"Just go for a walk..."

[LittleMissUnreasonable]

Why does this always seem to be one of the big solutions for people who are suffering from poor mental health? Maybe if I lived in Southern Spain having a nice sunny walk would be very pleasant. But the weather being so miserable and grey ends up making me feel worse. The thought of putting on waterproofs to trudge through the grey endless rain, only to end up in a condensation filled cafe that smells of damp coats just doesn't seem very appealing

I often have to force myself to go out (I’m basically lazy!) but I invariably feel better afterwards. A bit of rain or drizzle won’t stop me - a real downpour is different. I prefer it in the cooler/colder months - it warms me up. If I’ve felt a bit chilly beforehand - albeit with the heating on - I certainly don’t afterwards.

I get it OP. When I feel shit, have a headache, haven't slept much, have an ingrown toenail, anything really, my husband's suggests I "go for a walk". Each time I feel rage.

Having said that I love walking in the rain. Nae such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes. 😁

YANBU. Walking is so fucking boring. Trudging around in the rain round a housing estate - not exactly a great experience. No cafes or anything nearby here either. I do force myself out but I can only tolerate it listening to podcasts

Which is exactly what a walk does.

If you work in the field then you know that pills can only do so much and self help like waking, which has been proven to help with depression is always advised alongside other treatments.

But even if you don't enjoy the walk, does it make you appreciate home more afterwards?

For me one of the benefits of forcing myself out even in the worst of weather is that it raises my mood at home.

If I just stay in I feel low and like I am wasting time. But if I go out and come back again I feel I've earned the down time and actively enjoy it.

Perhaps looking at it from the opposite perspective might help.

But how do you think antidepressants work?

They don't.
There is no evidence they work at all

I don't suffer with poor mental health but I can say that 6 months ago I started a conscious effort to go for a walk every single day and I have loved it. I try and go first thing in the morning but but it's dark that's going to have to change however I can honestly say it is a fabulous way of setting me up for the day.

I think it depends on where in the country you live though. I used to live in the inner city where it wouldn't have been safe to walk most of the time, so yeah walking would not have been the answer at all. I'm lucky to live near lots of walking routes now though and there is enough good weather in the year to walk fairly frequently.

I’m sorry you’re struggling I know it sounds like daft advice but walking really helped me when I was recovering from depression (and it’s still part of my ‘self care’ routine).

Getting out is the hardest part, but fresh air and exercise release endorphins. It might not be a miracle cure, but it can help… even in the rain.

If a doctor really did make those comments, then they're a bloody disgrace.

And calling people pathetic because they can't face going for a walk when their mood is low is appallingly lacking in understanding or empathy. But hey, 'you're not alone in that' @DoItAgainPlz.

@Giveituphq and @actualpuffins Thank you both of you for taking the time to read my posts and tag me with suggestions. I cycle a lot at the weekends (30-40 miles per day) and do spend lots of time outdoors but that's only 2 days out of 7 - need to find something to get me out of the house during the week. I hate exercise classes whether its yoga or spin and tbh don't really have the spare cash right now. Doing yoga or pilates in front of the tv seems to defeat the objective of getting away from the house and screens!
Giving up or changing work also not an option as I'm running the company and have 15 other people to think about and look after all of whom have mortgages and families like me. Hoping that work will pick up soon and life will be a lot less stressful...............................!

Good resolution!

I think that you don't have to enjoy the walk for it to do good.

There is something about moving about outside that lifts you and untangles your head - even when nothing has changed and you didn't like doing it.

Perhaps it is that you also face head-on the struggle to get out and do something... and can see your success in overcoming the horrible inertia of depression and anxiety.

I have anxiety and panic attacks, and going for a walk really helps me. It might not work for you, but it can help a lot of people.

I don't know what sort of doctor you were talking to but it sounds like they could do with some education on mental health. It's not pathetic to be unwell. It is incredibly difficult to find the motivation to do what needs to be done in order to help yourself when you are that low. It's not just going out for a walk for example; first of all I need to think about getting ready, which entails thinking about getting dressed which means trying to work out what clothes I need to wear to suit the weather and I need to find those clothes, and I should probably shower first (although admittedly this gets skipped on the worst days because showering is a whole other list of tasks that are too overwhelming to think about sometimes) and I need to think about where I'm walking to and am I going to need yo take anything with me, where are those things and do I have a bag for those things and frankly just thinking about getting ready to go out exhausts me and overwhelms me so much that I can't muster up the energy. That's not because I am pathetic - it's because I'm not well.

Those women who are drinking that much, are potentially self medicating because they feel low, if that drink at the end of the week is the only thing getting them through the week then why on earth would they want to give that up (much like most things people self-medicate with).

When I'm depressed, going for a walk invariably makes me feel worse. 🤷

I don't mind walking in the rain at all, as long as I have a good jacket and waterproof boots. Its the exercise and the fresh air that helps with the mood imo rather than sunshine, although sunshine is nice too. Having dogs I have to walk anyway and it definitely helps my mental health.

Hi OP, I find getting outside massively helps me - it’s not always easy but I find a couple of things that help me are:

having somewhere to go, so a purpose (def not a smelly cafe tho) - I wrote a lot of postcards so I had to get out to go to the postbox, or go and get a nice takeaway coffee

listening to podcasts - I enjoy no such thing as a fish and You’re Dead to Me so I only listen to them when either going for a walk or doing the ironing to motivate me to do those things

This is very good advice. Plus you feel better by doing something good.

I hate this too. I live in the Lake District and walking the dog and hiking are two of my favorite things, but when I'm mentally unwell, no amount of walking helps and the 'just go for a walk' attitude does not help. if it was that easy nobody would be depressed.

I agree with you that it has a lot to do with where you live. I live in a run down inner city area and while there are a couple of pleasant green spaces close to my home, reaching them means walking down my crappy street where nobody puts their bins in, there is always fly tipping, lots of street drinkers. It just makes me more depressed knowing that this is where I am stuck as I cannot afford to move. In fact it makes me feel like a worthless failure at times, no matter how clean and pleasant my actual home it, the area I live is ugly and depressing. I can literally go the park and be pestered by beggars on my way there. Sometimes I imagine how much better I would feel if I live in a less unpleasant environment. A walk does help, I am not disputing that, it can shift your mood, make you feel connected with nature and make you naturally tired so you sleep better. However in my case, going out often makes me feel worse

I've just posted saying something similar. I am in an inner city and tbh going out can often make my mood dip significantly. Walking past fly tips and drug deals just makes me miserable. There is rubbish everywhere, I have seen fights, drunks passed out on the local park, the roads are very busy so the escooters and cyclists ride on the pavement and give you verbal abuse if you don't leap out of their way. I'm ashamed of where I live, so going for a walk often makes me feel worse about myself

Do you like reading? If so, try walking while listening to audiobooks. It's my favourite cure for the blues. Or get a book of walks for your area. I don't mean hill walks, but urban walks. Some books detail walks around interesting areas alive with history. It's surprising how many interesting corners there are in the most mundane parts of town. A step counting app also makes walking more interesting. Treasure Trails are fun too. Walks of only about 2 miles, but you usually walk farther because you sometimes have to double back to find clues, and perhaps walk to the start, and home from the end. Check out www.treasuretrails.co.uk The UK actually has a good climate for walking. We can even walk through much of summer, apart from during heatwaves, which only account for around 3 or 4 weeks, and that's in the warmest part of the country. Walking in Spain in summer would be hard work. OK so we get rain, but plenty dry days too. Build up to walking 4 or 5 miles and let endorphines work on your mood. It will be worth it.

When I got sober was when I fell in love with being outside in the open air. Just the feel of the wind, sun, rain, snow on your face makes you feel alive. The feel of grass on bare feet, or the crunch of snow under boots is grounding. It's where I find my sanity, calmness.

It sounded so stupid when people said it to me. It's so very true.

OMG I know. Why do so many people trot this out? I suffer from depression and getting out for a walk in decent weather does help me a lot, but it's a long way from being the cure-all panacea a lot of people make it out to be. It really minimises what depression is imo, and inevitably some of the people who parrot this line will either have never experienced depression and be confusing it with just feeling a bit miz, or will have found it helpful because they were only mildly depressed in the first place.

Plus, as pps have pointed out, not everyone lives in an area that's pleasant to walk in.

"There is no mental ill in life that cannot be cured by a brisk walk. There isn't.".

I didn’t see anyone phrasing it in those absolute terms.

"Walking must help"

Walking does help. As stated by several posters on this thread who struggled with mental health issues themselves.
Walking won’t solve all issues or cure clinical depression, but many people do find it very helpful.