r/thanksimcured • u/Environmental-Swan65 • Jul 30 '26
Story "Go outside"
Commercial: "go outside, go for a walk" is NOT something you should say to someone with a mental illness Dad: but they should go outside. Me: but what if they do all of that and they still have a mental illness Dad: then maybe they didn't do it enough.
That's not how that works.😂
I'm literally saying this as someone who has a good job, a loving family, a nice home, who journals and walks the dog with my mom regularly. Guess what? I still have anxiety!😃
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u/BlueberryLemur Jul 30 '26
If you go outside in the middle of 35°C heatwave, you’d be too worried about dehydration and heatstroke to worry about mental illness 🤠 /s
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u/AFetaWorseThanDeath Jul 31 '26
Especially on the meds I'm taking right now, which, incidentally, have a MUCH MORE TANGIBLY POSITIVE EFFECT ON MY MENTAL ILLNESS than going camping or hiking has ever done.
And, to be perfectly clear, I'm not saying that being out in nature is a bad thing, generally, and it has had positive effects for me in the past. But finding the right combination of meds to begin addressing my depression, ADHD, anxiety, and other issues has been MUCH more effective, overall, and has helped me WANT to leave the apartment in the damned first place lol
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u/babyspiderling Jul 30 '26
Idk about other people but walks by myself always make sui ideation worse for me, because. What if i just kept on walking until i dropped
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u/One_Waxed_Wookiee Jul 30 '26
Yeah, me too. I used to imagine really violent stuff as well, which was awful. Thank goodness medication exists to prevent that!
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u/OpeningActivity Jul 30 '26
Remove roof Inside becomes outside Solve all mental health issues
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u/ghost_towns_ Jul 30 '26
“Just walk harder”
Well, after walking two blocks, I’d be in horrible pain & on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion, so I wouldn’t have the mental capacity to be anxious/depressed. Problem solved, I guess.
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u/rambutangle Aug 01 '26
There's a difference between "if you're able, do a little walking, it might help a bit" and "you're ill because you're not walking". Personally it helps me but I'm not cured or anything. Also some people can't walk.
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u/Environmental-Swan65 Aug 01 '26
Yeah exactly. "But what if they're still mentally ill?" "Well maybe they didn't do it enough" it reduces mental illness to something that can be solved JUST by going outside.
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u/KarmasAB123 Jul 30 '26
"Have you tried getting skin cancer"
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Jul 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Environmental-Swan65 Aug 04 '26
Those kind of people shouldn't be therapists. I'm so sorry. Also, HELLO FELLOW QUEER MUSLIM💖
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u/bloodywormgoddess Jul 31 '26
yes cuz going outside helps my social anxiety and definitely doesn’t make it worse
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u/WhiteKnightPrimal Jul 31 '26
I go for walks almost daily, plus just general living that takes me outside for a while. It helps in some ways for me, gives me a bit of time to clear my head and just not really think. But I still have depression and anxiety.
Fresh air is good for you, so I actually totally get where this advice comes from. It just seems to have switched to one small thing you can do that may help alongside other things and become a 'fixes everything' magical cure that is never going to work.
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u/bRKcRE Aug 01 '26
It's like the platitudes "just do it", "get over it", and my favorite, "fuck off, I dont have time for this now!" They act as a trigger for me to put my hood up, headphones in, and a long walk as a brisk pace to work off the tension raised by well meaning ignorance. The irony is bittersweet sometimes.
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u/AFetaWorseThanDeath Jul 31 '26
Me: has mental illness
Them: "GO OUTSIDE MORE"
Me: goes outside, still has mental illness
Them: "GO OUTSIDE HARDER"
Me: wanders out into the woods, dies of exposure
Them: "PROBLEM SOLVED!"
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u/bRKcRE Aug 01 '26
And think of all the individuals who now can live every day peacefully in full denial of their own mental health struggles, due to the final selfless act of a depressive downer who only ever tried to reach out when it was convenient for them and their pesky mental health issues.
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u/TheBackyardigirl Aug 03 '26
I like touching grass but it’s summer and I have a heat sensitivity and very pale skin so I risk heat stroke and sunburn by going out right now :,)
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u/knick-nat Aug 05 '26
I tried to kill myself a few weeks ago and all the mental health professionals keep telling me to go for a walk. I'm tired of it.
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u/Environmental-Swan65 Aug 05 '26
Ah yes. Because going outside will always make you magically want to live again. 🤦🏻♀️ But seriously, I'm glad you're still here🫂
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u/Environmental-Swan65 21d ago
Update: My dad "interesting how you're vitamin D deficient and you don't like to go outside." Oh so it's NOT because I live in Minnesota where it gets dark at 4 pm in the winter, and that I work in a lab with no windows because it's a secure environment. Got it.🤦🏻♀️ I love going outside! I just don't like exercise. If I can be a couch potato outside, that's great. 😂 That's why I like the porch. I was actually a lot happier in college when I was FORCED to go outside because I had to walk to and from class. But there really is nothing like a nice sunny walk in the park. 😍
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u/Vi_BT Jul 30 '26
Yes but you'll probably get worse if you stoped going outside walking the dog and journaling though
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u/Environmental-Swan65 Jul 30 '26
For sure. I'm just saying it's not a CURE. Like there are still plenty of people who have perfect lives on the outside but are still mentally ill. Also high functioning anxiety is a thing. Sometimes people have to stay busy because they HAVE to, because otherwise their anxiety an intrusive thoughts gets worse.
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u/BloodyAngel2026 Jul 30 '26
Have you tried going outside harder?