Face the Bugs. Feel the Peace. Your Mental Health Will Thank You.

Today you're getting a little heart to heart from me and seeing as May is Mental Health Awareness month ya don't wanna skip this one.

A couple of weeks ago Hank and I decided that we were going to plan a trip to Illinois for some hiking and camping.

I LOVE hiking... I'm trying to love camping. Ha!

I had a decent chunk of anxiety leading up to this vacation which was rooted in a few different things...

👉 We were going somewhere we'd never been before that's pretty far from home

👉 In my research I learned there were slither sticks (aka snakes) about, and they actually close a section of road at this time of year because so many snakes and amphibians cross it for spring migration

👉 We're still newbie campers and every time we've camped sleep has been super crappy

👉 Keeping food cold can be a challenge

👉 Getting a fire going can be a challenge

👉 Super rational thoughts like "what if some crazy person or bigfoot tries to get in our tent?!"

And of course, the day we leave for Illinois it's raining- A LOT. Thankfully by the time we got to the campsite the rain had stopped for a short bit so we were able to set up camp (fairly efficiently I might add) before it started raining again. We ended up spending most of that first evening in our tent. Which led to us discovering a leak though thankfully the design of our tent caused the rain to run outside the tent than water dropping on our heads.

Doesn't look as cool in the pic, but I promise it was really nifty!

The next morning, we woke up to some sunshine and birdsong which was nice, but lemme tell ya it's way different hearing a few birds outside your window in the city compared to hearing a whole FOREST of birds outside your tent. I think the one to ultimately wake me up was the random CAW of a crow. That particular birdsong is akin to listening to Celine Dion and then Slipknot suddenly bursting on stage. I'M AWAKE.

The next couple of days were much better weatherwise and we got to see some pretty cool views!

I'm always saying how fast time is going (let's be real- so are you) and getting away helps slooowww things dowwwnnn. It's no longer about focusing on what time I need to be at work or at this appointment or when the next paycheck hits. It's building a fire, cooking food, hiking a trail, noticing the plethora of different sounds birds make (there are some WEIRD ones lemme tell ya), and just letting myself live to live, enjoy, and experience- not to do, be productive, or earn.

So, despite the anxiety I felt, and the less than ideal first evening, I knew that getting away and out in nature would do a lot of good for me physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Physically it's good for me because hiking is exercise. It's cardio, strength, balance, agility, and coordination all rolled up into one. It 1000% beats the treadmill or stair climber any day. It's important to me to keep working out so I can do all the hiking things I want to do. There have been several times that I've had to take a giant step up on something, use a tree branch to help pull myself up, or jump across something that reminded me how important it is to stay consistent in the gym. So not only is hiking exercise, but it motivates me to keep exercising! Not everyone can just up and go on a hike because they simply physically cannot do it. There was a lady that had to miss this view because her knee couldn't handle it. I thought that was a major bummer.

Think about that next time you wanna skip exercise

Mentally it's good for me because I can finally let go. My to do list doesn't matter anymore when I'm navigating a trail and making sure to not get lost in the woods. Granted I suppose I could avoid my to do list altogether if I "got lost" in the woods. 😜 I finally tear myself away from the incessant scrolling, texting, tv shows, and being bombarded by daily responsibilities. My mind gets a break, which it really needs and so rarely gets, and suddenly things that seemed too big and overwhelming aren't so much anymore. Urgency has gone down. I remember that there's more to life than doing, doing, doing.

And it's not necessarily because anything has changed. It's just because I finally gave myself time to step back and breathe. Whether it's a 3 hour hike on the weekend, a half hour walk after supper on a Tuesday, or simply sitting outside on my lunch break for 5 minutes because that's all the outside time I have for the day- I know my mind WILL benefit. Little self-care practices add up!

Spiritually it's good for me because of my connection to God, Source, Universe. Being in nature is when I feel closest to God. At this point I can't describe this as deeply as I'd like to, and I know it's different for everyone, but when you look at the natural world and immerse yourself in it and realize how small you are but also connected and part of it... it just does something to your soul, ya know? Maybe one day I'll be able to put it to words more eloquently.

All of those benefits can be for YOU, too. The exercise, the mental break, the spiritual connection.

"But Janna!" you say, "I hate mud and bugs, and being hot or cold! I'm scared of snakes! What about bears! What if a tree falls on me?!"

Girl SAME. I get it!

Okay, well, I don't care a whole lot about mud. It can be fun to squish in sometimes, honestly. As for critters, they tend to try to avoid you, too. As for a tree falling on you...you're probably more likely to wreck your car, but you still drive that every day.

I will say I DO NOT like bugs. And depending on which bug it is I WILL squeal. I accidentally touched a spider that got in our tent when we were camping (I thought it was just a fuzzy or something wet on the sheet!) and once I realized what it was the FULLY BODY shudder I had UUGGHHHH. It was a little squishy. It was dead. I'm literally shuddering as I type this LOL Hank got it out of the tent.

But I'm not going to give up all the benefits of camping and hiking simply because of some discomfort and challenge.

Which brings me to the other point of this heart to heart blog...

If you want to reduce stress and anxiety, then you HAVE to do hard things.

You HAVE to get out of your comfort zone.

You can't become more resilient without pushing your limits.

You have to build trust with yourself that you can in fact handle stressful things.

You have to show yourself that you can do something even if it causes you anxiety.

Because then that thing becomes easier and suddenly it's no big deal anymore.

I went into that trip with a decent amount of anxiety and then I proved to myself that going to a new place 7 hours away to sleep in a tent and deal with bugs and night critters and rain and pretty chilly temperatures is something that I can handle. And I actually slept better than the last few times we've camped.

Plus, all of the cool things I got to see with my own two eyes because I was willing to be uncomfortable was pretty cool too.

I'm already looking forward to the next camping trip. 😊

Don't avoid nature because you don't like being cold or being near bugs. Simply be prepared and GO!

EXPERIENCE LIFE.

Test your limits. Push yourself!

Part of overcoming anxiety is doing uncomfortable and challenging things so that you can build your capacity and TRUST in yourself to handle the things.

Face the Bugs. Feel the Peace. Your Mental Health Will Thank You.