"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

Research has shown that walking IS good for mental health (especially to combat depression).
Skies often look greyer from inside than they are in reality.

Research has also shown that antidepressants can help with depression, but that doesn't mean they help everybody, or that there aren't some people who get awful side effects, or that people should pressure and push and nag people who don't want to take them, or refuse to believe them if they say it doesn't help them.

Suggestions are fine, and encouragement can be helpful, but there's a hard core of walk-for-wellness absolutists who flat-out refuse to believe someone if they say that going for a walk won't help their mood, even a little bit, or even if they say that they can't do it when depressed. Sometimes it even extends to the point of implicitly or explicitly blaming someone for their depression, because even if they say they've tried it before but it didn't help or made things worse, that can't be true, and if they simply got off their arse and trudged round their local suburb for half an hour a day, they would definitely 100% for certain become less mentally ill. This also includes some mental health crisis team staff members

Hi OP..
I'm sorry - I've not read all the responses.
I hope they were useful. Well, some would have been ... and some wouldn't ... and the odd (prob best word on many levels) one would be unhelpful and/or inflammatory.
Anyway - just to say
a walk/frequent walks can help.
Lying on sofa trying not to die of fright doesn't help ... but sometimes it's the best (only) option.
Once - when at totally 'end of tether' I was told to 'try swimming' ... that after a 9 month wait for 'counselling'.
Really I just wanted to say - feeling bad for whatever MH reason is 'The Worst Thing'.
So -I hope stuff improves for you asap.
There are no quick fixes but eventually (hopefully) you'll find something/things which help.
I'm not going to suggest any (esp not walking or swimming 😂) but I hope you'll find something (it can take time ...oh, and vodka's not optimal tbh).
Good Luck my lovely.
It's crap feeling crap.
My 'best thing what's was a card from a mate. It said 'This too shall pass'.
It will.
(It comes back. But it passes again).
Hug.

No one's ever said a walk is a magic fix for depression and certainly not a walk in the miserable rain. It's just literally a step in the right direction. You could sub in for "a walk" anything that gets you moving, gets your heart rate up, gets you engaging with the wider world and gets you present in the moment. You don't have to trudge around and get wet.

It all depends on where you are walking.

I have suffered with poor mental health most of my life, it will never leave me, I accept that but walking around the fields and woodlands where I live (with my dog) has kept me sane. Being in nature is one of the most pleasurable experiences for me, I love all of the seasons and I am a strange one in the fact that I love, love walking in the rain (probably because I’m an introvert and most people don’t come out in the rain).
I defy anyone not to feel uplifted being in nature.

On the other hand, once a week, I walk my friend’s dog round the town she lives in and boy is that boring - houses upon houses, buildings upon buildings and smelly traffic, no thanks.

Oh and btw I never ended up in a cafe after my walks.

I agree it can help (definitely helps me), but some people do seem to think its a 'fix' for depression in itself. I agree that claim isn't being made on here, but IRL I've heard multiple claims that so-and-so's friend/sibling/neighbour's postman used to be depressed but then took up walking or another sport and 'now they're fine', so there are definitely people who view this in such simplistic terms.

I think my point about whether an area is at least moderately pleasant to walk in is valid, though. I'm not saying it has to be fields and woodlands, but if someone's living in an area they find depressing, I can easily see how walking through it could cancel out a lot of the benefit of the walk, and at least one pp (I haven't RTFT) has attested to that.

FFS.

Of course some people fall into the category you describe, but it's insulting to tar OP (and by implication other people on this thread) with the same brush just because this is how some people deal with depression. I can't tell from your post whether you suffer from it yourself, but I suspect not or you wouldn't be making such reductive overgeneralisations.

All I know is that I have never ever been for a walk I any weather/circumstances and not felt better for it. I don't know why but there must be a scientific explanation for it. As you say the thought might not appeal but the action of walking ends with positive results

To be honest I spent over a decade living in southern Spain with severe anxiety. I lost count of the amount of walks and runs I had, and I still had a breakdown.
I understand what you're saying OP. Some people with mental health issues are beyond being helped by going for a walk.

I refused meds for many years because everyone around me steered me away from them and told me I needed to walk and do breathing exercises instead.
Thank god I gave in in the end and tried the GPs way otherwise I might not be here now.

I love to walk. But even if I didn't, the way i see it, if I'm going to be depressed whatever I do, then I might as well be depressed while doing something good for me.

I'm really depressed and feeling anxious at the moment. I love the idea of sitting in my house all day doing nothing and I probably could do with it at the moment but even at my most depressed I've never done it. I've always got up in the morning and at the very least walked for half an hour. There's so much evidence that supports it. If you haven't tried it, give it a go.

Alas walking does help. Annoying, but it does. I had pretty bad depression a few years back, and tried to walk it off. Walked endlessly.... it was the only time my mind felt vaguely calm - I think the rhythm of walking helped. It didn't stop the depression, but it gave me something to do, I got fresh(ish) air and probably kept me fairly fit. Even when I was physically exhausted I'd go out for a walk because on some level I knew it was good for me.
Now I try and get out as often as I can, even if it's only for 20 minutes. I'm bored of walking around my neighbourhood (had enough of it during lockdown!!), but if I don't go out regularly I get a bit cabin fever-y which isn't good. Walking is one of the things still keeping me vaguely sane.

It gets suggested because it can help.

You can wallow in a pit of despair at home, or you can peel off your PJs, get dressed, maybe drag a brush through your hair, put on some shoes and then go out for a walk.
By doing that, you will have already achieved so much at a time when doing nothing at all seems like the better option.

@LittleMissUnreasonable try walking inside. I walk up and down my kitchen/hall 8 steps, turn, 8 steps, turn.

yes it boring and repetitive.

I listen to music or a pod cast.

but I feel better after. Mentally and physically …. I guess that’s the point!!

To me walking is boring. I’ve tried it when really depressed but don’t get much out of it.

I do enjoy riding my stationary bike for an hour and I definitely feel better and like I’ve accomplished something when I’m done. My daily ride has helped me the past six months when I’ve felt down.

Growing up I spent the summers high up in the Sierras of California - we walked several times a day.
The scenery was breathtaking.
Now I live in the city and it’s ugly pavement and uninspiring houses and I have to force myself to walk.
Environment has a great deal to do with one’s motivation.

@DreamTheMoors I get what you're saying, but scenic walking and urban walking are two different activities. The only similarity is that both are done by putting one foot in front of the other. Many UK cities have lots of easily accessible, interesting walks, as witnessed by the number of books containing guided walks. 'London's Hidden Walks' of which there are now 4 volumes, takes the reader/walker round all sorts of corners of the city steeped in history. The walks vary in length and just as much in character. There are books in the same series for other cities, including Edinburgh, and many other books. It can seem that you live in an uninspiring part of town, but you never have to go far to find somewhere worth walking. It may be different in the U.S. of course. Yes, walking in the hills or country is wonderful, but it isn't feasible for many, and there's a lot to be gained by just getting out to walk regardless.

It can be cosy walking in the rain, get a cosy outfit on, a big umbrella, a good podcast, maybe a coffee/tea and enjoy it. Coming home into your nice warm home after a walk and having a bowel of soup or something feeling fresh after the walk, can’t beat it imo! Try and find joy in each season. I always like to think, there are those who can’t walk & would give anything to, when I cba exercising I try and remember it’s a privilege I get to exercise as many can’t.. most of it is a mindset thing. I don’t profess to have it sussed but these are things that help me

Honestly, there is absolutely nothing "cosy" about walking in the kind of driving sideways rain we have had over the last couple of days. Add in wearing glasses when you can't see through the raindrops then staying in is a better option.

I do agree that going out for fresh air does lift the spirits, but not in driving rain.

I tend to agree but if you've got good waterproofs and can come home to warmth then it can be invigorating

As a person who has suffered from depression and disabling levels of anxiety since I was a kid, I say with passion that I hate this sort of advice.

"Just go for a walk, just have a nice bath, just do some mindfulness when you're doing the washing up... "

It is the most patronising, pathetic sticking plaster to the NHS ongoing lack of adequate mental health treatment.

It might help someone who feels a bit down in the dumps. It might make a person with good mental health feel happy. But if you're at the stage of not washing, dressing, or leaving your house for months on end, then please just stop.

No, what we need is actual ongoing treatment from actual qualified professionals.

It depends.

I really struggled with depression during the first few months of lockdown - had literally moved only 2 months earlier to a new country where lockdown was even stricter than the UK and I didn't know anybody, was wfh home so literally had no face to face human contact at all with anyone for months apart from the twice a week I was allowed to go to the supermarket.

Sometimes going for a walk made me feel better, particularly if it was a nice day. Just getting out of the flat, being in a different place, away from the laptop, sun on face, etc. was a distraction so made a difference. Sometimes even walking in the rain can be nice - i.e. walking by the sea when the waves are churning and wind is whipping can certainly increase the endorphins and then it's nice to get into dry, warm clothes and snuggle up at home once you get back.

However other days, if like you say it was raining, or if everyone else in the park was in a family group or at least with a partner it just made me feel even worse and more lonely.

If it's suggested as one of several things that might make someone feel even a tiny bit better, fair enough. If people couldn't suggest anything at all unless they were absolutely sure it would work then nobody would ever get any help.

Obviously it's not a magic cure all though.

There's a big difference between deciding yourself on any given day if you have enough energy to go for a walk, and being told to do more exercise or go for a walk because it gets endorphins going...

I have poor MH and a walk in any weather does do me good.

@SandyPrawnCracker Well, the trouble is, we're not qualified medical professionals. We're just people bothering to take time out of our lives (and our problems, often) to try to help. We don't pretend to have the answers, but surely some positive suggestions are better than no replies.