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How often do you take a mental health walk?

#Poll #EvanPoll

  • Daily or more (24%, 124 votes)
  • Several times per week (26%, 139 votes)
  • About weekly (18%, 97 votes)
  • About monthly or less (30%, 156 votes)
516 voters. Poll end: 1 year ago

Evan Prodromou reshared this.

Does walking with your dog also count?
what is a mental health walk?
@julien I'm also confused. What's the difference to a normal walk?
does it have to be a walk? What about swimming / hot tubs?

(Iceland has exquisite public swimming pools)
I did a search to see if there's a less ableist term than "walk".

I saw "roll" and "stroll", but also a lot of pushback that it was OK to just use "walk".

I decided to stick with it since "mental health walk" is an idiom.

But people with wheelchairs, I see you and I'm glad you're getting out and about.
One alternative to "walk" is "Constitutional."

See: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/13717/what-is-the-meaning-of-the-phrase-the-morning-constitutional
Going for a stomp.

https://audioboom.com/posts/8124913-what-is-the-stompcast
Whenever your wife will go with me? But, seriously, I use yoga more for my mental health endorphins and self focus but try to get in a few good walks a week but it's highly variable.
I’d have trouble distinguishing between ‘mental health walk’ and ‘bodily health walk’, as when it comes to walking they are so closely linked for me
I walked every single day in 2020 and 2021. Things were a bit more hit and miss in 2022.
Wow, the "monthly or less" percentage is shocking to me. I hope they take walks that are "not" for mental health.
For us, it's a daily health walk in all ways. We're getting old. Keeps us alive.
procession, maybe? Excursion?
I go for a walk most days, but I don't call it a mental health walk.

I think of it as being good for my physical health, but I just call it a "walk".

I suppose it must have some mental health benefits. And I'm needing those more and more I guess.
2.5 hr walk on average!
I walk several times a week, and I kniw it's good for me in many ways, but I've never labelled it as a "mental health walk".
I’ve never heard of a mental health walk, though it seems like a good idea.
If running counts, then most days. It's primarily for physical health, but it makes a big difference mentally too, for me.
If this includes laps around the dog park then it's every day the weather permits, and it helps me to facilitate the happiness of my dog.
I generally find bicycling or sitting on my porch more relaxing, so it's not my top mental health tactic.

That said, I often have therapy appointments on the phone while walking through my neighborhood, and I also recently experimented with "nature therapy" in the woods nearby, so if therapy counts, then I probably do it weekly.
does it count that the purpose is not for mental health but the result is mental health? 🏃🏻‍♀️
I'd like to be able to walk well enough to go for a walk
not as often as would be more helpful...
going for a walk to nowhere stresses me out, but (usually e-)biking every 2-3 mile errand or school run keeps me relatively healthy physically and mentally, despite the transportation bureau's best efforts.
This is why I live in the country.
Mine's a bike ride. Several times a week
I found I'm not good at going for a walk specifically for the benefit of my health, but I make sure I go shopping on foot most days.
does mental health run count? Nearly every day
I prefer mental health ice cream
how do you define "mental health walk"?
I try to leave the house at least once. Even if it is only to get something small from the supermarket or take out trash. Leave the house at least once.
Interesting results and conversation!

I'm daily. I try to get out for some kind of walk every day. Sometimes it's long, sometimes just around the block.
I try to get out daily, but really only manage a few times per week. I do notice the difference, though, and have been starting to note whether or not I walked in my "mental weather report" when I sit down to write morning pages
I walk on a fairly frequent basis. But I can't say I have ever taken a walk for mental health.
I can say, as a licensed clinical social worker who's trained in EMDR, that walking helps anyone process because your right side arms and legs are controlled by the left hemisphere of your brain just as the left side is controlled by the right. It is easier for your brain to process information while opposite limbs are moving because both hemispheres are active and information gets moved to the hypothalamus more efficiently. Good for mental health and problem solving.
I was daily for almost two years but new meds kind of threw off my rhythm. I’m still multiple 1 mile plus walks a week though and working back up in frequency.

It helps a lot that I live in a walkable and scenic neighborhood. Very blessed in that way.
I walk daily, usually at least twice. Never taken a mental health walk.... Although I've probably had a mental health pub visit, and will have gotten there by walking.
I needed a “not enough” option
I have been shocked countless times how quickly my brain can zig-zag from "life is great! I feel amazing!" to "I think I'm dying"…and unless I get outside at least once a day for a *substantial* meditative walk (or e-scooter ride which is my new favorite thing), the likelihood of a mental crash skyrockets. So it's not just something I enjoy doing…I NEED to do it.
definitely not enough. With newborn and an older kid it's pretty hard to "just go", unfortunately. Also, the weeks long overcast, dark, short days, and constant rain feel like they're definitely not going to improve my mood.