments of contemplation can create space for reflection. Being beside a large, old tree can shift perspective and sometimes bring difficult questions to the surface. 🥺
Awe in nature can make us feel small in a way that is sometimes comforting and sometimes unsettling. If a sense of injustice or anger becomes intense, the priority is not to interpret the tree as the cause but to notice what is happening in you and give yourself appropriate support.
Sadness, bitterness, jealousy and many other emotions can also arise. The useful question is not only why you feel them, but what you need in order to respond to them safely.
How to accompany difficult emotions during a forest therapy walk
What can you do if emotion suddenly becomes intense? Having a few simple options in mind can help.
First, slow your breathing if that feels comfortable and orient yourself to the present moment. You do not have to explain your inner experience to the group. A trained guide should be familiar with the possibility of strong emotional reactions.
Then, give yourself the time you need. Step slightly aside if necessary, while remaining within the safe boundaries agreed with the guide and without wandering away alone.
At the end of the session, you may choose to tell the guide what you experienced if you would find that supportive.
If the emotions are intense, recurrent, linked to trauma or difficult to manage, consider speaking with a qualified mental-health professional rather than relying on forest therapy alone.
A forest therapy walk can support reflection, but it does not have to ‘untie’ every problem or produce a breakthrough. Sometimes its value is simply in creating a calmer space from which to consider what comes next.
Is it unusual if I feel nothing in particular?
Not at all. For some people, a forest therapy walk is simply pleasant. No tears, no revelation, no difficult feeling—and that is completely valid.
Different levels of sensitivity
Every person has their own sensitivity and life history. Hormonal changes, sleep, stress, mood and many other factors can influence how someone feels on a particular day.
There is no emotional response you are supposed to have.
Suppressing emotions is not the goal
At the same time, feeling little in one session should not be confused with forcing yourself not to feel. Forest therapy can be an opportunity to practise noticing experience with less judgement rather than trying to perform calmness or control every emotion.Poker Face not required 😶
If sharing space with a group feels difficult, you may prefer to book an individual session.
A guide’s experience of an emotional forest walk
I think it is important to share my experience as a guide. Outdoor facilitation can touch people deeply, and guides need to recognise both the beauty and the limits of their role.
During one autumn walk, the theme was transition: how nature and trees can help us reflect on change and on the inward movement of the season.
There was a great sense of peace around the lake, but the morning still surprised me.
In autumn, deciduous trees let go of their leaves. I often use that seasonal process symbolically to invite reflection on what we may be ready to release ourselves.
Several participants became tearful. I do not interpret this as the trees ‘cleaning’ emotions from them; the theme, the setting, personal grief and the group context all contributed to a moment in which feelings became accessible.
Nature can be a powerful mirror, but it is important not to turn metaphor into medical explanation.
The tears were connected with significant recent bereavements in the participants’ lives. A card drawn during the session brought memories back to the surface. Whether one interprets such moments as chance, symbolism or synchronicity is personal; what mattered practically was recognising the grief present in the group.
The participants had not expected the emotion. I was grateful that the moment happened in a respectful setting where they could choose to pause, cry and receive human support without being pressured to explain themselves.
We then used grounding, quiet attention and meditation. Some participants reported feeling calmer afterwards. I treat imagery such as the ‘warmth of the Earth’ as a guided symbolic practice, not as a physiological claim.
Being a forest therapy guide is not simply about taking people outdoors. It also means maintaining boundaries, safety, choice and respect when strong feelings emerge. That is a real responsibility, and I remain grateful for the trust people place in me.
How do you experience moments of insight in nature? Have you ever accompanied someone through a strong emotional moment outdoors? What helped you stay present without taking on a role that was not yours?
Key points to remember
One aim of forest therapy is to create intentional time for sensory attention, reflection and connection with the natural world. It is not necessary to explain this in terms of energy realignment for the experience to be meaningful.
Guided walks often last two to three hours and may sometimes bring strong feelings to awareness.
The appearance of difficult emotions is possible but not compulsory. If it happens, it may help you notice concerns or experiences that need attention. The priority is to welcome the emotion safely rather than forcing an interpretation.
As forest therapy guides, we may accompany people who experience strong feelings. Our role is not to diagnose or treat them, but to maintain a respectful setting with listening, empathy, consent and clear boundaries.
If sadness, fear or anger arises for you during a nature walk and you would like to talk about the experience, you can contact me. For persistent or overwhelming distress, please seek support from an appropriately qualified health professional.
One difficult experience does not mean nature-based practice is not for you. If you choose to try again, an individual session with a well-trained guide—and clear discussion of your needs beforehand—may feel more supportive.
Clotilde.
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