this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2023
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Set yourself a goal for some place to walk, could be a park, a lake, a gas station, doesn't matter. The most important thing is that it takes you a reasonable amount of time to get there and back again (preferably at least an hour). You can listen to music or a podcast or an audiobook while you walk if you want to.
The point is that your body responds positively to a lot of different stimuli:
Among others. You don't have to do "anything specific" in order to get those stimuli and get your endorphins flowing. Once that happens, people typically start feeling happier, and get more of a desire to do other things, making it easier to do more cool things.
Go to a park. Look at some trees. So tall and wavy. Go up and touch their bark. Heck, why not climb up a bit? Climb all the way to the top. Take off your clothes and make a nest of leaves in the nook of a high branch. It is your tree now, nobody can take it away from you. Let loose a loud screech of "ook ook" to let everyone know.
You overestimate my power!
Haha, I hope not :)
Joke aside though: I understand that what I'm outlining isn't some magic "fix all", and that some people are in a situation where even getting out of their chair/bed and moving to the door is an accomplishment. I'm afraid those people need more help than I can give, and I wish them the best of luck.
However, for those that can get just a litte movement outside, it's been shown that doing so helps. My point is that you don't need anything specific to do outside. Once you set the goal of just being outside, moving and breathing, the "things to do" will come more naturally. The most important part is getting started by trying to accomplish something like walking around the block, and take things one step at a time.
I am lucky to live in a house with a yard (where I've had to water garden plants daily) and near a trail (I've ridden 130+ miles on my weak-but-geared ebike, mostly shorter trips though) but there isn't much for me to do around that I'm aware of, especially viable without a car and without spending money.
So that's why I think external factors are a bigger part. I even did go on a more-than-an-hour trip and it didn't magically 'click'. Though I had to recover for a few days afterwards (and weather, including heat/sun is a common thing stopping me, also places that aren't open in the afternoon). Also that and even shorter grocery trips I feel shorted (both for what I did and did not buy) due to high prices.
Though it's hard measuring status especially longer-term with added complexity. It's entirely possible not doing the things would make things feel even worse, but there's no reliable way to actually tell.
It sounds like you're doing a lot to help yourself and your body get what you need. It's definitely not going to 'click' for everyone after one trip, but I've found it nice to set some goal or project around the trips. One year I walked to a viewpoint on a trail thats maybe half an hour there-and-back, and took a picture (almost) every day. I had a plan of putting the pictures together to make a kind of "gliding" transition of the view throughout the year (one thin strip for each day) but never got to the photoshopping part. That helped me get out the days I was tired or the weather was bad, because I wanted to get all the pictures for my project.
I think what you're doing is good for you, hope you keep it up, and wish you all the best :)
I have bad joints, man. A walk isn't as relaxing when you've got the knees of an old man. Especially not when everything in both directions of your house is, quite literally, uphill both ways 😭
Ouff, I'm sorry about your knees.. I don't know if biking is any better either then? Otherwise, as others have said, it can be nice to just sit outside and read a book, or just lie down, look at the sky, and listen to something for an hour.
It's just that being inside in one place all the time, constantly looking at the same screen, is bad for us. Evolution has built us for more varied stimulus than that, and pretty much anything that breaks it up is probably better than nothing. Wish you well :)