Mental Health | Solo Hiking | Recovery Journey

Why I’m Doing This

For the next six months, I’m setting myself a little project. I want to track three small wins each week and one bigger win each month — nothing fancy, just small reminders that I’m still here. Still trying. Still showing up.

It’s a way to give myself the boost I need to get back out there walking, hiking, and maybe even reconnecting with the world a bit moor.

It started okay-better than okay actually, but then I remembered how tricky it is to notice the small wins when your brain keeps telling you they don’t count, if you’ve ever wrestled with depression you may understand. however if you haven’t it could sound ridiculous to hear someone celebrate bruising their teeth or hair – but when you’re in it, these little ats feel like climbing a mountain uphill in slippers in the rain.

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Let’s Be Honest About “Small” Wins

When you’re dealing with depression, the tiniest tasks can feel like climbing a mountain barefoot. Brushing your hair? Huge. Washing your face before noon? Olympic level.

the effort that goes into just existing some days is just next level.”

So, while some of these wins might sound small to others, they were mountains to me. And I climbed them (some in slow motion, but still).

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My Small-but-Mighty Wins for June

🪥 Brushed my hair. Multiple times. I know — ground-breaking.
🛁 Washed in the morning. As in, when people are usually starting their day. Not three coffees deep and still in PJs. leaving the house, washed dressed and not my pjs under my jeans that was huge for me.
🥾 Went to Millets and bought hiking poles. For myself. That nagging voice in my head said, “You’ll only going use them twice.“, “but I reminded myself that I am worth investing in, — even if my anxiety disagrees” Boom. Growth.

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I Even Made It to the Coastal Path (Twice!)

Both times, I didn’t get far. But I got there. I stood on the path, I walked, I listened to the sea, and I let the sky roll in above me. My anxiety came too, of course — yelling directions I didn’t ask for — but I kept walking.

Thinking of giving my anxiety a name. It might be easier to stand up to it if I could just shout, “SHOUT UP, BARRY.”

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Prepping for the Night Walk

I cleaned my boots.
I packed my kit.
I even layered like a pro.

All while the voice in the back of my mind muttered, “You’re not really going. You never do.”
But this time… I did.

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🌟 My Big Win for June: The Night Hike

15 miles.
From 10pm to 6am.
With friends, head torches, aching hips, and one hell of a noisy inner critic.

But I made it. I walked through the night, through doubt and pain, and somewhere around mile 12, between blisters and backache just for a moment — I felt like myself again. That old version of me who was strong, adventurous, capable. It didn’t last long, but it was real and that moment mattered.

“That moment reminded me: she’s still in there. Maybe just buried under a lot of clutter.” but she’s still there climbing her way out.

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Looking Ahead to July

What will my wins be next month? Honestly, no idea. I don’t even know where I’ll be tomorrow, let alone a month from now. But I hope that when the 1st rolls around, I won’t be spending it in bed, under a blanket of depression.

I hope I’ll meet it head-on — even if I have to do it with messy hair and Barry muttering in the background.

Because none of this is flashy. It’s just me, showing up in small ways.

And for now, that’s enough.

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💬 Let’s Talk

Do you track your own little wins?
Ever given your anxiety a ridiculous name just to take it down a notch?
Leave a comment below — I’d love to hear your thoughts (and your “Barry” names).