Tips for overcoming DEPRESSION on a hike

[@creativegeek1515]

So many good points here. I’ve suffered depression in the past and it can be hard. Therapy and meds got me through it. Your point about feeling your feelings is an important piece of advice. How you feel about your feelings is even more important. If you beat yourself up for feeling any sort of emotion (sadness, depression, even happiness) you’re just adding to your suffering. Better to acknowledge your feelings, not suppress them, and trust that it will pass can help you to heal.

[@rootsandpeaks]

@@creativegeek1515 I love this! Thank you for watching and sharing.

[@TryingTheHardHikeATAdrieWashne]

Funny how I came on this video today, five months after you posted it! I’m in a depressed state for,the past few days. Lots of bad things going on with my family and around me. I go outside normally, that helps. Today, instead, I opened the windows of my office all the way and just hung out in the room for a couple of hours. I turned on great Christmas music from the 60’s. I changed the bedding in my spare rooms. All this lifted my spirits. Fresh air, it’s always the fresh air!

[@rootsandpeaks]

Hang in there. Fresh air certainly helps, but even if that doesn’t help, just keep trying. You’ve got this.

[@lizziegogogo]

This was so great, Ken 😊 Not only is this hike amazing (well done) but the message even better ! Thank you for sharing your experience and taking us along on your hike! PS: hiking saved me in many ways and I would love to tell you about it ❤❤

[@rootsandpeaks]

@@lizziegogogo thank you, Lizzie! Let’s hike sometime soon. We can catch up on the walk.

[@Doc_Watson]

I"m no stranger to anxiety and depression. I also have anger issues that I've dealt with through counseling. Prayer for the anxiety and uplifting songs for the depression (and the anxiety) really helps me. My goto music when depressed is classic hymns done in the style of jazz or Appalachian. Thanks for the video.

[@rootsandpeaks]

@@Doc_Watson music is always a great thing!

[@MattyOutdoors]

Kudos on the vulnerability. These are conversations we need to be able to have openly, especially as men.

[@rootsandpeaks]

@@MattyOutdoors thank you, Matty! Means a lot. I hope it opens up some opportunities for people to talk, here or in private.

[@GeorgeDavis-de1vd]

Thank you for a wise, wonderful video. I'm so glad I found you!

[@rootsandpeaks]

@@GeorgeDavis-de1vd thanks for the positive comment! I’m glad you found me too!

[@peterfagley772]

Ken, so, when you hang out your shingle, please call me first! Seriously, an incredible video for all, not just hikers. I wish you great happiness in your own journey and sense that more videos like this will aid and comfort many others. Cheers my friend, onward and upward, if that's your goal!!

[@rootsandpeaks]

@@peterfagley772 thank you, good sir!

[@firnatine67]

Thank you for sharing this. It's not easy for people to talk about this. Especially men AND when we feel like we have no right to feel this way because we actually have don't difficult lives. I think the more we see other men talking about this is allowing us to have the availability to open up about it. And personally I feel hiking is one of the best physical activities that helps you cope with all of this stuff. At least for me. Good stuff man. Thanks!

[@rootsandpeaks]

@@firnatine67 thanks for watching! I’m glad this was helpful.

[@sandradodge8390]

From a therapist’s point of view, this is excellent…and very share-able.

[@rootsandpeaks]

@@sandradodge8390 well then, share-able it:)

[@Madmotion]

Coming over here from LinkedIn, great video and really lovely message!

[@rootsandpeaks]

Thank you! See you out on the trail!

[@iceman857]

I do think it is helpful to develop coping strategies and ways of changing your perspective through more productive self-talk. It would be good to have someone who is an expert in that area develop something that we could all use. The things we say to ourselves become the stories that create the emotions we experience. Change the story and change the emotion! Thanks for making this video!

[@rootsandpeaks]

@@iceman857 thanks for watching, and sharing!

[@sandradodge8390]

I particularly love the “get outside” advice…even to just sit on your balcony…❤

[@rootsandpeaks]

@@sandradodge8390 the sun is a miracle.

[@RhodySeth]

My last solo trip started with me angry and irritable and it followed me all the way north on my drive and even into the start of my hike. The outdoors can be healing but we also can carry our mental burdens with us into the hills.

[@rootsandpeaks]

100%. It’s not a cure, but getting out can certainly help. I wish I had a silver bullet solution…I’d be a millionaire, and I’d save a lot of lives, but I don’t.

[@HanzHermannHoppe]

Nothing helps me process my thoughts and emotions better than being on the trails.

[@rootsandpeaks]

@@HanzHermannHoppe I agree. Someone about walking has always helped me. Especially if I am by myself.

[@Colby168]

For me, having something planned in the future helps a lot. Something to look forward to. Of course I can’t go to Hawaii every weekend but hiking and backpacking fill in the gaps. Of course having things planned ups my anxiety so it’s a give and take for me. Board and depressed or sleeping in a tent with the bears 🐻 😂.

[@rootsandpeaks]

@@Colby168 I think I’d take the bears:)