What is a Mental Health Walk?
At least thirty minutes of brisk walking three times a week has been proven to lessen symptoms of depression.
The walk is an opportunity for introspection, to challenge negative thinking, and to express gratitude for the beautiful world that exists outside your door!
How mental health walks make you beautiful
- Increases confidence
- Snatches your body
- You’ll get a nice tan 😉
If you keep scrolling I’ll share my story and a little bit of the science behind mental health walks and why they’re magical
How & why mental health walks changed my life in 4 months!
Mental Health Walks are a simple but powerful practice that changed my life in just four months. Like seriously, I did a complete 180.
I was stuck in a rut of depression, lacking the motivation to get out of bed before noon. I was becoming agoraphobic, my social anxiety had gotten so bad I didn’t even want to leave my house to go grocery shopping.
I knew something needed to change, I wasn’t taking care of myself. I was so harsh on myself that I didn’t feel beautiful. So when it got a little bit warmer I committed to going on a mental health walk every day.
In this blog post, I’ll share with you how mental health made me beautiful and transformed my life in just four months.
I Always Felt Better After a Mental Health Walk
The first thing I noticed when I started going on mental health walks was that my mindset was always better than when I initially left the house.
And since my serotonin/endorphin levels were pretty low at the time it made me want to keep having those daily walks.
Every time I came home, I felt good that I had accomplished something, even if I only walked for half an hour.
This is because just 30 minutes of brisk walking 3 times a week is proven to increase serotonin and dopamine production in the brain.
Case Study on Walking vs Antidepressants
In a study done by Dr.Stephen Ilardi, his team tested the effectiveness of Zoloft versus walking 3 times a week for 30 minutes to see which was more effective in lessening depressive symptoms.
After 4 months those on Zoloft and those who were walking had beat the placebo group. Both groups had equally reported feeling less depressed.
After 6 more months (10 months total) those who were taking Zoloft were 3x more likely to report depressive symptoms than those who had been walking. Crazy right?
Over the course of four months brisk walking has the power to completely change your brain chemistry!
The Importance of Sunshine
Our hunter gatherer ancestors spent most of their time outside, since then we haven’t had any evolutionary changes (except lactose intolerance lol).
We are hardwired with the expectation of seeing bright light for extended periods of time. Without sunlight our bodies internal clocks begin slipping. If you were in a cave with no light, within 24 hours your body clock slips 1-2 hours.
Our retinas help us perceive color, black & white, and brightness. What’s crazy is that the part of our eyes that are sensitive to light are connected to the center of your brain where your internal clock is.
What’s even more interesting is that they are connected to circuits in your brain that regulate energy levels, that use dopamine.
Your retinas also have connections to the rewards system in the brain, that boost serotonin. Sunlight literally changes our brain function, it alters our neurochemistry.
Starting to Eat More Intuitively
Mental health walks also made me want to eat healthier. Because when you come home all sweaty, endorphins pumping, you don’t wanna order Uber Eats and trash that work.
Also I just started making smarter choices like hmm maybe I’ll have the harvest bowl instead of the burger (though I do love to treat myself to a burger every now and then).
Or maybe I don’t need to drink wine tonight. Or instead of ordering pasta puttanesca I’ll just make it myself. I had become more in tune with my body.
The Importance of Omega 3’s and Omega 6’s
Also the foods we eat also have the power to combat depression. Omega 3’s and Omega 6’s fight inflammation in the body and depression is an inflammatory illness. The depressed brain is an inflamed brain.
The easiest way to incorporate your Omega 3’s and 6’s is by taking fish oil supplements. On the back of the bottle look check the EPA/DHA. 1000mg of EPA and 500mg of DHA has been found to lessen the symptoms of depression.
Momentum & Renewed Hope
Over time I had started to build momentum because of my mental health walks. Very small increments of momentum which began to grow exponentially at month three and four.
It started with mindful food choices, I started cleaning more, I started to wake up before noon, I watered my plants consistently, I even picked up a book. And most importantly I was starting to think about Cool Trans Girl again and what my vision for this website was.
I applied to college, got into college, decided to put college on hold to pursue CTG lol, started working harder, started to cut off negative people in my life, started going to more events and putting myself out there.
My quality of life began improving day by day. I was back to my happy self, the one who moved to New York to pursue her dreams, except this time she was stronger… and hotter lmao.
Challenging Negative Self Talk
At the beginning, going on mental health walks were uncomfortable. I lacked confidence and felt self-conscious about how I looked, I had been inside for so long I had convinced myself that I was ugly.
That everybody looking at me was thinking, “that’s a man.” Just ew, what a HORRIBLE mindset to be in.
That kind of thinking over time will destroy you and manifest into irreversible mental illness. Period.
On these Hot Girl Walks I began to challenge myself, whenever I recognized that I was spiraling into some self-pity monologue.
I would stop and say, “Hey don’t be so hard on yourself, everyone feels this way sometimes.” Or, “Don’t worry, you always figure it out.
“The universe has your back.” Or sometimes even, “Hey your permeating a toxic mindset that is a result of generational family trauma, that is not your problem anymore.”
Radiating Confidence
Walking snatched my body
As I started to slay in various areas of my life my confidence began to grow as well. All resulting from the initial mental health walk and the areas of improvement above mentioned.
Not only that but my waist is fucking snatched to the gods. I dropped a full dress size and it wasn’t even on purpose. Plus I got a killer tan from being outside so much!
But that was not the goal, it was simply a bi product of regaining control of my life. Having my autonomy back. I walk with my shoulders back smiling at people, feeling flirty, a fully realized hot girl and it’s a glow that radiates from within.
I feel irresistible, sexy, confident. And the confidence did NOT come from losing weight.
It came from keeping a promise to myself. It was my commitment to prioritizing my mental health and regaining control of my life. Getting all those to-do’s done that I had been procrastinating for months.
Like applying for medicaid and getting your free gender affirming surgery. Staring that project you said you were gonna do a year ago. Making your bed every day! Washing your fucking makeup brushes!
Some words of encouragement
In conclusion, as a trans person if you’re listening to the media and what ignorant people say all the time your light can start to dim.
When that happens your energy becomes low vibrational and you can get stuck in a dark place. Been there, not fun.
Mental Health Walks may seem like a simple practice, but they have the power to transform your life in significant ways.
By incorporating them into my daily routine, I was able to establish momentum, increase my confidence, eat healthier, get in shape, and develop a more positive outlook on life and I think that’s magical 😉
Go outside touch grass!
Xoxo
CTG Aria
