Wild and Well: Hunting and Women’s Mental Health

We often hear people talk about how deeply the outdoors can influence both our physical and mental health. Yet, sometimes it feels as though the conversation stops there, especially for us as women. The truth is, spending the time we so desperately need outside is not always easy. Whether you’re like me, spending most of your time in a classroom, a mom chasing after children, or a woman building an accomplished career, making room to get outside and hunt can be far more difficult than people make it sound.

This was a difficult lesson I had to learn after graduating from high school and leaving my parents’ home. For the first time, I no longer had someone helping to shape my schedule or checking in to make sure I was managing life’s stresses. It was all on me. I no longer had easy access to a deer lease, the days off to take long weekends, or the freedom to go on the hunting trips I had grown up cherishing. Little by little, my mental health began to suffer, and I didn’t even realize it was happening.

I had become swept up in the busyness of life. I was trying to adjust to college and filling my time with material things because, at the time, that seemed like the “cool thing to do.” Somewhere along the way, I found myself settling into a life that no longer felt like my own.

Once I was caught in that cycle, it took time to understand what could pull me out of it. I kept searching for whatever might make me smile again, bring me happiness, and help me find the spark I had lost. It wasn’t until I made a conscious effort to return to the outdoors that I realized what my heart had been missing. Four years after starting college, I went on my first serious hunt in Alaska. There, surrounded by mountains and wildlife and far from the noise of the world, I finally understood: I didn’t need a new life to be happy. I needed to reconnect with the outdoors—and with the part of myself that came alive there. It didn’t always have to mean a big trip. It could be a weekly fishing trip to a local lake or pond, a weekend on the ranch watching whitetails, or a quiet hike to watch the sun set. The outdoors helped me feel grounded, whole, and like myself again.

For us as women, it is especially important to slow down sometimes, take a breath, and remember that our health matters, too. We deserve to make space for the things that restore us. By choosing to step outside, return to what we love, and care for our mental health, we give ourselves permission to feel renewed and to find our way back to who we are. – By Libby Gear