Adventurer and survivalist Bear Grylls is no stranger to being outdoors. Most of his life, either filmed or private, is spent soaking up the sun. As much as he knows the Vitamin D benefit from the experience, he is opening up about the more meta benefits to the lifestyle.
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On a media tour to promote his new book, Mind Fuel: Simple Ways to Build Mental Resilience Each Day, Grylls has been revealing how his bad days are not too dissimilar to anyone else. He is also advocating for spending more time with nature.
“People expect me to always be tough, but I’m only human,” he said. “I have difficult days and I’ve been through some really dark times. I’m still a work in progress, but I’ll never give up.”
Grylls went from outdoor expert to household name late in 2006. His star really shined when his first major program, Man vs Wild, became popular. It put the young survivalist into some of the most difficult places on the planet to survive. He then added projects The Island, Running Wild and Wild Adventures to his credit. Recently he and action-star Slyvester Stallone announced they would be working to create an unscripted series.
Grylls told iNews in his native UK that he understands the last couple of years has made mental health tougher on everyone.
“[It’s] been difficult for everyone, and we’re all in need of a bit of help,” he said.
“It’s been one thing after another, from war to Covid and the cost of living. And all that is magnified in the youth because they also have social media, peer pressure and their future careers to worry about. Anxiety in young people is at unbelievable levels because so many aren’t equipped to cope with the pressures coming at them from every angle.
“There is also a shocking number of suicides in men ages 40 to 50. It is almost as if they are the generation that missed out on the mental health movement, and are suffering for it. They don’t have the tools because they were never taught them. Speaking from experience, they can be difficult to learn on your own.”
Whether it is time with a book or time in a hammock, Grylls believes that being out and with yourself is amazing for the spirit. He said that many of the things that get him centered align with that philosophy.
“Working on your mental health is especially hard because everyone is different. What works for me is getting outside as much as possible, immersion in cold water and a morning yoga session,” he explained.
“I always think of the phrase written on the wall in Commando Training Centre, which is ‘Comfortable with uncertainty’. I think that’s the best way to look at it. We will all have to weather storms at some point in our lives, so it’s important to get on the front foot. Prepare ourselves for the ordeals to come, whatever they may be, and know that they won’t go on forever.”
Mind Fuel: Simple Ways to Build Mental Resilience Each Day is available now, you can order it at this link.
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