I discovered a love of hiking later in life. I’d go occasionally when I was younger, but usually in the company of someone else who was big into it. It wasn’t until I leaned into my physical wellness journey that it became a habit. As I started focusing on mental wellness, it became a necessity.
As someone with AuDHD (Autism + ADHD), my brain is busy and loud. On any given day, sleep is the only time it’s quiet (and often not even then). Physical exertion is one way to quiet it, but I have to be pushing myself hard enough that the physical effort requires all my attention. For years that meant cycling and running, until docs told me I needed to back off due to spinal issues.
Ugh.
I’ll occasionally jog/run anyway for the mental health benefits, but hiking has been the saving grace. When I tackle a challenging mountain, I am fully present. Otherwise, I risk slipping and falling. Distraction can mean injury, and I don’t need any more of those.
Usually, I get really into the moment when I hike and it’s a huge mental and emotional relief. I call it “leaving everything on the mountain.” Whatever I’m holding in comes out through physical exertion and sweat. Whatever I carry up doesn’t come back down.
On my recent hiking trip, however, I found myself with a lot of mental noise coming back down after a decently hard climb. That was new, and not exactly welcome. I went up the mountain for relief, not to hold onto the nonsense I took in with me.
Finding focus in the quiet
Traditional mindfulness is so challenging with AuDHD/ADHD. I honestly have zero idea how anyone does it. I have to trick my brain into staying present on a good day, so that’s what I did.
I gave it something to do.
For anyone that has suffered from anxiety, this technique isn’t new. It’s called the 5-4-3-2-1 where we engage the 5 senses to stay grounded in the current moment and help our mind stop spinning.
I can never remember which sense is which number, so I didn’t worry about that part. Instead, I got really engaged with what was going on around me and within me.
It was cold, wet, and blissfully quiet. I love hiking in the cold because it means fewer people, no animals, and a lot less noise. It’s a level of peacefulness I rarely feel anywhere else in my life and I didn’t want my brain to wreck it.
Instead, I tasted the damp in the back of my throat as I breathed in. Noticed sand and mud on the trail, roots, rocks, and pebbles underfoot. The sound of my boots hitting the ground or crunching a dried leaf. Breathed in the clean of the crisp air. Felt my toes wiggle inside my new boots.
Every time my mind would start to go somewhere else, I’d look around at the woods. Noticing my surroundings and bringing my mind back to the current moment.
Finding our moments
It might not be a traditional mindfulness exercise, as I’ve read that it’s about noticing our thoughts and bringing them back to the current moment without judgment. When you have dozens of thoughts racing around, that feels like being inside a pinball machine with 100 balls racing around and being told to ignore them all. Easier said than done.
If my mind is going to be active anyway, I’ve found the 5-4-3-2-1 technique helpful in giving it specific things to think about. To stop it from obsessing and stressing when I’m trying to give it a rest.
So often we are worried about a future that isn’t here yet or lamenting about a past we can’t change. When can we be fully here in the now? Enjoying what is right in front of us?
Hiking is normally that for me. A place where I can put the past to rest and not worry about tomorrow. It seems like there’s always plenty of time for that at the bottom of the hill.
The next time I find myself confronted with unhelpful thoughts, or just needing a break from my racing brain, I’m going to try this. It reminds me that old tools can be used in new ways. Some of them are classics for a reason.
If you struggle with mindfulness in the traditional sense, do you think this technique could be helpful for you to stay present? Have you used this technique successfully in this or other ways? I’d appreciate if you’d share your thoughts in the comments.
