This week has been somewhat brutal on the body with daily trips up and down the M6 from Birmingham to the untamed wilds of Lancashire and back. I have been leaving at around 2pm every day and not getting home until gone 2am, and it is now starting to get to me. I have just one more trip to do and then I will be all done with my daily treks along what is probably the worst motorway to travel along through the day. The usual suspects, doddering old fools who just sit in the middle lane doing 49mph, BMW, Audi and Mercedes drivers, hog the middle and outside lanes making any kind of progress at above 50mph almost impossible and only succeed in winding up everyone else. The only good thing I can say about the whole experience this week has been that I have noticed just how many great looking places there are along the M6, where you could quite easily let the madness of that concrete ribbon, that blight on the landscape, pass you by and do some fishing. Since I started fishing I have often caught myself noticing stretches of a canal, lakes and pools, rivers, but this week I seem to have noticed it more. There are small rivers, canals and lakes all the way from Walsall to Lancaster, which I had never really given much thought to before, but now they kind of stand out more. I can't really explain why.
I think this is what appeals to me about fishing though, it has taken my mind off everything else going on in my life and given me something new to focus on, so the things which were giving me stress and lead to the depression now have less resonance in my life. I have time to sit and think bank-side and see things with more clarity and clear my mind of the negativity which I had surrounded myself with and allowed to take over my daily life. I had started to think that I didn’t have any fun in my life any more and I was in a world of self pity and despair, spending so much of my time working and taking care of day-to-day business, and that I had forgotten that it is vital to take at least an hour every few days to ENJOY ourselves. This can be as simple as something like taking a walk in the park, reading a book, doing a bit of DIY or tidying the garden. Finding that one activity that you enjoy most, especially if it can be with others, is vitally important to treating your depression and anxiety.
Sports, games, reading, and outdoor activities provide us not only with a distraction from the mental condition, but help fight isolation and obsessive thinking. Prior to taking up the sport, my life consisted of getting home from work, closing my front door and shutting myself away from the outside world. It wasn't unknown for me to go from Friday evening until Monday morning without speaking to another person. I would get up early, potter around the house not really doing anything constructive, get tired around mid-morning and sleep on the sofa. The housework would never get done, I would spend hours just looking at photos of other people enjoying their lives on facebook, feel sorry for myself and head into a period of self pity and perpetuate the negativity. Depression and all of the associated problems that it brings is like a vicious loop which it is surprisingly easy, or was for me anyway, to break away from. A couple of hours on the side of a lake has provided me with the boost that I was looking for in addition to the medical treatment I am getting with my medication.
The tablets do take the edge off things, but they aren't the be all and end all of my treatment. If it was that easy then Doctor's would only have to prescribe patients with a supply of 'happy tabs' and everything would be fine. You really do need to find a hobby that gives you the boost required to kickstart life and enjoying yourself. I am lucky to have people around me who love fishing as much as I have started to, they support me, they give me advice, they give me confidence and they give me their time. I doubt very much if I would have ever taken up fishing if it wasn't for them, and they will tell you how much I used to e opposed to the sport. I couldn't get my head around trying to hook something in the mouth and dragging it from it's natural environment in the name of fun. It just felt wrong to me, but I hadn't really tried it. I'd been fishing with my Dad but all he had done was get angry with me because I did this wrong or that wrong, but now I had blokes around me who showed me where I was going wrong, who took time to show me the best way to do something and who encouraged me. I think my dislike of fishing was more to do with the memories of being shouted at and criticised when I was younger rather than any environmentalist or anti fishing ideals.
Fishing has numerous benefits going for it as an article in the on-line Western Morning News of March 2015 points out.
1. Ups your Vitamin D
It doesn't have to be sunny while you fish, simply being outside will help your body top up its very critical vitamin D reserves. Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, keeping your bones and teeth healthy, and has also been strongly linked to helping battle depression.
2. Ups your concentration
Being outside also ups your ability to concentrate, according to research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Apparently, walking in nature or simply spending time under leafy trees prompts "electrochemical changes in the brain" leading to a "highly beneficial" state of effortless attention".
3. Lowers your stress
Several surveys of keen anglers have found that their main motivation is not just about what they might catch, but about what they can leave behind. Nearly 90% said escaping crowds and de-stressing was their ultimate goal, and there are now even charities supporting the power of fishing to treat Post Traumatic Stress.
4. Helps your heart
If you do catch something, and it's an edible oily something, then you've got yourself a low-fat meal that's packed with blood pressure-lowering and heart disease-reducing omega-3. (This applies to game fish only though, salmon, trout etc)
5. Keeps you fit
It might look like a lot of sitting, but actually, a good fishing session can be very good exercise, toning your arms, and, say the experts, burning between 250 calories (if you are just sitting) and 500 calories (if you're angling in waders).
6. Gives you a challenge (and perspective)
Like any sport, fishing helps fill that basic human desire for purpose. "Fishing, like many outdoor activities or farming practices, puts you at one with nature. You're the hunter, the provider," says Lucy Downing of Visit North Norfolk. "You belong and have a purpose. In all, fishing takes you back to the very essence of humanity – giving you a sense of place in the world."
7. Boosts friendship
While there is no specific scientific formula for what makes a good male bonding activity, one that includes hunting things, buying lots of kit, and having an easy excuse to take along some beers is probably a good enough guess.
Certainly, a National Angling Survey a few years ago revealed over 38% of anglers were introduced to fishing by a parent; 19% by another family member and 26.6% by a friend – "suggesting that familial and friendship groups are vital for the development of angling participation".
Of all of those points raised, the one that stands out for me is the last one. I have yet to meet a fellow angler who has failed to wish you a cheerful good morning if they are walking past your peg. I have never known such a friendly bunch of people and they don't judge you either, they openly and freely offer advice on things and try and help you if they can and they will stand and talk to you about the sport for hours. Add to the mix the owners and staff of the numerous tackle shops around the country who don't judge you whether you are a complete novice such as myself or an experienced angler. I have found that these people are only too willing to give you the best advice on gear, where to fish, how to fish and what I should be aiming for with my development. I don't think it would be too over the top to say that it feels like being part of a huge brother/sisterhood.....
See you on the bank-side....
I think this is what appeals to me about fishing though, it has taken my mind off everything else going on in my life and given me something new to focus on, so the things which were giving me stress and lead to the depression now have less resonance in my life. I have time to sit and think bank-side and see things with more clarity and clear my mind of the negativity which I had surrounded myself with and allowed to take over my daily life. I had started to think that I didn’t have any fun in my life any more and I was in a world of self pity and despair, spending so much of my time working and taking care of day-to-day business, and that I had forgotten that it is vital to take at least an hour every few days to ENJOY ourselves. This can be as simple as something like taking a walk in the park, reading a book, doing a bit of DIY or tidying the garden. Finding that one activity that you enjoy most, especially if it can be with others, is vitally important to treating your depression and anxiety.
Sports, games, reading, and outdoor activities provide us not only with a distraction from the mental condition, but help fight isolation and obsessive thinking. Prior to taking up the sport, my life consisted of getting home from work, closing my front door and shutting myself away from the outside world. It wasn't unknown for me to go from Friday evening until Monday morning without speaking to another person. I would get up early, potter around the house not really doing anything constructive, get tired around mid-morning and sleep on the sofa. The housework would never get done, I would spend hours just looking at photos of other people enjoying their lives on facebook, feel sorry for myself and head into a period of self pity and perpetuate the negativity. Depression and all of the associated problems that it brings is like a vicious loop which it is surprisingly easy, or was for me anyway, to break away from. A couple of hours on the side of a lake has provided me with the boost that I was looking for in addition to the medical treatment I am getting with my medication.
 |
| Stolen from Matt Hayes' facebook page |
The tablets do take the edge off things, but they aren't the be all and end all of my treatment. If it was that easy then Doctor's would only have to prescribe patients with a supply of 'happy tabs' and everything would be fine. You really do need to find a hobby that gives you the boost required to kickstart life and enjoying yourself. I am lucky to have people around me who love fishing as much as I have started to, they support me, they give me advice, they give me confidence and they give me their time. I doubt very much if I would have ever taken up fishing if it wasn't for them, and they will tell you how much I used to e opposed to the sport. I couldn't get my head around trying to hook something in the mouth and dragging it from it's natural environment in the name of fun. It just felt wrong to me, but I hadn't really tried it. I'd been fishing with my Dad but all he had done was get angry with me because I did this wrong or that wrong, but now I had blokes around me who showed me where I was going wrong, who took time to show me the best way to do something and who encouraged me. I think my dislike of fishing was more to do with the memories of being shouted at and criticised when I was younger rather than any environmentalist or anti fishing ideals.
Fishing has numerous benefits going for it as an article in the on-line Western Morning News of March 2015 points out.
1. Ups your Vitamin D
It doesn't have to be sunny while you fish, simply being outside will help your body top up its very critical vitamin D reserves. Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, keeping your bones and teeth healthy, and has also been strongly linked to helping battle depression.
2. Ups your concentration
Being outside also ups your ability to concentrate, according to research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Apparently, walking in nature or simply spending time under leafy trees prompts "electrochemical changes in the brain" leading to a "highly beneficial" state of effortless attention".
3. Lowers your stress
Several surveys of keen anglers have found that their main motivation is not just about what they might catch, but about what they can leave behind. Nearly 90% said escaping crowds and de-stressing was their ultimate goal, and there are now even charities supporting the power of fishing to treat Post Traumatic Stress.
4. Helps your heart
If you do catch something, and it's an edible oily something, then you've got yourself a low-fat meal that's packed with blood pressure-lowering and heart disease-reducing omega-3. (This applies to game fish only though, salmon, trout etc)
5. Keeps you fit
It might look like a lot of sitting, but actually, a good fishing session can be very good exercise, toning your arms, and, say the experts, burning between 250 calories (if you are just sitting) and 500 calories (if you're angling in waders).
6. Gives you a challenge (and perspective)
Like any sport, fishing helps fill that basic human desire for purpose. "Fishing, like many outdoor activities or farming practices, puts you at one with nature. You're the hunter, the provider," says Lucy Downing of Visit North Norfolk. "You belong and have a purpose. In all, fishing takes you back to the very essence of humanity – giving you a sense of place in the world."
7. Boosts friendship
While there is no specific scientific formula for what makes a good male bonding activity, one that includes hunting things, buying lots of kit, and having an easy excuse to take along some beers is probably a good enough guess.
Certainly, a National Angling Survey a few years ago revealed over 38% of anglers were introduced to fishing by a parent; 19% by another family member and 26.6% by a friend – "suggesting that familial and friendship groups are vital for the development of angling participation".
Of all of those points raised, the one that stands out for me is the last one. I have yet to meet a fellow angler who has failed to wish you a cheerful good morning if they are walking past your peg. I have never known such a friendly bunch of people and they don't judge you either, they openly and freely offer advice on things and try and help you if they can and they will stand and talk to you about the sport for hours. Add to the mix the owners and staff of the numerous tackle shops around the country who don't judge you whether you are a complete novice such as myself or an experienced angler. I have found that these people are only too willing to give you the best advice on gear, where to fish, how to fish and what I should be aiming for with my development. I don't think it would be too over the top to say that it feels like being part of a huge brother/sisterhood.....
See you on the bank-side....
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