How to Overcome Fear and Anxiety in the Wilderness
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- Does fear get in the way of enjoying the wilderness? Do you get wrapped up in worry over the what ifs? What if the bugs are bad? what if I don't bring enough warm clothes. What if I run out of food? And most of all . . . what about bears? In this video, I share some basic concepts about fear and anxiety and teach you simple techniques so you'll understand how to overcome fear and anxiety in the wilderness.
In addition to being passionate about ultralight backpacking, I'm also a licensed mental health counselor and wanted to share some tips to help you increase your enjoyment of the outdoors by not letting worry get in the way.
Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I will receive a small commission if you purchase an item after clicking on the links. This comes at no extra cost to you and will help this channel to continue producing videos with the goal of inspiring people get out and enjoy the wilderness. Thanks for your support!
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As someone who both loves the outdoors and struggles with anxiety, I appreciate this video so very much. Thank you.
You are very welcome and stay strong!
Thank you so much for this Dan, it is very much appreciated. I have GAD and over the years have let it limit my enjoyment of different experiences. I will be going on a bow hunting trip with friends in a couple months, so this helps me remember what to actually focus on, as it's easy to forget with the various things of life that poke our brains. Keep on putting out content, you're doing a great job. Subscribed.
Thanks so much Keith and thanks for the sub! Good luck on your trip and keep on showing courage by confronting those fears! Kudos.
I watch almost every UA-cam Backpacking, Hiking, and ultralight channel you could think of. Yours is one of the best, and most informative, channels out there. You deserve 10 times the subscribers. There’s only one thing I’d add to this... you’re correct in the assessment that at 3 million + visitors to Glacier a year, and only 10 grizzly fatalities, the likelihood of a fatal encounter is extremely low. However, I’d argue that maybe 5% of those hikers never stepped foot past a half a mile into the backcountry. I realize I’m splitting hairs, but it’s important to remember that there is a big difference between stepping out of your car and hiking half a mile to hidden lake and spending 3/4 nights deep in the backcountry. There are def ways to mitigate that risk, but I think it’s a bigger risk than 1 in 10 million (taking into account how long the park has been open... roughly 100 years, and the annual average visitor count.... probably about 500,000 a year. It’s 3 million now, and for the past decade maybe, but it was far less for each decade you go back). That all said... you’ve given invaluable info, and your channel is A+
It is amazing how packed GNP can be along the Sun road, but when you get 1/2 mile into the backcountry, the crowds vanish. I agree with your point, but the math was beyond me. ;-) Fun fact, all 10 of those fatalities have occurred since 1967. Thanks so much for the positive comments, really encouraging!
ShastaBubba Adventures yeah, sorry. Lol. No explanation for my math. My thinking was... 100 million visitors to Glacier since it opened. Divided by 10 fatalities. 1 in 10 million chance. But if only 1 in 20 even head into the backcountry more than a half a mile that makes the odds 1 in 500K to get killed in the backcountry. *im not a scientist, nor a mathematician. lol. This was just my personal estimate of the odds
@@noBearAdventures No worries! Good food for thought. I considered contacting the backcountry permitting office to see if they have statistics for this, but I'm guessing they can only say how many permits were granted, which would be closer, but still not a completely accurate number of people who travel the backcountry, since people sometimes get permits and don't actually hike (weird!), or change plans without informing the permitting office.
ShastaBubba Adventures exactly. It would be a hard thing to figure out and find
Thank you for this video. One of my most careful and sensible friends got killed by a wild animal outside his house a month ago and I've been paranoid about the wilderness ever since. Nothing too disfunctional but the worry kills the pleasure for me. I wish to convert this fear into preparedness and taking some precautions in the wilds. Your video helps!
Awesome, I'm so glad it was useful and sorry for your loss.
My backpacking is almost always part of a road-trip vacation. I like what you said about looking back at when how you survived when bad things actually did happen. The few times my vehicle had problems far from home--muffler fell off; busted fan belt; flat tire--I managed to survive without too much trouble. You can spend a lot of anxiety worrying if your car will break down, but it's not worth it.
If you watched the recent video of Joey Coconato backpacking in the Scapegoat, he had many things go wrong, including running low on food, but he took it in stride and didn't panic.
I missed that vid of Joey's but will look it up today -- really hope to get closer to the quality of trip vids he makes (eventually)! Thanks for the tip and for watching/commenting.
He's the Gold Standard in my book--but he's the polar opposite of going lightweight!!
@@mdaski Agree on both points; although he sure makes a tall boy look good at the end of the day!
This advice really resonates with me as I deal with severe anxiety and panic attacks. I used to just be afraid of heights and I let myself be afraid of heights because it was easy to avoid heights. Then I started having anxiety and panic attacks when I was driving because a) I didn't like driving on high overpasses or bridges due to heights and b) because I was worried I would have a panic attack while driving. Giving into that fear just led to more and more fears. My question is that I can already recognize that my fears are irrational but when I feel the onset of anxiety or panic it is very hard to get control. I've found success with saying mantras out loud as a way to focus my mind (such as you can do this over and over agin) but its very difficult and mentally exhausting to do so. How do I prevent physical reactions to anxiety and panic? It feels like my stomach drops and like I'm having trouble breathing, I'm always worried I'm going to pass out even though it has never happened. I'm trying to use the outdoors and rock climbing to challenge these fears but I have a long way to go still. I hope it gets better because it is very difficult to live this way. I used to be able to drive anywhere without irrational fear and be out in public without worrying about how quickly I could get home and now it is so hard. Just being able to drive 20 minutes to the gym feels like a monumental challenge. Should I be working with someone on this?
Cameron, thanks so much for sharing your story. First, let me say that every time you show courage (such as taking the risk of writing this comment), you gain ground on anxiety, so congrats for this step. Second, check out the second video in this series to answer your other questions about how to manage the physical side of anxiety and to learn how to retrain the brain not to be afraid excessively (by helping the amygdala to re-learn not to overreact). Third, a guide or helper in the form of a licensed professional can often be of assistance in recognizing the underlying roots of anxiety, which sometimes is a necessary piece of healing. Just be persistent in finding someone you can trust and click with on a personal level. Most importantly, know that healing is possible and you don't have to live with anxiety forever! Cheers!
Great advice for life on and off the trail. Thanks Dan!
Glad it was helpful!
Brilliant work; many thanks for putting this out there...
Subscribed and looking forward to part two-
Awesome, thank you! Working on Part 2 now.
Thank you for this!
You're very welcome!
The old Golite hat still looks good.
Thanks! Still wearing it proudly. 😎
I do not drive so when I camp its way out. As a solo woman I can freak myself out. I pack in a wind chime to hang outside my shelter. I know it sounds silly, but it works for me!
I'm glad you found something that works for you! All that matters is you've found a way to get out and enjoy the wilderness, so well done.
Thank you!! I hope you’ll keep making these helpful videos!
I'm so glad it was helpful!
I really appreciate this one. Thanks a lot
You're very welcome!
I’m trying to get it to camping slowly. Anxiety sucks.
Yes it does, my friend, but with little steps, you can conquer all!!!
Do you have a wife/kids shasta?
Wife. No kids. We have dogs; figured that's all the responsibility we could handle. Why do you ask?
ShastaBubba Adventures I want to move near mountains to enjoy the outdoors as often as possible, but I was just wondering whether I would eventually get tired of enjoying it alone or not. I’m 21 so I guess I shouldn’t worry about it for now
@@Adilthepickle Few things in life are set in stone. If you make a choice and it doesn't work out, you can just make a different choice. Also, it doesn't have to be one or the other, as in my case, having a partner who understands my need to spend solo time in the woods. You're a talented pianist (checked out your channel), so for example, if you desired to pursue that career, you could live near a city like Seattle, but also have access to the Cascades. You are correct to say don't worry about it now at 21. Any decision made today is likely to change in the future as you change. I suggest making choices based on what is right for you today, but being open to feedback from life regarding the need to alter/adjust those decisions. BTW, I used to play that same Bach piece, but very poorly and with many more mistakes!! Good luck!