Since I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teenager, the outdoors have, in fact, become something of an obligation. While they have broken the odd coccyx, elbow, and had fairly destructive tendencies towards my fingers, over the years they have been more of a saving grace than any other medication, coping strategy or therapy I’ve known. Their compensation for my various injuries, I can genuinely say, has been nothing short of saving my life. In the last decade, I have summited a handful of 6,000m peaks, traveled and climbed extensively in the Himalaya, Rockies, Dolomites, Julian Alps, and also the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. Along the way, these adventures have given my life not only a source of joy and camaraderie, but also a degree of stability and purpose that, without them, I might never have come upon. Below is a list of 5 ways in which spending time in the outdoors, has saved my life.
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