In short, June Rishaug discovered the joy of going on long mountain hikes after a nachspiel a year ago. She spent her entire summer holiday walking in the mountains, a total of 21 days straight. Psychologist Johanne Refseth, also known as “Psychologist in a sleeping bag”, says that time in nature can help mental health, but it is not a solution for everyone. Refseth points out that it is important to distinguish between general depression and serious mental problems, and that a walk in the forest is not necessarily enough for those with serious problems. The Norwegian Tourist Association has never before entered August with several members. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Before the summer of last year, the city mountain in Bodø was the longest walk June Emilie Rishaug had ever walked. It is a walk of just under 5 km. But then something happened that made June discover the mountains and nature. Seven people in Nordland spent 21 days in the mountains along the Nordland route this summer. Three of them went from Hattfjelldal and northwards, four went from Narvik and southwards. They met in the middle at Sulis. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news This year she chose to use her entire summer holiday to go to the mountains. She simply went 21 days straight. Johanne Refseth, better known as “Psychologist in a sleeping bag”, says time in nature helps mental health. But not for everyone. A challenge at a nachspiel – As long as my legs are strong, the plan is for me to walk all the way to Sulis, says Rishaug resolutely as she walks on her 10th day of the Nordland route. She’s not even halfway there yet. And if you had asked her last year, she would never have thought she would be here. So what actually happened? – I was at a party with a friend last July. Late in the evening I came across a midnight tour that the Nord-Salten tour team was going to do the following evening. The challenges in nature. For many, crossing a stream with a lot of water is more tangible than other challenges encountered in everyday life. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen / news It was an eight-hour evening trip. The 29-year-old had never gone that long in his life before. – I thought at first that it might not be such a good idea, but my friend cheered me up. Before I knew it, I had signed up. After walking 200 km on her hike this summer, June Rishaug celebrated her new hiking friend, Genine Carcalheira, with a quick chocolate lunch. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen / news The next day she woke up to an e-mail that she had been confirmed for the trip that same evening. – For the first five minutes, I had a complete panic. Then I thought that I should just do this. One gets tired from walking up to 30 km in one day in the mountains. Especially when you have walked almost the same distance the day before. But June thinks it’s worth it. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen / news – Something happened to me on that trip. Even though I was sweaty and tired from the night before, it was fantastic. It was beautiful nature, midnight sun and great people. The 29-year-old heard the stream like herring and the birds chirping. – It was a kind of awakening. The next day she signed up for another trip. It was a day trip of 3 miles. The hiker in Rishaug was awake. A natural awakening And it is perhaps not so strange that June thinks the walk was an awakening. According to psychologist Johanne Refseth, better known as “psychologist in a sleeping bag”, international research shows that the stress level in the body is lower when you are out in nature. – Most people have themselves experienced that things feel problematic at the start of a trip, but when you finish the trip there is actually no problem, says psychologist Johanne Refseth. Photo: Johanne REfseth – Among other things, one gets lower blood pressure. In addition, some studies show that one thinks more constructively about our problems, and experiences more positive emotions. Refseth had barely slept in a tent before she decided to try a few years ago. Now it is an important part of her form of therapy. But you don’t need to set aside 21 days to get this effect. Just ten minutes in nature, for example in a park, should be enough. – When you think about how many ailments are related to stress, it is very important to find things in life that make the general level calm down, says Refseth. On the 21-day long trip along the Nordland route, June also got many new veins. It also has something to say for mental health in the mountains, she believes. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news For June Rishaug, touring life is about getting up, walking the distance you have to walk, eating and sleeping to recover. The next day she does the same. – I am much more in touch with myself than I usually am and life seems much simpler than when you are sitting at home in your own living room. For June Rishaug, going on long walks in the mountains for the first time was almost like a religious experience. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen / news – What’s wrong with your mental health? – You don’t get time to focus on what everyone else is doing, and how everyone else is doing. One has enough with oneself on the mountain. Johanne Refsnes says she herself is impractical and clumsy. She had not slept in a tent outside the garden until she was an adult. Now it is an important part of her life. Photo: Johanne Refseth But psychologist Refset still believes it is important to distinguish between ordinary depression and serious psychological problems. – If you have a diagnosis, i.e. a symptom so serious that it affects your everyday life, you often need more than a walk in the woods. She assumes that most people will have a good effect from being in nature. Nevertheless, there will be individual differences. – If you hate nature, I think it’s just as well to find something else. DNT: – Important for public health June is not the only one who has discovered that walking in nature is good. Never before has DNT entered August with several members. Dag Terje Klarp Solvang, secretary general of DNT, believes that it bodes well for Norwegian public health that more and more people are discovering nature and walking. Photo: André Marton Pedersen – It tells that more people are discovering Norwegian nature and the joy of hiking and that our offer makes it easy to get out, says general secretary of the Norwegian Tourist Association (DNT), Dag Terje Klarp Solvang. Updated membership numbers as of 1 August are 318,589. At the same time last year, DNT had 313,353 members. Then even the membership of just over 320,000 at the end of the year. – That DNT becomes bigger is not necessarily important in itself, but that more people are getting active and out in nature is fantastic, both for the individual and for public health. Published 25/08/2024, at 07.56
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Mountain hiking helps mental health, says psychologist in sleeping bag – June went to the mountains for 21 days – news Nordland
