Author Topic: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?  (Read 3645 times)

whitehorse

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Hello
Hope everyone on here is well- it's been a while since I've been on this forum.
My dreams of overnight walking adventures are finally coming true but I've hit on a problem that has taken me somewhat by surprise!
Recently I did a fantastic two night trip which I'd been planning for a long time and was very excited about. Nothing impressive or strenuous but just getting out into beautiful scenery with my tent. I felt like the luckiest person alive- and then evening came along and I felt so horribly sad...where did that come from?! All I could think about was my family back at home and what they would be doing- when usually when I'm there I'm the one staring out the window wanting to be outside!
The feelings seemed to subside when I got into my sleeping bag and went to sleep, and I was fine again in the morning. Pretty much forgot about it all and had a great day- then lo and behold come evening I felt exactly the same again.
I should have been luxuriating in the peace and beauty of the sunset yet I was snivelling into my pasta and wanting to be at home. Why does my brain do this to me?
I have some more trips planned but I have to say this evening sadness business is putting me off a little. Does anyone else get this and what do you do to help prevent it?






alewife

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #1 on: 23:51:44, 24/06/17 »
I had similar when camping solo on Pembs coast path. I felt less gloomy in a hostel or b and b, so maybe mix it up a bit. I also look forward to settling down with a book and make sure its one I'm enjoying. I put it down to your body being tired from the day and probably your brain too. Or find a pal to share trips.

Alewife


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lostme1

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #2 on: 09:05:57, 25/06/17 »
Take an MP3 player and listen to an audio book whilst enjoying the scenery. Another human voice will make you feel less lonely.
These boots are made for walking.... so long as the rest of my body agrees

willow229

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #3 on: 13:48:26, 25/06/17 »
I know this feeling well as I'm usually a solo walker. If feeling lonely I listen to old episodes of Desert Island Discs to keep me company.

ninthace

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #4 on: 16:16:10, 25/06/17 »
There are probably several contributing factors for this feeling. From a biochemical standpoint, walking generates endorphins (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorphins) which give you a natural "high". Once you stop exercising, you will lose the high. Couple this with a dislocation from your normal routine and lack of stimulation once you have set up camp, it is not surprising that you will feel homesick, especially if you have a strong emotional bond with your family.


There is no "cure" per se but as others have suggested some form of mental stimulation will take your mind of it. Personally I have little sports radio tuned to Radio 4 so I have other voices in my head apart from my own.  I believe talk radio is better than music which is too easy to "tune out" especially if you are the sort of person that has music on normally. Repeated exposure to the situation will lessen the impact as will having some form of routine.
« Last Edit: 18:15:10, 25/06/17 by ninthace »
Solvitur Ambulando

tonyk

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #5 on: 17:05:34, 25/06/17 »
  I think its a perfectly normal condition,just part of being human.When you walk alone you have far more time to think and its quite easy to drift into a negative mindset as one thought leads to another and there isn't another person there to break the cycle of thoughts.Sometimes its best just to sit there and watch the thoughts come and go without being attached to them.After a while the mind will calm and you can then enjoy watching the sunset.

henryb

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #6 on: 20:03:17, 25/06/17 »
I can relate to this situation as I walk mostly walk solo these days. In the evenings when the walk is finished I've felt lonely. Reading a book can help. Normally this is a Wainwright book when I'm in the Lakes. Secondly, focus on the advantages of solo walking. The main advantage is freedom from the demands of other walkers. You can wander about as you please without consulting others. I've found over 8 years, walking with 5 different groups or people, I'm disappointed as I was having to make compromises from my own personal itinerary. The only way I got what I wanted - walking with no one. That way no one interfered. I've also shortened my trips to two days walking and two days travelling. This way - I'm back home within a few days, back to civilization. Loneliness is hard but it does get easier over time. My first solo trip was in 2013 but now, four years later, I'm more familiar with this state of affairs and take it more in my stride. Hope this helps, Henry

whitehorse

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #7 on: 21:48:07, 25/06/17 »

thank you so much for the replies  :)
it's very reassuring to know it's not just me, and I think that fact alone will help next time knowing it is something that is quite normal. I'll make sure I take a good book and an MP3 player to brighten the evenings a bit. It's also good to know that maybe the more I head out, the easier it will become.


In an ideal world it would be great to have a walking and camping companion, but as henryb says, it always seems to lead to too greater compromises- walking too fast, too slow, too far, not far enough etc! then add in trying to co-ordinate time off work, where to go etc and it just doesn't work out very well.


Doddy

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #8 on: 11:51:23, 26/06/17 »

I guess my thoughts are mainly for long trips a long way from home. Having world travelled solo for18 months and then undertaken walking trips amounting to another 12 months I know homesickness can be consuming. I find you can think your way out of this by being positive.


Visualise exactly the opposite of any doubts you may have.
See, really see, yourself reaching your goal.
Have a mantra you can say to yourself to send away any negative thoughts.
Say out loud how well you are doing.
Think of the warm glow of reaching home and telling folks about your completed trip.


Practically an MP3and pocket radio can help. I avoid regular contact with the family. If you are a bit down seeing how everyone is enjoying themselves and posting on Facebook how wonderful everything is can be unsettling. Finding out many miles from home the dog is costing the earth in vets bills and the kids have broken a window does not help.






Penygadair

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #9 on: 15:30:45, 26/06/17 »
Similar feelings hit me for the first time last year when I had a week alone in Ireland. One day I just felt lonely and wished Mrs P was with me although her walking days are over. A couple of phone calls home soon solved it.


Evening time after my walks i invariably found someone to chat to in the pub - not about walking but about the local area and just about everything under the sun. Met some really interesting people from all walks of life.


Problem sorted.

whitehorse

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #10 on: 22:29:28, 26/06/17 »

Thanks, I like the positive thinking ideas  :)
I can see the pub idea working for others and is a good one, but not for me. I tend to avoid them, talk about antisocial  ;D (really, I just find it very hard to talk to people I don't know. Unless I'm on this forum  :) )

fit old bird

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #11 on: 12:52:20, 06/07/17 »
I remember feeling lonely when I hired a cottage in the Lakes just for me, in my mid twenties. The days were alright, but every night I went to bed early with a book. Didn't seem much point in staying up, and I don't like going in pubs on my own. Fast forward, I am now more confident and happy to be on my own, but I don't camp because I like the interaction with other hostelers, or with the owners of the B & B I am staying at.


My house/cat sitter sends me text updates about what is going on at home, and sometimes phones,  this helps. Maybe get someone to keep in touch with you, family, friends.


Ilona

gunwharfman

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #12 on: 20:15:27, 06/07/17 »
I experience highs and lows all the time. I try to treat any emotion as part of the walking experience, its not the only feelings I go though, I've even experienced a bit of paranoia, the feeling that I'm being followed, usually happens when I am walking for a long period of time and seeing no one. It passes, especially quickly with me if I can get into a pub! I am also the sort of person who looks forward to the coming day so do not experience such feeling until the late afternoon usually, but not every day than goodness.

I find it helps to have some music to walk to, to do a few twirls and to sing out loud, or to stop and have a short sleep and then hike on. I've never had a downer where it has actually defeated me yet but I've been near to it!

des65

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #13 on: 22:56:41, 08/07/17 »
When sat atop a hill or mountain, I often get a feeling of awe that makes me think about life.


Sometime this can make me feel sad or happy. For me, it is a moment to process thoughts I do not always get the chance to process. In fact after a long walk or wild camp, I feel as though I can 'move on' mentally.
Love to walk in the Pennine hills.
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Peter

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Re: feeling low on solo trips- how to help prevent it?
« Reply #14 on: 11:11:51, 09/07/17 »
I suffer with depression. 95% of my walking is done alone.
Occasionally the 'sadness' is overwhelming, I just cry.
I use the physical effort to push out the bad thoughts. I also divert into solving problems.
Not sure that any of this is actually going to help, except perhaps in knowing that you are not the only one?

Peter
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