Sailing and Mental Health

[salticrak]

I am the full fruit and nuts.Bipolar/schizo affective.For me voyaging wether it be at sea or land is a blessed respite from the demons.
Who was it who said ''Hell is other people"

I loved cylcle touring thru europe and africa,on my own.Always had company though.LOL.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Day tripping maybe.. but a multi day passage not so sure.. and definitely not solo..

Caught yourself arguing with yourself again, Phil?

It's only a problem if you keep losing.

[Snore]

There is some pseudo science to confirm this.

The latest craze is "negative ion generators" these devices are supposed to generate negative ions that help ones mindset. Splashing water, like a bow wave, generates negative ions. So in theory, when you are pushing a boat and dipping the lee rail, you generate even more ions, further helping you mindset.

[skipper53]

Remember reading Robert Manry's TINKERBELLE, about his solo crossing of the Atlantic in a 13 foot boat. His greatest challenges were hallucinations arising from sleep deprivation and isolation. Perhaps some people are wired to do that with,no consequence, but as social animals, I believe most people would prefer agreeable company to weeks of solitude.

[Alastair A]

Hello all. Thanks for this very worthwhile discussion. I have seen most everything on sail vessels. Usually the weakest part is human, however it happens.
Please know that in any boat confined spaces, in whatever sea, humans will define all on board. Please this is for us all.
I do ask for galley help and life jackets on below when "sleeping" in a storm. My aged (and passed), Mum was golden help always.
No wise cracks please. Best sailing wishes. A.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

Caught yourself arguing with yourself again, Phil?

It's only a problem if you keep losing.

Never with myself..
The tiller pilot.. the weather.. the big fella with the white beard cops some abuse as well.. 'That all ya got *******..' kinda stuff..
No.. the reason solo long distance can be bad is it can Zen you out a step to far.. day 38 out of 47 solo at sea had me thinking of stepping over the side and become 'One' with the Universe.. and I'm pretty level headed.. but just the thought that I soon had to return to Humanity was suddenly intensely depressing.
One could call it my 'Donald Crowhurst' moment.. and I had none of the complications he had created for himself.
Not saying it can't be worked up to but may explain some of those "He must have fallen overboard" singlehanded boats that are found.

[Lake-Effect]

Over about 40 years now, I have found that sailing, especially windsurfing, is the perfect counterpoint to work/life stress. When windsurfing (as poorly as I do, anyways ), you have to really tune into the moment - position, balance, wind - and to progress, you have to try stuff and risk failure. I may blow a jibe 5 times in a row (splash! climb back on, raise that sail...) but when you nail it on the 6th try... elation. You cannot be stressing over work while spending a couple hours doing that. And of course, you get exercise and fresh air and (if you're lucky) sunshine.

Sailing isn't that intense usually, but it still is an opportunity to tune into the water, the wind and the boat, adjust trim and balance to squeeze out that last quarter of a knot... make that tack snappier than the last time, lock the tiller and try to balance the boat just with sail trim...

About hour two or three of a nice day out, I will just heave-to or anchor somewhere, have a sammich, watch the other boats or the shore, lie back and just watch clouds...

(Oh man. 5 weeks to boat launch. )

[captainwireman]

Longer passages bring out something in people. Many times I crewed on deliveries and witnessed pleasant and friendly turn into irritable and hostile. Sometimes, nothing short of heroic will show from the most unlikely. An interesting study of people and yourself under stress and boredom for an extended period.

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Disagree away but just using the word dementia tells me you know nothing about mental illness or fear based chemical dependency.

Actually, I know much more than "nothing" about the topic. However, since you have a PhD in psychology from an ivy-league school, please share. I highly doubt it, but there might be some things that I don't know about.

By the way, back in my generation, we simply referred to dependencies as "addictions". Alcohol, opiates, narcotics, chemicals in general... it's all the same. We never used the term "fear based". That is, unless you maybe meant a fear of not getting a fix. To me, fear based sounds a little bit like "millennial generation" English. Ahhh, but I digress.

Please carry on

[Teknishn]

Interesting thread and many interesting points-of-view. Haven't the time alone at sea that many here have but I lived pretty much alone out of an old Toyota Landcruiser converted to a small caravan with my desert dog, "Dog" (as he never told me his name), for the better of a couple of years in Egypt's Eastern Deserts while between boat projects. I would limit myself to a maximum of 3 weeks before coming back to civilization to re-supply because I would find myself becoming a bit "weird", even by my standards. Needed a break from stressing about scorpions in the sleeping bag, snakes climbing aboard during the infrequent rains, that funny odd sound in the engine or suspension that you just can't quite figure out, etc.

While being out there alone, for me, was almost always extremely enjoyable, I realized that I also needed to socialize a bit (and have a proper pizza and cold beer!) So I would spend a night or two in civilization at a decent hotel, resupply, hit the pubs and socialize with strangers, maybe do a day of diving, car repairs if necessary and disappear into the wilds again. All this meaning, that I recognized one of my limits and took pro-active action.

Some people can do it, some can't. One can condition themselves for a lot of things. I'm retired US Navy and still can't sleep in on a weekend. Up at 0530, coffee on, push ups, sit ups, etc. The 3 S's by 0630....I'm conditioned by a former life I led in the Navy on ships full of men and women where "alone" time was a precious commodity.

My mental health? Well, I'm prolly definitely not wired right in the head. But after living in the desert and coming back to civilization I feel that I have a clearer view of who I am and the world around me that I currently live in. Also....gave up owning a mobile/cell phone (GASP! Someone in the 21st century without a phone loaded with apps? How can this be?). Life is so much less stressful without a ringtone......It's everybody else's ringtones that annoy me now

[buzzstar]

My contrarian view is that getting away and single handing was and would be good for me. Not forever, but at times past it was been for weeks at a time without a destination in sight of land. Sure, I was happy when I returned, but that did not diminished the enjoyment of the voyage. Yes, it was sometimes scary, or at least I was frightened, but the sheer joy of other times more than made up for it, at least in my memory.

[Teknishn]

Originally Posted by buzzstar

My contrarian view is that getting away and single handing was and would be good for me. Not forever, but at times past it was been for weeks at a time without a destination in sight of land. Sure, I was happy when I returned, but that did not diminished the enjoyment of the voyage. Yes, it was sometimes scary, or at least I was frightened, but the sheer joy of other times more than made up for it, at least in my memory.

I wouldn't call that a contrarian view at all....I'd call it reality. The good, bad, the pleasure, the fears.

[tomfl]

I suspect we all have our own demons. Back when I was a kid I sailed with my Dad who was a medical doctor. Part of the reason he had a sailboat was to get away from phones (this was back in the 1950s and 1960s) ringing which for him signaled he had to go to work no matter what the time. Even a short trip from Miami out in Biscayne Bay allowed him to get away from it all so to speak. Part of that seems to have rubbed off on me; only now that means getting out of cell tower coverage.

I have to wonder about some of the comments about what happens when a big storm blows up and it may, or may not, be too much for the skipper to contend with. Just my two cents but I would bet even a level headed completely sane skipper might get the creeps if the wind and waves got bad enough. On the other hand some folks might just be crazy enough to ignore the possible dangers and concentrate on keeping the water out of the boat and the mast side up.

How one deals with the sea, be it solo or with a crew, seems to be more dependent on their personal demons than some text book definition of sanity.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Low Carb diet also helps great depression.

As for people with mental health problems no going to sea for long passages - no reasons given - must be just plain wrong.
Get away by yourself without the pressure of the world. Wonderful.

That and liquid carbs. beer. The serenity of getting away is great. I can't think of anyplace but sailing to find that.

[fuentes]

It depends on what you want out of life, and what you consider "fun".
I have been taken care of all of my life! Someone up there must have looked down and came to the conclusion "let me help this fool, he will never be able to make it on his own" " Footsteps on the Sand". I spent 50 years growing grape vines, fruit trees, and livestock. Never worked a day in my life! Never made much money either! Built my own homes out of adobe. Now I am semi-retired trying to bring back a ranch that was over pastured and abused for 40 years. I spend part of my time watching the grass grow, and the animals out there (specially the horses). The other part I spend on the boat. Bringing her back also. I keep myself entertained by doing maintenance, fixing, improving the boat. I never "work" on it. There is so much satisfaction fixing and improving things.
20 years ago, my kids took me to Las Vegas. The smoke, noise, and pulling a handle was not for me. I got up at 5:00 am. I was up when everyone else was going to bed! On the third day, I asked them to take me back to the ranch.
Then there is sailing the Sea of Cortez with all the islands, coves, animals, and plants on the Baja peninsula. The same thing as the ranch with a little excitement from time to time. Yes. We have run into some "nasty" stuff. At the time, down right "scary". Now we call it an "adventure".
I have never been out solo. Minimum three of us. Even that is very tiring and stressful on a long voyage. Once again I call it and adventure. All this stuff is "high" enough for me. How good today is depends on how bad yesterday was. It is all relative.
So many of my "friends?" thought I was a crazy fool and did not know how to live. I never made the amount of money they made nor the "fun" they had. Most of them have bad health or have passed away.
Ask yourself. What is fun and entertaining. What is a high. Who are you trying to impress or please. At what point are you "poor no more".
Have a nice day.