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How does hunting help you mentally

Robert loper

Robert loper

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2017
Messages
1,772
Location
NJ
As i stated before in a recent post
I suffer from severe up and down depression.
Deer are my life and i doubt i could do without it and would be lost if i could not do deer related things.
I used to golf, fish, and now I even taken a job as a cabinet maker’s helper.
These activities are ok but nothing seems to put me at peace as deer hunting and everything that has to do with it.
The last few months for some reason have been super hard for me.
Actually its been a emotional roller coaster ride for me since 2017.
The year i retired.
I just can not find my place or my purpose.
i also suffer from ptsd from my former 20 year career which was Law enforcement.
Nightmare’s, anxiety, distrustful feelings towards anyone Or most things.
Does anyone else use hunting as a comfort or a way of calming your mental health?
Also as i stated in another post that im pretty over weight and im really thinking that ive hit rock bottom.
Being super out of shape both physically and emotionally or (mentally).
I have think i just need to take it almost hour by hour day to day until hunting season.
Before i moved back to NJ I was in the woods almost every day mostly scouting.
I moved to Delaware in 2017 and love the deer hunting there, but now that i am back in South Jersey and know that the deer I want to go after are just not here or are very rare so i have lost almost all interest in doing what i am used to doing here in Jersey.
i hunted Jersey my whole life and its just ehhh lol.
Killed a ton of deer of all ages snd sizes and i am really good at it but, for some reason i have Almost no interest or motivation here to get out
I would love to hear thoughts or simmilar feelings on what im going through.
 
I've learned a lot about myself sitting still in the woods, alone, without any distractions. I've also learned a lot during the COVID stuff just hanging out on the porch with my dog.
 
Have you ever heard of EMDR therapy? It has been really effective at treating PTSD in military personnel. Helps reduce anxiety and get back to enjoying life.
 
gumby said:
Have your Testosterone checked
Click to expand...

Horrible thing is that they'd rather give you drugs to treat the effects of low T rather than actually give you T (because antidepressants aren't a controlled substance but testosterone is). It all goes back to that dumb outrage over steroids in sports where grown senators cried on TV during the 80s over it and yelled at baseball players.

And the way they define low T is ridiculous.
 
Physical health can certainly play a significant role in mental health imo. That would be a great place to start. Begin implementing changes to your diet and start exercising, evaluate every month or two, set new goals and keep pushing yourself towards improvement. Might be the same for getting in the woods too. Next time you can, go to familiar area to scout but this time look for as many things as you can find that you have never before noticed. Go slow and enjoy what you find. The other thing that is really important for me on the mental side is my faith.
 
BTaylor said:
Physical health can certainly play a significant role in mental health imo. That would be a great place to start. Begin implementing changes to your diet and start exercising, evaluate every month or two, set new goals and keep pushing yourself towards improvement. Might be the same for getting in the woods too. Next time you can, go to familiar area to scout but this time look for as many things as you can find that you have never before noticed. Go slow and enjoy what you find. The other thing that is really important for me on the mental side is my faith.
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this is why scouting can be more fun than hunting at times....just exploring without any pressure or concern with making noise, etc.
 
Cajunyankee said:
Have you ever heard of EMDR therapy? It has been really effective at treating PTSD in military personnel. Helps reduce anxiety and get back to enjoying life.
Click to expand...
I did 32 weeks of it. It helps a bit fir a little while
 
My 2 cents...
CBT helps a lot. Its a lot of work in the beginning but it helps rewire the way you think. I been in some bad places mentally. locked my guns away at family's house at one point. Drugs dont help much in the long run. you gotta put the work in. Hard in the beginning cuz u dont wanna do anything. Quit drinking if you havent yet and find people to talk to if you dont already. Men like to act like we dont need to talk about stuff and nothing can hurt us because thats what we grew up hearing. Find a group. Find a church. anything helps. Covid lockdown kinda stuff really screwed people up mentally more than the virus did physically
 
I love being in the woods. It’s really the only place where I feel like I can be me, where I feel comfortable and at home. There are no other worries in my head, just me and the woods. Obviously harvesting a deer is the goal but I’d go every day if I could.

My best friend is a combat vet and also has ptsd. What you describe is almost exactly what he goes through on a daily basis and his mantra is the same as yours, day by day hour by hour. He too used to love hunting but the joy slowly dwindled just as you describe. In his case what says near as he can figure is just like you he got good at it and it became kinda like a chore. Also, just like you his hunting properties slowly went away and the grind of having to find new properties combined with ptsd really sapped the joy out of it. Now he mostly fishes as the access is easier and doesn’t come with the added stress of having to deal with property owners and such. Appreciate you sharing your struggle, takes courage.
 
I would say first to start really small on the physical aspect. Every single day go out for a walk. Whether that’s around the block or out into the woods. No expectations at all but just make it so routine that it’s a part of each day. Build up from there. Also incorporate some reading to motivate yourself. A lot of choices out there but if you need some motivation I’d recommend the David Goggins book “Can’t Hurt Me”.
 
i suffer from depression, bow hunting has turned into a near year round thing for me.

when im not in the woods or driving around looking for deer, i go to my back yard and shoot my bow. last year i bet i put 5k shots through my bow, no joke. getting into my yard, slowing my mind and body down and focusing on what im doing has taught me a lot of patience and slowed down my brain, as well as giving me something semi-physical to do
 
PEEJAY said:
My 2 cents...
CBT helps a lot. Its a lot of work in the beginning but it helps rewire the way you think. I been in some bad places mentally. locked my guns away at family's house at one point. Drugs dont help much in the long run. you gotta put the work in. Hard in the beginning cuz u dont wanna do anything. Quit drinking if you havent yet and find people to talk to if you dont already. Men like to act like we dont need to talk about stuff and nothing can hurt us because thats what we grew up hearing. Find a group. Find a church. anything helps. Covid lockdown kinda stuff really screwed people up mentally more than the virus did physically
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Cbt?
 
Frosty said:
I would say first to start really small on the physical aspect. Every single day go out for a walk. Whether that’s around the block or out into the woods. No expectations at all but just make it so routine that it’s a part of each day. Build up from there. Also incorporate some reading to motivate yourself. A lot of choices out there but if you need some motivation I’d recommend the David Goggins book “Can’t Hurt Me”.
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Ok thnks for the suggestion
 
Robert loper said:
Cbt?
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I presume that's cognitive behavioral therapy. I believe you said you tried therapy and didn't care for it.

However, I'd encourage you to give it another go. There are a lot of different approaches and medications out there, some of which may work better for you than things you tried in the past.

Again, I'm just a layperson, but I think we are on a continuum. Most of us are in the middle and can move the life satisfaction needle one way or the other to some extent. However, some people aren't as fortunate. For whatever reason, probably genetics and experiences, they can jog all the miles, do all the deadlifts, and stare at all the mountain streams and it just doesn't work for them.

I hope you find something that helps.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
Hunting is my happy place. I look forward to it all year, and that's one of the things I'm looking forward to in retirement. That and motorcycles. The solitude and focus that both activities simultaneously impose and demand are unique and highly appealing to me.

Have you considered wildlife photography? I know a few retired coppers who turned their crime scene skills to more peaceful applications. I had always kinda scoffed at artistic pursuits until I got my hands on a Nikon D90. Refurb camera bodies and lenses can be had for surprisingly little money. And the woods somehow look different if you're looking for hatching grouse or moose calves or wild apples in bloom, instead just of trails and tracks and sheds. You see more, notice more, somehow. And, once you get a portfolio going you might could generate some income from it.

The job takes a hell of a lot out of a person. I've been seeing far more suicides in the last 18 months than I can remember. Please, please, get in the woods or with a different shrink, a chaplain, a coffee buddy, whatever it takes.
 
Sleep in a room with as little light as possible in it. With the temperature below 70*. At the same time every night. Without bright lights or screens on past sunset. Don’t wake up to an alarm. Don’t take caffeine within 12 hours of bedtime. Don’t drink.

Until you get sleep hygiene in order, nothing else will take.

Two supporting tasks are diet and exercise. Burning 1000+ calories through intense physical effort with a heart rate increase and sweating wil help you sleep for sure. Diet is simple - not easy, but simple.


To be clear, solving sleep/exercise/diet in that order might not fix 100% of what ails you. But until you stop spiting billions of years of evolution, all other remedies won’t have the effect you’re hoping for.

Circadian rhythm, intense exercise, diet that works for yiu(everyone is different, it will take work to figure it out).

Everyone says they have good sleep habits, or exercise some, or diet some. But to really dedicate yourself to figuring these out, and I mean really take months and possibly years to get dialed inwill do more than any medication, hormone, or talk therapy.

This isn’t to say those won’t help. It’s that they’ll be pretty much useless without proper biological and physiological foundation. I’m not downplaying your issue, nor your efforts so far to combat it. Just telling you the boring and very hard answer.
 
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