It happens about this time of year, almost every year. Fishing starts to slow to a crawl and rifle season for deer (for me) comes to an end. I don't get too wound up about stocked trout, but I will still fish for them once in a while. The temperatures get cold, days get short, and a blanket of gray gets draped on a lot of days. My desire to be outside starts to wane because the activities that I love have all been placed on pause for awhile but my hands need to be kept busy. Sometimes there is a declaration of what is about to come and sometimes it creeps up on me. Last year it was a declaration but this year it crept up on me.
I started to notice it one day when I started a fire in the fireplace. Not too many days after that, it snowed and I got out the electric blanked to use in my recliner. Before I knew it, I had sank into my yearly habit. Out came the plastic baggies, and then the tackle trays. I started making a list (literally) of what I had in my inventory, both personal and professional. The icing on the cake was when I brought all of my materials, tools, and vise upstairs and plopped them on a television tray that resides in front of my recliner.
A sudden urge came over me to turn on some football or a movie that I had seen enough times that it could just be playing in the background without requiring much of my attention. Before I knew it, I was vacuuming up messes of marabou and acting as a tool and material Sherpa up and down the stairs from my peg board that holds my materials, back to our upstairs living room. My wife would occasionally ask how many more trips I needed to make or how much longer I was going to spend on my endeavors that particular evening. It was at this point that it really sank into my primordial brain. I was knee deep into fly tying season and I didn't even know it.
Admittedly, I have a little undiagnosed seasonal depression. I've also had a few things happen in my personal life lately that have caused me to struggle with my mental health lately. When one or both of these things happen simultaneously, I know that it is essential for me to keep my mind and hands occupied. It helps me to block out the bad things that are running through my mind and focus on something that is both productive and fun. It has been proven through different studies that fly fishing and fly tying can be used to treat different types of mental health problems. Thank goodness that I find both to be so much fun and productive that I don't look at it as treatment...but it is.
I was apprehensive to publish this post because of the stigmas that still surround mental health topics especially as they pertain to men. It is my hope that I am not negatively judged by how I am feeling mentally or emotionally but the risk of being judged outweighs the opportunity to help someone. If you can relate to anything that I have written, and you're looking for something to help your mental health, I hope you start tying some flies soon. Whether you are a newbie or have a little rust to shake off, it might be good for you. On top of being good for you mentally, you'll be happy to have some full fly boxes come spring.
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