In other posts, I’ve described the first effective steps that I took that let to sustained improvements in my mental health. These included creative projects, self-improvement tips, and meditation.
The first hike
The next “little” thing I did, that ended up being huge for me, was to start more physical activity. In particular, physical activity outside. I went on more walks to the park. And, pretty much on a whim, I went hiking during the first Saturday after I started my plan of being more active. Going hiking was one of the biggest mood boosters that I’ve found so far.
The following Saturday, I told myself that I didn’t have to go hiking, according to my rule of not piling things on. (I was trying to eliminate the endless list of mental “shoulds” that constantly repeat in my head.) I’d only go hiking if I felt like it.
When the alarm went off stupid early that Saturday morning, I decided I didn’t feel like it. So I deliberately laid back down in bed,. But then I remembered how I felt the previous week when I got onto that trail. How I had a stretch of time, and an activity, with absolutely no doubts. This was total unconflicted, regret-proof enjoyment. So I laid there and thought about how that would feel. Then, I got up and I went hiking.
Making it a habit
That was the beginning of a weekly thing. My Saturdays were reorganized around going for a hike. The hike became the main event of my weekends. This wasn’t something I was going to squeeze in if I found some “spare” time. This was the priority .
I soon realized that, along with meditation, and the mental space/play time represented by the paint by numbers project I was working on, that hiking was a foundation of my mental health. Being outside. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. The best times — the happiest times of my life — were when I was out camping solo on road trips as a nomad.
I began to combine walks and hiking with some of the other mainstays of my mental health. I would download a meditation and do that at a stop on my hike. I also brought my journal, and occasionally would write a journal entry sitting on a rock or at a picnic table.
With meditation, activity, and journaling, I’d found the health habits that would be the basics of my recovery.