Whether it’s the increasing popularity of survival TV like I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Survivor, Naked and Afraid, Oscar-winning movies like Nomadland (2020), or Log Hoppers – The official UK Nomads on YouTube, it seems the call of the wild has never been so popular!

However, my interest in wild camping followed a somewhat circuitous route. I was fascinated by Rupert Sheldrake’s Science and Spirituality, in which he advocated pilgrimages.

After visiting so many holy sites in India, he realised he hadn’t visited the holy sites in his own country, and founded the British Pilgrimage Trust.

When you mention Pilgrimage, most people will probably think of famous pilgrimages like the Camino de Santiago, to the shrine of Saint James the Apostle, the Hajj, to Mecca, or the Bodh Gaya, following the steps of the Buddha.

But a pilgrimage doesn’t have to be to a traditional religious site, the British Pilgrimage Trust recognises pilgrimages from “cathedrals and ancient trees to river sources, holy wells and standing stones” for the purpose of healing our “mind, body and soul.” And I saw literally hundreds of possibilities for a pilgrimage in the UK, which was very exciting, particularly a few on our doorstep.

I was also a big fan of Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods”, now a famous movie starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte (more like me!) see photo below, and Henry David Thoreau’s, “Walden”, so I already had an interest in hiking and nature.

There was one small problem with beginning any pilgrimage, I didn’t have enough money to stay in Bed and Breakfasts, never mind hotels, along the way. So, following Bill Bryson’s example, I thought, why not wild camp?

In theory, I suppose you could plan your route between official campsites, but that feels less in the spirit of the ancient pilgrimage, or genuine-seeker-along-the-path sleeping by the side of the road, in my romantic imagination.

Not that you’re actually allowed to sleep by the side of the road in England, you need to be at least 100m away, but we’ll come to that later. And not that you’re actually allowed to wild camp without permission, either, and we’ll similarly come to that later!

The point is I was inspired to wild camp by these influences, take the law into my own hands come what may, and heal my mind, body and soul, whether I needed to or not!

The only other ‘small’ problem was I am in my fifties and I hadn’t got a clue where to start, a bit like Nick Nolte’s character, to go wild camping. I must emphasise wild camping because this post has little to no relevance to tourist-holiday-campsites camping, but rather the call of the wild, like Jack London! I wanted to engage with the Great Outdoors which fired my wildest imagination.

If you are similarly taken and inspired to go wild camping, you may find this deep-dive into my preparation for the journey–not the journey itself, which will hopefully be a video—useful and valuable in saving you time and money on your way.

Otherwise, good luck trying to save money on camping gear, ‘budget camping gear’ is almost an oxymoron! The more you try to save, the more you end up paying.

And if you’re an experienced wild camper, you will probably find my misadventures in planning and buying wild camping gear hysterical for all the wrong reasons! (I have sent more stuff back than I have kept!)

Either way, I hope you enjoy this post, and if you don’t want to miss other investigative-personal posts, please subscribe for free by clicking on the button below.

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Key Findings

1) You have a right to camp in Scotland (Land Reform Act (Scotland) 2003) and permission, rather than a right, in England in parts of Dartmoor National Park (National Parks & Access to the Countryside Act 1949)

2) Wild Camping is not illegal in the rest of the UK (Amendment to Section 1(4) Vagrancy Act 1935) while you are travelling, like on a pilgrimage.

3) In the US, wild camping (dispersed camping) is legal on most BLM land and National Forests.

4) The 6 systems necessary for Wild Camping Gear are: Carrying system; Shelter system; Sleeping system; Cooking system; Toilet system and, Navigation system.

5) Don’t laugh: My biggest wild camping costly kit beginner mistakes were a 90L rucksack, a 4.5Kg tent, a 2.4kg torn army surplus second-hand sleeping bag and broken compression sack, a 710g portable folding shovel, and a 1.43Kg Mobile Car Camping Stove, for hiking!

CONTENTS

1. What is wild camping?

2. Where can you go wild camping legally in the UK?

3. Why do you have to ask permission to wild camp on public land?

4. How many people go wild camping in the UK?

5. When to go wild camping in the UK?

6. What gear do you need to go wild camping?

6.1 Carrying System – What rucksack is best for wild camping?

6.2 Shelter System – What tent is best for wild camping?

6.3 Sleeping System—What sleeping bag and sleeping mat are best for wild camping?

6.4 Cooking System – How to filter water and how to cook for wild camping?

6.5 Toilet System - How do you go to the toilet when wild camping?

6.5 Navigation System - where to go wild camping?

7. Conclusion

1. What is wild camping?

According to the Collins dictionary, “Wild camping is camping in remote places with no facilities, rather than on campsites.”[2]

What is lacking from this definition is the timing and legality. Wild Camping tends to be overnight, on the way to somewhere else being hiked to, rather than staying for a few days or more.

As for the legality, the Camping and Caravanning Club’s definition, as one might expect, leaves you in no doubt, “Wild camping means you’re camping without the express permission of the land owner.”[3]

This is where we enter the grey area surrounding the legality of wild camping in the UK, which for me is part of the romantic adventure, alongside no power points, showers or toilet cubicles, and not being within throwing distance of an RV or Caravan! (But each to their own!)

2. Where can you go wild camping legally?

In Scotland, as long as you carry all your kit in—camping in cars or RV’s is not allowed —you have a right, and it is perfectly legal, to wild camp, thanks to the Land Reform Act (Scotland) 2003, as long as you follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, for example, camping away from buildings and roads, leaving no trace, and not camping in enclosed fields containing crops or livestock, except for seasonal restrictions, see below, applying to Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.

In England, there are limited parts of the Dartmoor National Park in the South of England where wild camping is permitted without permission— if you carry all your kit, no camping in vehicles, camp for one or two nights, and stay out of sight of roads or settlements— under the National Parks & Access to the Countryside Act 1949[4].

You can access an interactive map to see exactly where here[5]:

Although these parts may be reduced thanks to a recent legal challenge by Mr Alexander Darwall, a hedge fund manager who bought a 3,450 acre estate on Dartmoor in 2013—knowing there was an existing right to wild camp on the land—and initially won a court case to remove the right to wild camp on his land, without permission[6], but this was overturned by an appeal. However, in 2024 Darwall was granted permission to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court, which is currently pending.

[Update 25 May 2025: The Supreme Court has ruled against Darwall and found, as reported in The Guardian, “camping was a form of open-air recreation, and the Dartmoor Commons Act gave the public a right to have access to the Dartmoor Commons for the purpose of camping there.”]

Mod is one popular YouTube influencer who is passionate against this threat to his right to wild camp on Dartmoor which he claims is more than a right, “it’s not [a] right you’re born with it, you know, it’s in our DNA, it’s that deep, it’s ingrained.” You can contribute to the legal fund to save the right to wild camp on Dartmoor here.

You can also usually camp for free in upland areas (above 400m) without permission—there are no mountain police(!)—including: upland areas of the Lake District, north-west England; upland areas of Wales; upland areas of north-east England, such as the North Pennines, the Cheviot Hills, the Border Moors and Forests, and the North York Moors.

However, The National Trust don’t seem to understand the definition of ‘wild camping’ in spite of their guidance under, ‘If you do decide wild camping is for you…’, see quote above, because wild camping is by definition, camping without permission. So why are they giving you permission?!?

The National Trust seem to confirm their confusion by declaring a difference between wild camping and, what they call, ‘fly camping’ which they declare is illegal: “If your planned pitch is not above the highest fell wall this is illegal fly camping—not wild camping”[7]. This is nonsense. It is still wild camping, and not “illegal”.

They seem to be conflating wild camping with fly camping, whereas fly camping, like “fly tipping”, is leaving your rubbish, like litter or the remains/damage from a fire, which is against the Cardinal rule of wild camping: Leave no trace.

And genuine wild campers abhor fly campers, so it is a shame the National Trust seems to lump them together.

You can also camp in or outside a bothy in England and Wales without permission, such as Holme Wood Bothy in the Lake District, see photo below, and on the foreshore (below sea level when the tide is out) of a tidal river or beach[8]. Both 24-hour coastal fishing and navigation are rights under the Magna Carta. If you haven’t got a canoe handy, just carry a telescopic rod and reel (less than £10 online!) or a trowel to evidence your bait hunting!

If you buy a Waterway Wanderers fishing permit (less than £26), you are entitled to stay overnight on most Waterway Wanderers stretches for the purpose of night fishing.

Approximately 15% of the land in England and Wales is unregistered and, as the Land Registry post writes, “Much of the land owned by the Crown, the aristocracy, and the Church has not been registered, because it has never been sold”.

Since it is very difficult to determine who owns unregistered land to ask for permission, and if there is no fence, it isn’t necessarily trespassing to wild camp on unregistered land while travelling through, as long as you’re prepared to move on if requested.

Tara explains in Log Hoppers - The official UK 🇬🇧 Nomads, “if there’s no fence to cross, you’re not necessarily trespassing. We’ll check the register, we’ll make sure it’s not registered to anybody and if not, we’ll see it as fair game.” Tara and Mod’s YouTube channel is full of excellent advice about wild camping and fun, too, and I highly recommend subscribing. And Tara clarifies to avoid any confusion, “for the record, where possible, we tend to stick to recreational common land.”

You can find the registry land map here.

In the rest of the UK, wild camping isn’t illegal, with the proviso while you are travelling, but it isn’t a right like in Scotland, either.

Technically, wild camping is not a criminal offence, but rather the civil offence of trespass. You need to ask the landowner’s permission, even on public land, although wild camping is usually tolerated, if you follow the five Cardinal rules:

• Camp 100m away from roads and out of sight of buildings

• Pitch late (after sunset), strike early (before sunrise)

• Don’t stay more than one night

• Use a trowel to bury human waste at least 30m away from a water source

• Leave no trace (No fires and no damage to the land)

But if you refuse to move when requested, or argue with the request, the Police can be called and you can be charged with aggravated trespass, which is a criminal offence and arrested.

On Dialect Radio, Stephen Neale gives this useful advice if asked to move:

Stephen Neale, see photo above, is my champion of wild camping in the UK, and author of the British ‘bible’ of wild camping, “Wild Camping: Exploring and sleeping in the wilds of the UK and Ireland” which I highly recommend, particularly for its lovingly described and detailed guides to areas to wild camp including grid references and communication links.

In the U.S., wild camping is known as ‘free camping’, ‘boondocking’ and ‘dispersed camping’[10], and more than 640 million acres, over a quarter of the US landmass, is public land managed by the federal government, most of which is open to dispersed camping. For example, wild camping is legal on most Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in 12 Western states, and most National Forests, although not National Parks, with a few exceptions, eg. Death Valley National Park.[11]

So how did we end up with such severe restrictions in England on public land? Surely, there must have been a time when Anglo-Saxons could roam freely and camp wherever they liked. And if there was a right before, who took it away and why?

You need to know this because I think you have a moral right to stop and sleep on your journey, particularly on public land, and especially on a pilgrimage to your British heritage.

3. Why do you have to ask permission to wild camp on public land?

The Norman Conquest in the famous battle of Hastings in 1066 removed most of our rights, like the right to fish, the right to collect wood and the right to camp.

In 1086, William the Conqueror ordered the widest land registry record in history in the infamous The Domesday Book, to identify new landowners—because he had officially seized all the land and given it his cronies—to calculate what they might owe in tax and favour, see delineation of counties below.

The Domesday Book removed the communal right of access over the land. Half of all the land in England is still owned by less than 1% of the population, approximately 25,000 landowners, and almost a third (30%) are the ‘Aristocracy and gentry’ —most of whom are descendants of 11^th-Century Norman Aristocracy—see graphic below, according to Guy Shrubsole, author of ‘Who Owns England?’ (2019)

Further, Norman surnames like Baskerville, Darcy, Mandeville and Montgomery, still dominate at Oxbridge[13].

Therefore, unless you have the right surname you are unlikely to own land, in effect removing your rights to access the land to roam and eat, or make your traditional living, by hunting and gathering. All because your ancestors, unfortunately, weren’t a spivvy or mate of William the Conqueror, who stole the land, and him and his cronies wanted to protect their stolen land for their own leisure pursuits—not economic or living necessity— and keep the commoners out!

People were even executed under the new Forest Laws for camping, trespass, catching fish or deer to sustain their families, which is partly where the myth of Robin Hood living in the woods and stealing from the rich to give to the poor, comes from.

Until a couple of centuries later when peasant discontent and aristocratic landowner opposition to King John, combined to force him to draft the Magna Carta in 1215. This granted 24-hour access rights to the hills, mountain and foreshore, day and night, thus making wild camping a necessity, if not a right.

That’s why you could call the rights to wild camp you are left with in the 21^st Century in England, a bad roll of the dice.

This is important to remember, like I said earlier, because I believe history asserts your moral right to access the land and sleep overnight, for the purpose of peaceably passing through, on your journey to a different destination, while following the five cardinal rules, above. We all have a right to sleep.

4. How many people go wild camping in the UK?

A UK-wide online survey commissioned by the Scottish government found that approximately 4% of respondents said they had wild camped (not in a campsite) in Scotland in the past 2 years.

If this survey used a representative sample of the population, and we assume a working population aged 18-64 of 40.46 million from ONS data, 4% would be 1.618 million. And these are only those who had wild camped in Scotland!

Still, that seems a bit high, but due to the nature of the activity it is hard to get data, and other estimates I’ve read of perhaps hundreds of thousands of wild campers, though not sourced, seem more realistic to me.

Either way, you are certainly not alone!

5. When to go wild camping in the UK?

The official camping season runs from March to September, which is important to remember if you plan on wild camping in Scotland because byelaws restrict camping during this period in approximately 4% of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs, and you will have to buy a permit. Needless to say, you must always follow local byelaws. Outside of this season, no restrictions apply there.

Otherwise, due to the ‘unofficial’ nature of wild camping, there is not really any official camping season you need to worry about, unlike Course Fishing, where you can be fined for fishing in the close season from 15 March to 15 June, even with a licence.

The only thing you need to worry about when it comes to four-season wild camping, is your gear.

6. What gear do you need to go wild camping?

Short of actually wild camping itself, choosing your wild camping gear is probably the most exciting thing about the hobby, and there are endless hours of recommendations on YouTube which can be overwhelming, and contradictory, for the beginner.

I have spent months buying all the wrong gear, sending it back, and buying new gear because I listened to the ‘experts’, not suspecting they might have an agenda themselves! I have no agenda because I have never been wild camping, and claim no expertise, except through what I have researched, and bought myself, but none of this equipment has been tested in the field yet, so please take these suggestions with a pinch of salt, and I will update this post when I have.

First, it helps to get your head around the idea of separate systems for each aspect that you will need for wild camping: Carrying system; Shelter system; Sleeping system; Cooking system; Navigation system.

These will depend on when you want to wild camp. While the more I learn about the benefits of Winter camping, such as no/fewer midges/flies/wasps/bees, fewer people passing and thus a lower chance of discovery, since I personally want to go three-season camping, I will focus on wild camping during Spring, Summer and Autumn.

6.1 Carrying system – What rucksack is best for wild camping?

Less is more. And it applies to rucksacks as much as writing!

I had thought that the bigger the rucksack the better, for the simple reason you can carry more, which I naively assumed was a good thing! So, I bought a 90L rucksack like Reese Witherspoon in Wild (2015) see photo above. Beginner mistake number one! You don’t want to carry more, particularly if you are hiking, you always want to carry the least practically possible, and then halve that if you can!

How do you know how much weight you should carry for wild camping?

You don’t start with the capacity of the rucksack; you start with the capacity of your body. Therefore, the starting point for any calculations is your own age, strength/fitness, height and weight.

I am in my fifties, 182cm tall, and at the moment weigh about 80kg (BMI 24.7) just inside the healthy range (although worryingly close to unhealthy—which is why I need to urgently hike!) and I am reasonably fit and strong for my age, albeit starting this new hobby rather late in life—but you are never too old to learn!

As a rough rule of thumb, you should carry between 15-20% of your body weight, which for me is, 12-16Kg, and scale this according to your level of fitness and the distance you intend to hike.

What volume of rucksack do you need per kilo of weight carried for wild camping?

There is no specific calculation or primary research that links, for example, a particular kilogram load to a particular litre capacity, because it obviously depends on gear density, packing efficiency and the dimensions of items.

However, as a rough guide, I found from trial and error that I need a 50-65L litre bag to carry between 12-16kg, rather than the 90L rucksack I had! If your rucksack is that big, you are probably going to end up carrying more, and making your life more painful.

I found a budget rucksack, with a minimal frame, strong 600D polyester fabric, good carry straps and belt, and very light (1.38kg). It is the Eurohike Nepal 65L, see pic below, and it cost me less than £30 including delivery and has excellent reviews on Amazon, and on YouTube.

If money was no object, I would either choose an Osprey Atmos AG 65 (£219) because it is the most well-recognised brand and has an excellent review, although it weighs 2.18kg, which is more than the Nepal 65L, but has a better frame, strap and belt system which will make it feel lighter.

If I was a nomad, using the rucksack on a daily basis for years, I would choose a US military Blackhawk Titan Hydration Pack which is stronger than both with 1000D rip-stop nylon, and a molle system for attaching more pouches and gear, even though it weighs 3.3Kg, and has only a 40L capacity, because I trust this review by Mod, as mentioned earlier, aka “the Log Hoppers – The official UK Nomads”, and this review, too.

In addition to the main rucksack, I bought pouches for my phone (£7) and glasses (£10.99 ), like these in the links, which attach to the straps of my rucksack using molle clips, because I thought when I am carrying the rucksack it may be difficult to access my shirt/coat pockets under the belt and straps.

These are examples of exactly what you don’t need to worry about, and if I had my time again, I would have bought an OMM Trio Map pouch (£30) instead, see pic below, or a simple fanny pack to wear in front, and keep my glasses and mobile there. The OMM pouch is particularly useful for hiking because it can protect your paper map and opens in a prone position, from your chest, to read it without removing the pouch (see Navigation System below.)

But I think my pouches still look cool, and they are handy! It’s not so easy to figure out how to attach them to the rucksack so I’ll show you the Molle clip I used, see pic below.

You can find a set of 52 useful molle/webbing clips here (£12.99)

The only other thing I would change about my carrying system if I could live my life again, is perhaps the colour of my rucksack, which I bought in bright red before I realised that stealth might just be a useful tactic in this particular hobby! (If you are an experienced wild camper, I told you, you would laugh!) But you must admit, it’s a lovely shade of red, and it will go well with my bright yellow puffer jacket—I’ll stand out like a traffic light!

However, on a more serious note, the best way to be stealthy is sometimes to look the most like everyone else and therefore, the least stealthy!

6.2 Shelter system – What tent is best for wild camping?

The three most important criteria when choosing a tent are weight, packed size and weather resistance.

6.2.1 Weight

As a general rule, the more money you spend, the lighter the tent will be. If you can, aim for 2kg for a one-or-two-person tent, and 3kg for a three-person tent. You will usually be able to split the weight if you are camping with a friend, for example, one of you can take the fly sheet and poles or tent pegs, and the other the inner tent and footprint (tent’s ground mat). However, it is important to note that a two-person tent is usually fit for one, and a three-person tent, for two.

But what did I do? I bought a cheap three-man dome tent which weighed 4.5kg because I liked the fact that it was cream (not exactly camo!), had ‘windows’, you could almost stand up in it and it was only £45! This kind of tent is great for camping with a car but not at all for wild camping. You can’t even split the weight with others because it is a pop-up tent which means all the poles were already integrated in the package, and it had no vestibule.

The vestibule, that triangular area between the sleeping area of the inner tent and the door of the outer tent, is very important for storing boots and rucksack and even cooking, particularly in rainy/stormy weather, but remember to always keep the door open to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning and never use a stove for heating a tent.

Unfortunately, most dome tents, like mine, are unlikely to have a vestibule, which means you have to store your gear inside the sleeping area.

When the sleeping area for two people is 120cm x 180cm, like my dome tent, that gives you a width of 60cm each, and if you are both 5’11”, like me, it doesn’t leave much room for your rucksack or boots, except on top of your sleeping bag! Beginner mistake number two!

I sent my cream dome tent back and, after much research, selected the Naturehike Cloud-Up 3 Upgrade for under £120 on amazon., which had excellent reviews on Amazon, and on YouTube.

Notice how the light green colour blends in with the grass of the surroundings, a bit more than my former cream dome tent did—looking more like an observatory!

And the Naturehike Cloud-Up 3 Upgrade only weighs 2.6kg, practically half the weight of my first tent!

Now, if you remember, my rucksack above weighs 1.38Kg, plus this, 2.6kg, so we are already up to 3.98kg, or a third of my minimum target weight of 12kg, carrying only one item! It soon adds up.

Use lighterpack.com, a free online tool to keep track of the total weight of your camping gear, see my early packing list below, and try not to laugh too loud—particularly about the 2kg toilet!

6.2.2 Packed size

The packed size of my Naturehike Cloud-Up 3 Upgrade Tent is 45cm x 15cm, which I checked before purchase, can easily fit vertically in the main compartment of my Nepal 65L. However, my cream dome tent had a packed circular diameter of 78cm x 10cm, and there was no way it was ever going to fit on any rucksack ever invented! It is a fat lot of good for hiking—never mind a pilgrimage!

So, please do, check the packed size of your tent, because ideally, for wild camping, you want to keep everything inside your rucksack so you are not advertising your intentions to camp overnight before you even set up your tent!

6.2.3 Weather resistance

My Naturehike Cloud-Up 3 Upgrade has a waterproof rating of 4000mmHH (Hydrostatic head).

Hydrostatic head (HH) is the amount of water, fabric can resist before it leaks through, measured by the height of a column of water. So, my flysheet, or outer layer, could withstand a column of water 4m high before it leaks through. That’s pretty good, and reassuring, particularly considering British weather, and my declared three-season intent.

Can you believe I never even considered how waterproof my first tent was, never mind how one would go about measuring that, before purchase, despite it being, pretty much, the central purpose of a tent. All because it had nice windows!!!

Another factor to consider is your tent’s footprint, or ground mat. After spending so much on your tent, you don’t want to puncture the floor of it on your first night camping. So, you need to always make sure you clear the ground you plan on setting up your tent with your gloved hands to remove any sharp twigs or stones, or worse, glass or needles! And then use a footprint under your tent.

A footprint was included with my Naturehike Cloud-Up 3 Upgrade, because of the ‘Upgrade’, but if yours isn’t, you will need to purchase it separately, which obviously adds to the price of your shelter system.

The alternative is buying a separate ground sheet elsewhere, which isn’t as easy as you’d think. It needs to be the same size—just a little less—as the internal floor of your tent. Needless to say, practically impossible with my first dome tent, because mine was a hexagon. (It would be!)

And if your groundsheet is wider than the floor area of your tent, like a saucer below a cup of tea, it will serve the same purpose, and catch the overspill from your tent and collect the water under your ‘cup’, leading to a puddle underneath the floor of your tent, below your sleeping bag, which will inevitably slowly seep through.

Further, my next wild camper beginner’s big mistake with my first tent was to buy an aluminium camping ground mat, see photo above, because I thought that would add insulation, but although it weighed 200g which is good, its packed size—which they don’t state in the Amazon description—seemed larger than a child’s school bag(!) because it couldn’t fold so easily. (Another case where less is more!)

Invest in a decent footprint made by the manufacturer of your tent to protect, and prolong the life of, your tent, which will save you money in the long-term, by not having to buy another one so soon.

6.3 Sleeping system—What sleeping bag is best for wild camping?

6.3.1 The best sleeping bag for wild camping

This is the million-dollar question when you’re wild camping because you make your bed and you have to lie in it(!) The first consideration, again, is weight—it usually is—which is almost inversely related to the second consideration, which is warmth; the heaviest bag is more likely to be the warmest.

Except like any other wild camping gear, the more you pay, the lighter your sleeping bag will probably be for the same level of warmth.

When it comes to level of warmth, you can’t trust most budget manufacturers’ declarations. Forget how many seasons they say their sleeping bag is, or what temperatures they claim are ‘comfort’, ‘limit’ or ‘extreme’ unless they have been independently tested to an internationally recognised standard for thermal insulation, which for sleeping bags in Europe is called EN13537 (EN=European Norm), and in America, is called ASTM F1720-17 (American Society for Testing and Materials).

The EN13537 uses a thermal manikin test, like the one in the photo above, with temperature sensors dressed in base layer, socks and a warm hat placed in the sleeping bag being tested in a cold chamber, and the manikin measures the power needed to keep a constant skin temperature of around 34°C. The thermal resistance of the sleeping bag is measured in RSI which is converted into four temperature ratings in either Celsius or Fahrenheit degrees using formulas and historical data: Upper Limit, Comfort, Lower Limit and Extreme.

However, it is very difficult to find a budget manufacturer who quotes the international standard they have used to determine their temperature rating, which may be because it is costly to have this tested, which would presumably have to be fed back into the price.

I was also concerned about the width of the sleeping bags I researched, which were only 75cm in diameter, and I am quite broad, and would struggle to sleep in this. The most budget friendly three season, and wider, sleeping bag I could find was a Trail Cotton Flannel Sleeping Bag (300gsm) at Trail for £35.99 which measures L220cm x W85cm, weighs 2.24Kg and provides “optimal comfort at 0C to 10C.” However, it doesn’t state on their website whether this is independently tested, so I wrote to them.

Here is their reply:

This reply didn’t exactly fill me with confidence, but to be fair to them, at least they replied and I suspect many ‘budget’ sleeping bag manufacturers do not test according to international standards.

The cheapest budget three-season sleeping bag I could find with the EN13537 standard was the Vango Nitestar Alpha 300 Quad (which sounds a bit like a four-wheel vehicle!) which provided a comfort rating of 0C, Lower Limit -6C, Extreme Limit -23C, internal chest width of 78CM, packed size of 33cmx27cm), 2kg, but it was £44.95! And I didn’t want to spend much more than £36 plus postage.

But then I had a brainwave, what about a military sleeping bag?

The British Army FESCA sleeping system is officially designated as the U.K. Ministry of Defence Modular Combat Sleeping System and the medium weight bag’s Nato Stock Number (NSN) is 8465-99-858-2074. It comes in medium and large sizes, and the larger size measures 212cm (L) x 81cm (W), weighs 2.2kg, and is made of ripstop nylon with “Hi-Tec” insulation and a comfort rating of “-10 (approx.)”[14] .

I have outdone myself on beginner mistakes here, because it being a concurrent military piece of equipment, the Ministry of Defence are unlikely to disclose much information about it, including the Upper Limit, Comfort, Lower Limit and Extreme temperature ratings (Like flagging their position: We’re over here in the arctic! Joke!) Never mind whether it has been independently tested to the EN13537 standard!

However, it being military, I think it’s safe to assume it has been rigorously tested for thermal resistance by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Defence Test & Evaluation (T&E), (if you have any complaints!) It is apparently made in Spain, though, by Fabrica Espagñola de Confecciones SA (FESCA) and remarkably similar(!) to the popular worldwide, and much more expensive, Carinthia Defence 4 £190.

The British Army FESCA sleeping bag is part of a system of three interlinking bags to cover all the seasons, therefore, you can add the liner and lighter weight summer bag inside if you need to go winter wild camping! And it is wide enough for me, because the British Army sleep with their weapons. Here is a very flattering YouTube Review.

This medium weight Army sleeping bag retails at around £100 new, which was way beyond my budget, but I managed to find one second-hand for £31.50, and you can find one similar here.

This is the only beginner’s mistake I didn’t make; when you haven’t been wild camping before, don’t buy anything new before you’ve even tried wild camping – you don’t know if you’re going to like it!

I thought you can’t go wrong buying second-hand if it’s not just “Grade 1,” but “Grade 1+”!

Everything looked great outside the sleeping bag, it even smelt washed and fresh, but when I turned it inside out, you can see the sad results of my purchase in the photo below (I hasten to add this sleeping bag was not from the supplier given in the price quote or supplier in the picture above, and shall remain nameless):

I know, I know, I know. Beginner mistake a million and one, I should have purchased the Vango Nitestar Alpha 300 Quad in the first place!

(Please learn from my mistakes to save yourself the pain!) The Vango even comes with its own compression sack.

The British Army FESCA sleeping bag does not come with a compression sack or bag, but there is no way I would have been stupid enough to purchase one second hand again (!) for £10.99 from the same place?

Yes, I did. And it was sandy, oily and dirty with names inscribed all over it and a broken buckle to boot! Let this be a reminder that you do take a risk when you buy army surplus gear and I had no hesitation in immediately returning it for a refund.

But I hesitated about returning the sleeping bag. The problem is the British Army FESCA sleeping bag was very warm and comfortable when I tried it out—it actually seemed to work—and just felt right. So right, however wrong it was, I didn’t want to lose it.

They offered me a full refund and return paid postage for both, or replacement of both, and on the basis that I could return the replacements if there was something wrong, I accepted their offer to replace them. I will update you after I have tested the sleeping bag in the field, assuming it arrives in a decent condition, which is the only way to test its thermal insulation.

However, the insulation standard of your sleeping bag is only half the story, when it comes to warmth. The other half is what your sleeping bag is lying on.

6.3.2 The best sleeping mat for wild camping

If you didn’t know, EN sleeping bag “comfort temperature” ratings assume you are using the bag with a sleeping mat with an R-4.0 value[15], so you might as well rule out all the EN rated temperatures anyway unless you have an R-4 sleeping mat!

In other words, if you are lying on the cold ground, it doesn’t matter what insulation standard your sleeping bag has, you will probably be cold without a ground mat.

That’s why a ground mat is essential, and like a sleeping bag, it needs to be independently tested to an internationally recognised standard, which is different for ground mats, and in Europe is EN12667 and in the US, ASTM F3340-22[16] (2022) or the slightly older, ASTM F3340-18 (2018), and an R-value is given, where R stands for Resistance, in this case Thermal Resistance. A higher R-value indicates better insulation and greater suitability for colder weather.

The table below shows how R-values compare to Air Temperatures, which can be accessed from weather reports and historical temperature data, for example, from the Weather Underground. NB. This SectionHiker estimated table is based on Exped recommendations[17] and R-value standard ASTM F3340-18.

There is also a useful comparison of different ground mats and their R-values, on SectionHiker here, albeit for mostly the top-end premium sleeping mats.

Women tend to sleep colder than men, and as a general rule of thumb, women should add +1 to the R-value they need.

There are four types of ground mat, and in order of approximate cost (2025), they are: closed-cell foam mats (£10 -£60); inflatable mats (£15-£150); self-inflating mats (£20-£180), and insulated inflatable mats (£50-£250).

Ground mats can start below £10 for a ‘blue-foam’ closed-cell EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) pad with foil backing from Amazon (£7.99) , which is very light (0.16Kg ) and an “estimated R-value of 1.4” [estimate seems a bit high imho!] making it suitable above 10 degrees Celsius, reading from the above table.

However, be aware that it is very narrow, at 50cm (180L x 50Wx 0.6Th) but this seemed to be true of most of the ground mats I researched, regardless of cost, even military ground mats.

And it is very thin at 0.6cm, which at my age, is a big ask! Don’t get me wrong, I have slept on my share of floors in my time so I don’t mean it in a snobby way, but ironically I suppose, I don’t want to suffer on my pilgrimage! So, I wanted a wider and thicker inflatable mattress that provided more comfort.

You can see the inflatable mattress I bought, £32.99 from Amazon here, in the photo below, and the key features for me were its light weight (1.02kg), wide width (72cm), deep depth (12cm) and inbuilt pump. But it also has a raised pillow, and ridges on the side which is a nice feature and, I thought, might help me from falling off!

However, being the wild camping beginner I am, I made beginner mistake number…I’m losing count!... which is considering comfort before warmth! I not only didn’t understand the importance of whatever the “R-value” meant, and so the seller’s claim that it had an “R-value of 3.5-5” didn’t mean anything to me, I didn’t think about which standard was used to measure this? EN12667 or ASTM F3340-18/22, so how did I know if it was accurate? (They didn’t mention either in the amazon description!)

However, if I’d read more than the first page of reviews: I would have seen Lauren’s review, “I used it in July in UK and I felt the cold from the ground as it’s not anywhere near the suggested R rating.”

Although it is worth remembering here the R-Value Addition Rule: R-values are cumulative, so if I used the cheap blue-foam mat mentioned earlier with an estimated R-value of 1.4 and this inflatable mattress, with an R-value of, just say, 2, on top, they would have a combined R-value of 3.4, which would allow you to camp more comfortably above -4°C. But this seemed a little like throwing good money after bad.

Following more research, I found the Robens Campground 50, which is more expensive, £49.99 from the Robens website here, but it has an R-Value of 4.1 (-12°C), width of 63cm which is still pretty good, length of 195cm, and a depth of 5cm, which is enough for me.

I emailed Robens to ask whether they had used the ASTM standard to calculate their R-value—once bitten twice shy! —and they replied with good news, see photo below:

The packing size for this ground mat is only 32cm x 20cm, and I checked my rucksack first this time, and yes, it can accommodate this easily. The only downside is that it is not a premium ultralight ground mat, and relatively heavy at 1.64Kg. However, alternatives are twice the price for half the weight, but you’d need two to achieve the same depth!

I still wasn’t sure that the R-value of 4.1 would be enough, though—maybe another beginner mistake not to try and see first(!)—and remembering the R-Value Addition Rule, above, I wanted to buy a Zigzag sleeping mat to go underneath.

Mod and Tara, my favourite UK nomads, swear by the Therm-A-Rest Z Lite as the only sleeping mat required in their Wild Camping for beginners video here—no inflatable mattress necessary for them— turning the foil side towards or away, depending on the winter or summer season, respectively.

This is a closed cell, polyethylene (PE) mat (£50 on Amazon), 51x183x2cm, 410g, foil-backed, with an R-value of 1.7 and, to be honest, the sleeping mat that everyone on all the forums recommends, but this was too narrow for me as a side sleeper at only 51cm wide, and, frankly, too expensive for me.

After a lot of research I found the Robens Zigzag Slumber Pro (£36.99 on Amazon), a similar looking but XPA closed-cell foil-backed foam mat, wider and thicker at 192x60x2.8cm, although 210mg heavier at 620mg, but with a higher R-value of 2.4, providing additional comfort and warmth which were my priorities.

On questions of gear, you always have to drill down to the purpose of your camping, your ability (fitness and strength), and comfort expectations. As long as I can stay within my target of 12-16kg, I am sure I will be fine. It may be worth adding here, that 16Kg is the maximum weight I can carry, not the pack base weight.

The base weight is the weight of all the equipment excluding consumables like drink and food, which can easily add another couple of kilos, so subtract this from your maximum weight before you start buying gear. Remember each 1 litre bottle of water, and you need to consume at least two a day depending on body size and gender, is an extra kilo. Unless you can refill along the way, you will need to carry what you need to consume daily.

In order to refill along the way, you need to think about how you will process recovered water, and what you will eat, which I will consider next in the cooking system.

6.4 Cooking System

6.4.1 How to filter water for wild camping

You can only survive three days without water, according to the wilderness rule of 3: “3 minutes without air (oxygen), 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food”[18]. Although I think the latter is based on ‘if Gandhi can, anyone can!’[19]

I plan on a three-day pilgrimage, and three days of water, if I had to carry it, on the basis of 2 litres a day, would be six litres (6Kg), which is too much for me to carry in addition to my base weight. Therefore, I will need to collect recovered water and process it by either filtering or boiling water, or ideally both!

Portable water filters cannot filter out viruses[20] and must have, according to the CDC, “an absolute pore size of 1 micron or smaller to remove parasites (such as Giardia or Cryptosporidium)”[21]. This is important because one of the most popular portable filters on the market has a pore size of 2 microns, which shall remain nameless, this may give it a faster flow rate, but at what cost!

Boiling water for 1 minute (above 2,000m for 3 minutes) after filtering will kill most pathogens, including viruses, bacteria and parasites. Although, boiling water alone won’t filter out sediments or microplastics like the portable water filter will, so use the portable water filter first and then boil.

“Water filtration removes germs by physically blocking them while letting the water pass through the filter. Unfortunately, filtration will not remove all the germs that can make you unwell. You will also need to use chemicals or boil filtered water to make sure it is safe to drink.” – NHS Travel Advice

If you can’t boil the water, use a chemical disinfectant, like iodine, chlorine or chlorine dioxide, after the water filter, but this is not necessary after boiling, and could potentially affect the taste.

A useful tip to ensure the best tasting water and prolong the lifespan of your water filter is to use a pre-filter, like a coffee filter, to remove larger particles, sediment, and debris from recovered water first, which may otherwise clog up your portable water filter. This is supported by research on the effectiveness of coffee filters as a pre-filter for “removing PCR inhibitors, such as humic acid, in wetland habitats.” [22]

The best lightweight/ultralight water filter according to Outdoors Magic and Clever Hiker is Katadyn BeFree for £50 at Amazon. It weighs 59g with a flow rate of 2L/min, a 0.1micron pore size filter, ‘ez-clean’ membrane—easily cleaned by shaking or swivelling—lifespan of 1000L, and capacity of 600ml.

However, because I intend to boil any water I filter to remove viruses, I don’t want a handheld bottle, but rather a gravity water filter that I could hang up with a tube to a collection bottle (like my pan for boiling) and ‘leave running’.

Clever Hiker recommends the Platypus GravityWorks (like this one for £84 at Amazon), which weighs 268g, with a flow rate of 1.5L/min, a volume of 2L, but please note a filter pore size of 0.2 microns, which is why I prefer the Katyden Water Filter BeFree Gravity 3.0 Litre (£66.95 at Amazon), which has a filter pore size of 0.1 micron, is lighter at 100g, and has a larger capacity at 3L. It’s also cheaper!

After pre-filtering recovered water with a coffee filter, filtering with a gravity filter, and boiling the water you will have a safe and regular supply of water for all your daily needs, you just need to plan your hikes passed, and/or pitches, near a water source.

Now we need to consider the best way of boiling the water, because the Wild Camping Cardinal Rule, above, is to light no fires, and ideally a combination that works best to cook food, too.

6.4.2 How to cook food for wild camping

There is a wonderful YouTube video here exploring the evolution of Trevor’s culinary wild camping journey, including the Spirit stove, what he calls a ‘Trangia Stove’, because Trangia AB introduced their iconic spirit burner in 1951 (like this cheaper one for £10.99 at Amazon).

The good thing about a Spirit stove is it is relatively cheap, extremely light (0.14kg), so small it could fit in your pocket (9.7L x 9.7W x 6.5Hcm), high output (estimated 500-1000W although it claims 2600W, which must be an error). You can use bioethanol liquid fuel (1L is £7.49 on Amazon —rough guide 30ml for 40mins, according to one commentator) which is a relatively cheap fuel and arguably more environmentally friendly. And the spirit stove I have linked to, see photo above, includes a foldable handle flame regulator, stove base and carry bag. You will also need a Windshield (like this one for £5.99 on Amazon), and a pot (like this small set for £11.99 at Amazon) giving you the cheapest wild camping cooking system money can buy (that doesn’t involve gathering or burning wood) for under £40—Only £36.46—including two pots, knife, fork and spoon!

It doesn’t state the time it takes to boil water, but the traditional, and original, Trangia Spirit Burner (£14.99 here) takes 10 minutes to boil 1L of water, and 100ml will burn for approx. 25 minutes, depending on the weather and the quality of the fuel, which is good for boiling approximately 2 litres of water, which means you could potentially boil 10 litres of water with half a litre of fuel, enough for a 5-day trip.

However, the fastest and cheapest method of boiling water is to get a Jet-boil style APG 1.4L Camping Stove with integrated pot (£43.20 from Amazon) which weighs 427g, 120mmx120mmx240mm, 1400W maximum power and can boil 1L of water in an estimated 5-6 minutes, almost twice as fast as a spirit burner.

You will obviously also need a gas canister, ( individually £7 on Amazon or 6 x 230g for £22.99 on Amazon—approx. £4 each) giving you a wild camping fast cooking system for £47.20-£50-208. Another tip to save more money, you can buy a gas canister transfer valve (£7.99 from Amazon) to fill up smaller gas canisters from bigger gas canisters.

It was a very difficult decision to choose between the two cooking systems because even though the APG is obviously faster, speed isn’t an issue when you’re camping and have all the time in the world.

The APG is also heavier and bulkier than a spirit stove because of the gas canister.

The deciding factor for me was safety.

Although you should always cook away from your tent when wild camping to avoid the cooking smells identifying your tent’s location to a passerby, dog or wild animal, this is mitigated by cooking pouches in boiling water which I would like to do in the vestibule of my tent with the door open.

You can find wild camping meals in pouches requiring no refrigeration and just boiling water to re-heat from Wayfayrer, all day breakfast (£5.95); Firepot, Beef Stew (£5.50), Expedition Foods, Spaghetti Bolognese (£8.54 ), Adventure Food, Vegetable Hotpot (£6.50), Summit to Eat, Chicken Tikka with Rice (£8.99) or military ration packs. Or you can make your own using mylar pouches.

However, never cook with a gas canister stove inside your tent for any reason, including keeping warm, because of the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning, which is an odorless gas that can kill you.

But an open vestibule is relatively safe with a gas canister stove, especially if you are just boiling water, and it is very common in many wild camping YouTube videos.

On the other hand, spirit burners are inherently less stable, and the risks of spills and flare-ups is higher compared to a gas canister stove, especially in the confined space of a vestibule. And, in the end, this was the deciding factor, and why I chose the APG 1.4L Camping Stove.

But, in all honesty, and try not to laugh, that was not before I had initially splashed out on one of these:

Yes, the red (I must have a thing about red!) Green Haven Portable Gas Stove with Automatic Ignition & Heat Control (£16.99 from Amazon) because, well, it looked like a mini version of my stove at home! My excuse? The familiar is comforting.

But it is bulky and relatively huge at 36L x 9W x 31.5H centimetres, although it comes in its own sturdy carry case (that should have been a clue that it wasn’t designed for wild camping, if the colour wasn’t!)

On the plus side, it has a very reliable power output of 2100W, using butane gas cartridges, is EN417 compliant, but on the negative side, weighs a whopping 1.43Kg; more than double the weight of the APG 1.4L cooking stove with an integrated pot, including the gas canister, and without a pan!

It is perfect for car camping, ludicrous for wild camping. (At least I’m honest!) And I must say that during my wild camping cooking practice in my kitchen, it is remarkably easy to use and reliable.

Now, if you’ll excuse the expression, what goes in, must come out, and we can’t do a deep dive on wild camping here without considering the sensitive topic of toilets.

6.5 Toilet System - How do you go to the toilet when wild camping?

Toilets are what keep campsites in business because in wild camping there are none as we know it, although I found an ingenious solution.

But first, the normal procedure for urinating/defecating in the wild is to make sure you are at least 30m away from a water source and dig a hole with a trowel at least six inches deep to bury your human waste and take away any used toilet paper or wet wipes. I bought a Portable Folding Camping Shovel (£9.99 from Amazon) which is 46.5cm long, miraculously folding to 19cm, and weighs 710g, which is heavy but it can also be used as a hoe or saw (when you’re not wild camping, of course!)

You can get trowels which weigh next to nothing and achieve the same purpose like this Ultralight Aluminium Camping Trowel (£7.55 from Amazon) weighing 18g, see photo below, if I had for a single moment contemplated the ever-increasing weight a three-in-one spade would be adding, never mind a 46cm shovel being somewhat overkill for digging a little 6-inch hole!

Pro Wild Camping Toilet Tip: Tara from Log Hoppers – The official UK Nomads advises sticking a stick in the spot you use, so you, or other wild campers, don’t inadvertently dig it up again! And remember to take away, and not bury, your tissue or wet wipes.

However, squatting low to the ground to defecate, which is actually healthier for your body, requires balance and hardier wild campers than I have apparently taken Imodium, the diarrhoea treatment, to avoid defecating altogether while wild camping, which I don’t recommend. Others time their overnight journeys and go only when they have already defecated.

However, I found an ingenious solution, a truly collapsible and height adjustable portable toilet!

This portable camping toilet is not cheap (£54.26 from Amazon) but comes in heights/weights of either 33cm/1.2Kg or 50cm/2.7Kg, and for once I didn’t make the beginner mistake of choosing the most comfortable height, instead opting for the lightest. Although doubtful it would work, I am pleased to say, although tight, I am 182cm and 80Kg, it worked fine. I am willing to sacrifice 1.2kg for a private convenience.

Now we’ve considered navigating to the loo, it’s time to consider navigating to the best location for wild camping.

6.6 Navigation System - where to go wild camping?

I started by looking for inspiration for the most suitable pilgrimage in terms of my fitness for hiking and wild camping ability-beginner on the British Pilgrimage Trust website.

I chose Wells Cathedral as my target, see photo below, which has, according to its website, been “inspiring pilgrimages for nearly 850 years” and the 20-mile route (7.5 hrs) there from the coast at Weston-super-mare (2hr 30mins from London on the train) along the West Mendip Way, makes a scenic round trip back to Weston-super-mare train station of approx. 40 miles (15hrs) total.

I figured this was feasible with an overnight stop after 8-10 miles on the way there and one on the way back. A two-night three-day wild camping trip.

The next thing I did was buy two Ordnance Survey Maps, 1:25000 scale, which covered the route: Weston-super-mare & Bleadon Hill (No.153) (£4.99 from Amazon) and Cheddar Gorge & Mendip Hills West (No.141) (£8.99 from Amazon). These also included free downloadable maps to my phone using the OS app.

I suppose you could just use Google maps but OS Maps clearly show you trails and public footpaths as well as indicating types of land and elevations, which is useful when determining where to pitch your tent.

I also bought a Highlander waterproof map case (£13.99 from Amazon) 30cm x 27.5 and weighing 0.16Kg.

And I bought the cheapest good-looking compass I could find because I thought a compass is just a compass, right? Wrong. Big Beginner mistake!

Your compass needs to have a clear index line, see infographic below for a description of all the parts, which my first compass, incidentally, otherwise looking exactly like the one in the infographic, failed to have. And the clearer the index line the better.

The most popular brand of compasses is Silva Compasses, but they are expensive and the second compass I selected was a Trekrite Explorer Compass (£9.99 from Amazon), see photo below, which includes a clear index line and sixty degree declinations East and West, which was good enough for me. It is important to adjust your heading from maps according to magnetic declinations because these can change over time.

When I was examining my two maps, mentioned above, I noticed a difference in True North, which is to be expected because they are neighbouring maps in Southwest England, but also in their Magnetic North: 0°58’ west of grid north in 2016 vs 0°44’ west of grid north in 2017.

The reason for this is magnetic declination is always shifting and these readings were taken a year apart, see photo below.

Therefore, it is important to find the most current magnetic declination, which, for example, in Weston super mare in 2025, where I plan to start my pilgrimage, is about 0°34’ East, compared to 0°44’ West in 2017, which is over one degree from True North different, see photo above.

Remember that declinations for Magnetic North change over time, with the flow of molten metal in the earth’s core, so if you use an old map, the declination given may be wrong. You can find the current magnetic declination for your location at the British Geological Survey or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration if you know your current latitude and longitude.

The easiest way to find your latitude and longitude is on google maps by placing a marker with a finger-tap on any spot, the latitude and longitude will appear above.

Remember that latitude refers to how far North or South you are of the Equator, like on the Y axis, and longitude refers to how far East or West you are of the Prime Meridian, which runs through Greenwich, London, like on the X axis. But it is odd that we always write Latitude followed by Longitude, in grid references, including Google Maps (Y, X) rather than like mathematical coordinates (X,Y) but that is the tradition!

If you’re new to map reading, there is an OS Guide to map reading here.

You can also use Compass app, on your mobile phone, instead of a physical compass. This will automatically point to Magnetic North, like a physical compass, but you should remember that it is not pointing to a particular place, but rather aligning with the parallel magnetic lines of the Earth’s magnetic field. You adjust for magnetic declination when you are using a map, because the grid lines all follow True North.

If you rely on your phone for navigation, though, rather than a physical compass, remember to bring a power bank/phone charger.

I invested in a rugged waterproof solar power bank similar to the one in the photo below (£36.88 from Amazon) but mine was 46,800mAh, or so it claimed.

To my horror, after charging my power bank fully, and then my phone, I calculated—using a long and convoluted process I shan’t bore you with here—that it had a capacity of only 30,000 mAh!

This meant I could only charge my 4,000 mAh phone battery 6 times, although this was still enough for a 2-night pilgrimage. It was also waterproof so I could leave it outside my rucksack if it was sunny to be charged by the solar panel while I hiked. The downside is it weighs 600g.

Although it contains a flashlight, which is useful when looking for a pitch if it gets dark and/or inspecting the ground, it is hard, if not impossible, to read your map in the dark, at the same time as holding a powerbank /torch.

Therefore, you need a head lamp, which is also useful for keeping your hands free for cooking in the dark or going to the toilet.

I got a headlamp like the one below (2 for £14.99 from Amazon) which is waterproof IP65, only weighs 50g, 2000 Lumens bright, and has a 2000mAh rechargeable battery with micro USB, which I can recharge from my power bank!

It is also hands-free, in other words you can turn it on/off with the wave of your hand, and you can tilt it down, and I found it then followed directly where I was looking. (And having two is useful because you don’t want to have wait for it to recharge if it suddenly runs out of charge, and you, say, urgently need the toilet!)

Finally, if you do get lost and find yourself stuck or injured in an emergency situation, you should always carry an emergency whistle. I bought one like this (£3.09 for two from Amazon), 55cm x 10cm, and you can hang it on your keys and forget about it.

You can use your whistle to communicate in Morse Code, but The Emergency Whistling Protocol, or international distress signal, if you need emergency help is to blow six times every minute. And the acknowledgment by a rescuer will be three whistle blasts every minute.

However, it may be better not to give the acknowledgment until you have located the person in distress, or have them in clear line of sight, because, obviously, they may stop blowing their whistle for help if you do, and you may then have difficulty finding them!

7. Conclusion

It’s funny how what you can get on your back for wild camping can be divided up into no less than six subsystems(!) but you can see the importance of considering all in this guide—and I’ve tried to be as brief as possible, and it still turned into over 10,000 words!

When you start a new hobby there is always a steep learning curve. “Every change creates a need for learning”, as J Flower wrote, and “This change-induced learning has four phases: (1) Unconscious incompetence, (2) conscious incompetence, (3) conscious competence, and (4) unconscious competence.” [23]

I moved from the unconscious incompetent, not really knowing why a bright cream 5.5Kg tent might be unsuitable for wild camping when I bought it, to a conscious incompetent, I knew what I didn’t know. Now I am conscious competent, because I have thought hard and researched my buying decisions, and maybe one day I will be unconscious competent, and do it all naturally, without having to think about it.

I learnt the hard, and painful-on-my-wallet, way—which hurts even more if you are on a budget— using the heuristic(!) method (read: no method at all!) but hopefully you can learn from this old-timer’s many beginner mistakes, and make the right decisions first time, saving you time and money.

You’re never too old to start a new hobby and I sincerely hope you have a wonderful time wild camping and good luck on your first adventure!

Thank you for reading.

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References

[1] Sheldrake, R. (2017) Science and Spiritual Practices. Coronet. An Imprint of Hodder & Stoughton

[2] https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/wild-camping Accessed at 09.02 on 19^th March 2025

[3] https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/advice/camping-tips/wild-camping/ Accessed at 09.04 on 19^th March 2025

[4] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/12-13-14/97 Accessed at 09.09 on 19^th March 2025

[5] https://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/about-us/about-us-maps/camping-map?SQ_VARIATION_78353=0 Accessed at 09.19 on 19^th March 2025

[6] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dartmoor-camping-ban-court-of-appeal-b2377223.html Accessed at 09.13 on 19^th March 2025

[7] https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/lake-district/wild-camping-in-the-lake-district Accessed at 08.27 on 21^st March 2025.

[8] Neale, S. (2015) Wild Camping. Bloomsbury.

[9] Neale, S. (2015) Wild Camping. Bloomsbury.

[10] https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/fishlake/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5121831 Accessed at 09.52 on 19^th March 2025

[11] https://www.hipcamp.com/journal/camping/how-to-find-free-camping-in-the-us Accessed at 10:12 on 19^th March 2025

[12] Neale, S. (2015) Wild Camping. Bloomsbury.

[13] Clark, Gregory and Cummins, Neil (2014) Surnames and social mobility in England, 1170–2012.

Human Nature, 25 (4). pp. 517-537. ISSN 1045-6767 https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/60593/1/__lse.ac.uk_storage_LIBRARY_Secondary_libfile_shared_repository_Content_Cummins,%20N_Surnames_Cummins_Surnames_2015.pdf

[14] https://www.militarykit.com/products/british-army-sleeping-bag-midweight-olive-green?variant=55092155220341 Accessed at 13.02 on 23^rd March 2025

[15] https://www.outsideonline.com/2371291/nerdiest-most-important-sleeping-pad-news-ever Accessed at 07.41 on 23rd March 2025.

[16] ASTM F3340-22. Standard Test Method for Thermal Resistance of Camping Mattresses Using a Guarded Hot Plate Apparatushttps://store.astm.org/f3340-22.html Accessed at 07.45 on 23^rd March 2025.

[17] https://www.expedusa.com/pages/r-value-temperature-rating-guide Accessed at 08.49 on 23^rd March 2025.

[18] https://svalbardi.com/blogs/water/living-without Accessed at 09.40 on 24^th March 2025

[19] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-long-can-a-person-survive-without-food/ Accessed at 09.43 on 24^th March 2025

[20] https://www.thegreatoutdoorsmag.com/gear-guides/best-backpacking-water-filters/ Accessed at 10.12 on 24^th March 2025.

[21] https://www.cdc.gov/water-emergency/about/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/emergency/making-water-safe.html Accessed at 10.31 on 24^th March 2025.

[22] Takasaki K, Aihara H, Imanaka T, Matsudaira T, Tsukahara K, Usui A, Osaki S, Doi H. Water pre-filtration methods to improve environmental DNA detection by real-time PCR and metabarcoding. PLoS One. 2021 May 7;16(5):e0250162. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250162. Erratum in: PLoS One. 2021 Sep 27;16(9):e0258073. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258073. PMID: 33961651; PMCID: PMC8104373.

[23] Flower J. In the mush. Physician Exec. 1999 Jan-Feb;25(1):64-6. PMID: 10387273.

I hope you are keeping well and regardless of the US Election result last week, returning to ‘normal life’. [Ed. This post is being published months later, see Whichwayhow to conquer procrastination ] A Native American Indian once said, “I woke up the next day and the land of my country was still the same,” referring to the beautiful mountains, rivers and landscapes.

Anyone who has travelled in America, like I have, will know the truth in this. I grew up in London, in the UK, watching Westerns, with Sierra Leone’s breathtaking vistas, and in real life, they are even more spectacular, something every American can rightly be proud of.

It is very hard when you come from a small island over the pond, like ours, to appreciate the scale of the U.S., there is so much space. But whether you’re in the middle of the wilderness, or a big city, you can equally be affected by loneliness, which is the subject of this fortnight’s deep-dive because I have found myself being lonely recently, too. I was shocked when I measured it, which you can do yourself in this post, see below. And this free post may increase your life expectancy by over 25% if you are lonely, too, and use the strategies suggested to overcome it.

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Key Findings

1) The mortality impact of loneliness is equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.

2) The best way of measuring your loneliness is the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale.

3) Loneliness has 3 dimensions: Intimate loneliness; Relational Loneliness; and Collective Loneliness.

4) The 4 best coping strategies are: Changing one’s desired level of social contact; Achieving higher levels of social contact; Minimising loneliness; and Therapeutic Interventions.

5) Research showed Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to be the most effective therapeutic treatment.

CONTENTS

1. What is the definition, prevalence, and human and societal cost of loneliness?

2. How do you know if you’re lonely?

3. The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale

4. Interpreting Results on the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale

5. What are my loneliness scores?

6. What causes loneliness?

7. Which is the best way to cure loneliness?

8. Why was CBT the most effective therapeutical method for curing loneliness?

9. Conclusion

1. What is the definition, prevalence, and human and societal cost of loneliness?

Loneliness is a hot topic in the mass media right now, with the New York Times recently publishing, “Why is the Loneliness Epidemic So Hard to Cure?” (28 August 2024), “The Loneliness Curve” (21 May 2024), and “Loneliness Can Change the Brain” (13 May 2024). All unfortunately behind a paywall, but you get the point!

Ironically, you are not alone. Loneliness affects over half the US population, and interestingly, is more common among parents than non-parents:

“About 65% of parents and guardians are classified as lonely, a 10-point gap compared to non-parents (55%)”[1]

In 2023, loneliness and the lack of social connection was considered such a health risk, the Surgeon General Vivek Murphy published, “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,”[2] which claimed the mortality impact of loneliness and lack of social connection is equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, worse than obesity and physical inactivity combined.

And loneliness and social isolation “increase the risk for premature death by 26% and 29% respectively.”

Below you can see graphically in the National Trends for Social Connection how the time we spend alone has increased for Social Isolation (+24hrs/month), and decreased for social engagement: Household family (-5hrs/month); Companionship (-14hrs/month); with Friends (-20hrs/month); Non-family (-6.5hrs/month); and with Others (-10hrs/months), from 2003 to 2020, in the US.

Further the cost of social isolation is estimated at $6.7bn in excess Medicare spending, and stress-related absenteeism due to loneliness estimated to cost employers $153bn annually.

Loneliness has been defined as “a subjective negative experience that results from inadequate meaningful connections, where ‘inadequate’ refers to the discrepancy or unmet need between an individual’s preferred and actual experience.”[3] Further, it is considered a “fundamental human need, as essential as food, water and shelter.”

In the UK, the government adopted a similar, but perhaps slightly clearer, definition drawing on Perlman and Peplau and used by the Campaign to End Loneliness and the Jo Cox Commission: “a subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship. It happens when we have a mismatch between the quantity and quality of social relationships that we have, and those that we want.”[4] This is important because it implies our expectations influence our perception of loneliness, as we shall see later.

It is important to bear in mind that “loneliness doesn’t discriminate” – Jo Cox, and certain life events may make us feel lonely sometimes, see figure below, and therefore it is natural. Although perhaps we can always learn to cope with loneliness better.

But how do we know if we’re lonely?

2. How do you know if you’re lonely?

It is hard to know if you are lonely, precisely because, like the definition states, it is a subjective experience. However, Russell et al., (1980) devised a reliable and validated questionnaire which you can use to test yourself, like I have done, which I share, below.

It may be worth doing this questionnaire twice, once before you have read the whole article, to analyse the type and extent of your loneliness, and inform your consideration of the best way of dealing with it in the suggested interventions that follow. And, again, after you have chosen and implemented strategies for reducing loneliness, after a few months, to see if your score has improved.

3. The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale[5]

Directions: Indicate how often you feel the way described in each of the following statements. Circle one number for each.

To score yourself on this test use the following table:

4. Interpreting Results on the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale

Range 20 to 80.

“The cut-offs for loneliness severity were adapted from the report by Cacioppo and Patrick (2008) as follows:

Total score <28 = no/low loneliness

Total score 28 to 43 = moderate loneliness

Total score >43 = high loneliness.” [6]

5. What are my loneliness scores?

Here are my results on the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale:

Table A Total (28) + Table B Total (32) = 60/80

Total score <28 = no/low loneliness

Total score 28 to 43 = moderate loneliness

Total score >43 = high loneliness.

Therefore, according to my results, I was right, I have a relatively high degree of loneliness, which is consistent with my subjective perception, although, frankly, I didn’t expect it to be that high!

6. What causes loneliness?

Firstly, it should be noted that loneliness can be a fleeting feeling, which many of us may have from time to time, but we should pay more attention when it lasts for a few days or more, or doesn’t ever seem to go away.

There are three dimensions of loneliness: Intimate loneliness; Relational loneliness; and Collective loneliness, which match the three dimensions surrounding one’s attentional space: Intimate space (personal space); Social space (friends and family); and Public space. [7]

6.1 Intimate loneliness

Also known as emotional loneliness, refers to the absence of someone we rely on for emotional support, like a partner or close friend. It will come as no surprise that a study by Hawkley et al, 2005, found that the best (negative) predictor of intimate loneliness was a good marriage.

“Education and income were negatively associated with loneliness and explained racial/ethnic differences in loneliness. Being married largely explained the association between income and loneliness, with positive marital relationships offering the greatest degree of protection against loneliness. Independent risk factors for loneliness included male gender, physical health symptoms, chronic work and/or social stress, small social network, lack of a spousal confidant, and poor-quality social relationships.”[8]

This relates to “Isolation” questions in the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17 and 18.[9] Look back at your answers, and if you scored higher on these questions, it may suggest your loneliness may be due to lacking in this dimension.

6.2 Relational loneliness.

Also known as social loneliness, refers to the perceived presence or absence of quality friendships or social relationships, within one’s relational or social space. Importantly, this relational space is defined as multi-modal (visual, auditory and tactile) allowing for face-to-face communications. However, it is not the quantity of friends that matters, but rather the quality of those friendships, and tends to “play a slightly greater role in influencing loneliness in women than men”.

This relates to “Relational Connectedness” questions in the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: 10, 15, 16, 19 and 20. Again, look back at your answers, and if you scored higher on these questions, it may suggest your loneliness may be due to lacking in this dimension.

6.3 Collective loneliness

This refers to our valued social identities within society, like our work, school or team, or any active networks we maintain, in a public space, like volunteering, and tends to be “slightly more heavily weighted in men than women.”

This relates to “Collective Connectedness” questions in the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: 1, 5, 6, 9.

Again, look back at your answers, and if you scored higher on these questions, it may suggest your loneliness may be due to lacking in this dimension.

Which begs the question, what does research have to show about the best way to cure loneliness? Before I consider how I cured loneliness.

7. Which is the best way to cure loneliness?

There are four coping strategies that research has suggested may be effective: Changing one’s desired level of social contact; Achieving higher levels of social contact; Minimising loneliness; and Therapeutic Interventions.[10] Let’s briefly consider each one.

7.1 Changing one’s desired level of social contact

7.1.1 Adaptation. Over time we may adapt our expectations of social contact, and while not condoning this as a solution, Weiss (1973) noted that lonely people may "change their standards for appraising their situations and feelings, and, in particular, that standards might shrink to conform more closely to the shape of bleak reality."

7.1.2 Task Choice. By choosing tasks that we prefer to do alone, like, say, reading, writing or going to the gym, we may avoid feelings of loneliness by doing tasks that we normally prefer to do with others, say, going to the cinema. Robert Brown (1979) studied hermits, and found they had many activities they enjoyed doing alone. And other researchers have found doing more solitary activities you enjoy can reduce loneliness.

7.1.3 Changing standards. Finally, we may be able to reduce our desired level of social contact, by changing our standards of who is acceptable as a friend. We may be our own worst enemy, in this regard, by unintentionally making ‘enemies’ of potential friends because we are scared to trust again.

None of us want to be hurt again, but projecting that judgment on others, albeit defensively, may, ironically, hurt us more, and not necessarily be a valid conclusion, either, as we shall consider in the ‘loneliness cycle’ below.

7.2 Achieving higher levels of social contact

The most common perception of reducing loneliness in a UCLA study was to find a girlfriend/boyfriend. But there are many other ways of increasing social contact, such as joining clubs, evening classes, starting conversations with other people and deepening relationships with existing acquaintances. Rubenstein and Shaver (1980) found that loneliness is reduced by visiting, or even just calling, a friend.

7.3 Minimising Loneliness

Another way to reduce loneliness is to change your perception of the gap between the social interaction we desire and have. You could deny the gap, or consider that other objectives in life are more important, or re-interpret it as a learning opportunity.

If self-esteem is threatened by loneliness, one could boost one’s self-esteem in non-social ways. Unfortunately, some may do this by resorting to alcohol or drug use, and if you are struggling with alcohol, you may find my book on ways to control or quit your drinking helpful, here.

7.4 Therapeutic interventions

A quantitative literature review[11] by Masi et al.’s (2011) found no evidence for better efficacy of one-to-one individual therapies than group therapies, in spite of previous studies claiming the contrary.

And the results of the four primary types of intervention program that were analysed to reduce loneliness were mostly not found to be effective, except for one:

1) Social recreation intervention (increasing opportunities for social contact) (-0.62) not found to be effective.

2) Social support intervention (mentoring programs, buddy-care program, conference calls) Significant but small reduction in loneliness (-0.162)

3) Social skills intervention (speaking on the phone, giving and receiving compliments, enhancing non-verbal communication skills (-0.17) not found to be effective in reducing loneliness.

4) Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (addressing maladaptive social cognition) which had the largest effect size (-0.598).

8. Why was Cognitive Behavioral Therapy the most effective therapeutical method for curing loneliness?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy aims to challenge the automatic negative thoughts we may have about others, or social interactions, to identify any dysfunctional and irrational beliefs, false attributions, or self-defeating thoughts we may have developed, and assume are facts, but are actually unverified.

People don’t choose to be lonely, they find themselves at one end of the spectrum of social connections and feel isolated [Perceived Social Isolation (PSI]. Their perception that they are on the end and isolated, increases their motivation for self-preservation, which increases their desire to connect with others but also their sensitivity to social threats or rejection [Hyper-Vigilance for Social Threats]. This sensitivity can make lonely people pay more attention to negative social cues [Attentional Bias]. They might also remember negative experiences more than positive ones [Memory Bias]. Because of this, lonely people might expect social interactions to go badly [Behavioral Confirmation Bias]. This expectation can actually make interactions go worse, reinforcing withdrawal, negativity and feelings of loneliness [More Negative Displays, Social Interactions and Affect], creating a cycle of loneliness.

The good news is that there are ways to break this cycle:

• Learning to see things from other people's perspectives

• Practicing empathy (understanding others' feelings)

• Recognizing negative thoughts about social situations and questioning if they're really true

• Being more mindful (aware) in social situations (to correct confirmation bias]

• Sharing positive experiences with others (Capitalization).

Research on social cognition is demonstrated in the model in the figure below, “The effects of loneliness on social cognition.”

9. Conclusion

If you are feeling lonely, the first thing to do is remember you are not alone, many people feel like this from time to time, like half the population of the U.S., including this author! When we feel lonely, I know, it is hard to picture millions of us feeling exactly the same way right now. But there are, and my heart goes out to all of you, which is why I wrote this.

Secondly, your feelings of loneliness are valid, and you shouldn’t be hard on yourself, or more importantly, blame anyone else for them, like friends or old friends, partners or ex-partners, because that will only engage you in the loneliness cycle, described above, and even threaten to trap you in it, which makes getting out of it more difficult. There is a lot to be said for forgiveness and acceptance, without getting too spiritual about it.

Thirdly, we all sometimes need to work on ourselves, which is why the UCLA Loneliness Scale is so useful, but you have to take the time and effort to complete the questionnaire and analyse the results. We don’t always have an accurate picture of our level of loneliness and, in particular, which dimensions of loneliness are most affecting us.

If we don’t know which dimensions of loneliness are affecting us, according to the research above, it may be harder to adopt the best strategy to overcome it. What worked for me, may not work for you. We are all different, and loneliness, as stated in the definition is a subjective experience.

Finally, we may have to face the fear, and embrace a solution we sometimes don’t instinctively feel comfortable with. This may be contrary to all the feel-good advice out there on loneliness, but I think it is important to be honest. Any kind of worthwhile change involves doing something differently. We can’t expect to carry on doing what we are doing, and expect the world to change to accommodate us. It doesn’t work like that, although sometimes I have to remind myself of this! I can be stubborn like a petulant child, even in my fifties!

And I know how ridiculous that sounds, but then I look at my test results in black and white, and it makes me think… To be honest, should I rush back and change all the results! But it is how you perceive the questions the first time, that has any value. And, unlike me, you don’t have to publish the results to the whole world, so you’ve got it relatively easy!

A few practical changes I made to my life, and these are personal rather than researched, were to invest in an Echo Dot and subscribe to Amazon Music Unlimited so I could listen to music while I work, but a radio app on your phone would probably do just as well. I also installed the Gemini app on my phone so I could ask AI questions verbally, which I actually found quite comforting, but there is also ChatGPT for Alexa, but you need to pay a subscription for that.

I also started attending group meditations, in addition to meditating alone (see Whichwayhow to meditate for more information). And finally, the greatest difference to my life, was making a conscious effort to spend more time with my family of an evening and on the weekends. This was tied into feeling more grateful for what I had, starting with my family (see Whichwayhow to practice gratitude for more information.)

I have just retaken the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale and I am pleased to report I scored 35, which doesn’t mean no/low loneliness, it means moderate loneliness, rather than high like it was before, so I am getting there! And I am sure you will, too.

Thank you for reading.

If this post has helped you, and if you think it might help someone else, please like and share this post.

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References

[1] Commissioned by Cigna Corporation, Morning Consult conducted a survey of 2,496 U.S. adults from December 13-19, 2021. https://newsroom.thecignagroup.com/loneliness-epidemic-persists-post-pandemic-look Accessed at 12:26 on 10^th November 2024

[2] Murthy, V. (2023). Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on the healing effects of social connection and community. US Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK595227/

[3] Prohaska T, Burholt V, Burns A, et al Consensus statement: loneliness in older adults, the 21st century social determinant of health? BMJ Open 2020;10:e034967. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034967

[4] Drawing on Perlman, D. & Peplau, L. A. (1981) Toward a Social Psychology of Loneliness. In R. Gilmour & S. Duck (Eds.), Personal Relationships: 3. Relationships in Disorder (pp. 31-56). London: Academic Press

[5] The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminate validity evidence Sep 1980 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39(39):472-480. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.39.3.472

[6] Lee C, Cho B, Yang Q, et al. A Psychometric Analysis of the 20-item Revised University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale Among Korean Older Adults Living Alone. Research in Gerontological Nursing. 2021;14(6):306-316. doi:10.3928/19404921-20210924-03

[7] Cacioppo S, Grippo AJ, London S, Goossens L, Cacioppo JT. Loneliness: clinical import and interventions. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2015 Mar;10(2):238-49. doi: 10.1177/1745691615570616. PMID: 25866548; PMCID: PMC4391342.

[8] Hawkley LC, Hughes ME, Waite LJ, Masi CM, Thisted RA, Cacioppo JT. From social structural factors to perceptions of relationship quality and loneliness: the Chicago health, aging, and social relations study. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2008 Nov;63(6):S375-84. doi: 10.1093/geronb/63.6.s375. PMID: 19092047; PMCID: PMC2769562.

[9] Hawkley LC, Gu Y, Luo YJ, Cacioppo JT. The mental representation of social connections: generalizability extended to Beijing adults. PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e44065. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044065. Epub 2012 Sep 11. PMID: 23028486; PMCID: PMC3442957.

[10] Perlman, Daniel & Peplau, Letitia. (1981). Toward a social psychology of loneliness Personal relationships 3. Personal relationships in disorder. 3. 31-43.

[11] Masi CM, Chen HY, Hawkley LC, Cacioppo JT. A meta-analysis of interventions to reduce loneliness. Personality and Social Psychology Review. 2011;15:219–266. doi: 10.1177/1088868310377394. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

[12] Cacioppo S, Grippo AJ, London S, Goossens L, Cacioppo JT. Loneliness: clinical import and interventions. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2015 Mar;10(2):238-49. doi: 10.1177/1745691615570616. PMID: 25866548; PMCID: PMC4391342.

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I hope you are well and I am sorry this post, due on 27^th November 2024 to celebrate Thanksgiving on the 28^th is late, but I had to take some time off due to illness, and, to be honest, a large part was procrastination (see Which way is the best, and how, to conquer procrastination) but I am very grateful to be back to full health!

Isn’t it ironic that the only time I appreciate my health, though, is when I am ill.

I was confined to my bed for a week or so, weak all over--like when you actually have to think about how to get out of bed because it hurts to move--and I couldn’t hug my wife or children for fear of spreading the infection.

I not only felt physically but mentally miserable, and lonely, but it’s surprising how quickly I forgot all that when I was better, and jumped out of bed to hug my kids again. The point is, maybe it was wrong to forget it too quickly?

I feel so grateful to be well again and have my family, but should I have to wait for illness to appreciate my good health and my family? Or, would that mean missing something… If I am, this could be big, and something well worth investigating in greater depth.

I have heard of people keeping a gratitude list before but never really seen the point of it. We don’t even have Thanksgiving Day in the UK! But I feel the need to be grateful now, and I want to find out if there are any proven researched benefits of practicing gratitude, and if so, which is the best way and how to do it? Who should I be grateful to? And I wonder if I may even be less susceptible to getting ill in the first place if I practice gratitude? And would I, in fact, be happier?

All the answers, and more, await in this fortnight’s deep-dive into gratitude! (I hope you appreciate it! 😊) And hopefully you too will be happier for discovering the value of, and best ways to practice, gratitude, yourself.

Trust me, this one is worth your time, and your life may never be the same again!

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Key Findings

1) More practice expressing gratitude to others (67%) than to God (54%).

2) Researched gratitude benefits include improved mental health, higher positive affect and enhanced life satisfaction, better physical health, reduction in stress and increased prosocial behaviour.

3) The 6-Item Gratitude Questionnaire assesses “proneness to experience gratitude.”

4) The Top 5 Research-based Gratitude Exercises are: Thinking about someone you are grateful for; a gratitude journal; a gratitude visit; Huberman’s gratitude protocol; and, a gratitude prayer/gratitude meditation.

5) Developing a gratitude attitude leads to a gratitude disposition.

CONTENTS

1) Gratitude definition

2) Who do we usually give most gratitude to and in which ways?

3) Are grateful people psychologically different to less grateful people?

4) Gratitude benefits

5) What is your current level of gratitude?

5.1. The Gratitude Questionnaire — Six Item Form (GQ-6)

5.2. How to score The Gratitude Questionnaire – Six Item Form (GQ-6)

6) The Top 5 Research-based Gratitude Exercises

7) Conclusion

1. Gratitude definition

The word gratitude comes from the Latin root gratia, meaning grace or thankfulness.

“Gratitude is traditionally defined as a positive emotional response to the recognition of the good in one’s life, often elicited by an act of kindness or appreciation from others (Emmons & McCullough, 2003)”[2]

In practical terms, there are a variety of benefits[3] we could be grateful for:

• personal (e.g., advice)

• collective (e.g., books/ programs your organization badly needed),

• material (e.g., a gift)

• interpersonal (e.g., emotional acknowledgment from a friend),

• monetary (e.g., a loan) or nonmonetary (e.g., much needed help),

• mundane (e.g., a book you were wanting)

• nonmaterial, such as benefits from nature (e.g., awe-evoking weather) or from spiritual life (e.g., experiences of divine interventions).

2. Who do we usually give most gratitude to and in which ways?

G.H. Gallup (1998) conducted a survey of 482 adults and 500 teens and found that 78% of teenagers and 89% of adults express gratitude to a God or Creator "all of the time" or "some of the time".[4]

Another study in the US supported this, finding over half of all adults, express gratitude to God, although not quite as high a percentage (54%), but, interestingly, even more practice expressing gratitude to others (67%).[5]

The methods of expressing gratitude, ranked in order, were as follows:

1. telling family and friends that one is grateful to them (96%)

2. worshipping and praying (85%)

3. giving money to charity (81%)

4. community service (70%)

5. saying grace at meals (64%)

3. Are grateful people psychologically different to less grateful people?

A study by McCullough et al (2002) found that there was indeed a grateful disposition, which was defined as “a generalized tendency to recognize and respond with grateful emotion to the roles of other people’s benevolence in the positive experiences and outcomes that one obtains.” [6]

Self-ratings and observer ratings showed that a grateful disposition was associated with a) positive affect and well-being, b) more social behaviour and traits, and c) religiousness/spirituality.

In Science and Spiritual Practices, Rupert Sheldrake observed, “the opposite of gratitude is a sense of entitlement,”[7] which he suggests we may develop as consumers, with legal rights to products we have purchased without feeling any obligation or thanks to the land, factories or workers that produced them, because they are so remote and depersonalized.

But if we stop taking things for granted— Sheldrake references McCullough et al.’s same paper above with the idea— we can be grateful for almost everything.

It reminds me of the “I, Pencil” parable by Leonard Read— praised by Economics Nobel Laureate, Milton Friedman[8] — which beautifully illustrates how the vast range of resources required combine to make a single pencil.

There isn’t room to repeat the full story here, but if you subscribe to Whichwayhow.com for free, below, you can access it as a free resource in the welcome email, and if you already subscribe, it was attached when you received this email.

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“I, Pencil” can be used to explain how markets work to combine factor inputs with what Adam Smith called an invisible hand, used in his famous economics treatise Wealth of Nations to argue that “each individual in pursuing his own selfish good was led, as if by an invisible hand, to achieve the best good of all.”[9]

Interestingly, Adam Smith was one of the first to write an in-depth psychological treatment of gratitude in The Theory of Moral Sentiments[10] and considered gratitude to be one of the most basic human emotions, like affection or resentment, and the primary motivation for doing good to others.

While the declared morale of, “I, Pencil” is to, “Leave all creative energies uninhibited,” —and I don’t agree with his flawed example that it would be better not to have a governmental Postal Service since he doesn’t consider it a public good—for me, “I, Pencil” beautifully illustrates the importance of not taking things for granted.

Gratitude is about recognising value, and I think it is important to note, you can do that without necessarily directing thanks to someone, or something, like a higher power; gratitude can be self-contained, in a sense, as long as it is recognition for something outside the self.

For example, I seem to recognise value in products I'm thinking of buying and comparing them with different products. This search makes me feel good and I feel a dopamine release or hit when I find something adding value at a lower price!

But as soon as I’ve bought something, even after receiving it if bought online, I don’t feel the same joy or rush of excitement, as just prior to the purchase-moment. The dopamine release seems to be linked to anticipation or the thrill of the hunt; the journey rather than the destination; the excitement of possibility rather than the act of purchase itself.

Some refer to it as ‘retail therapy’ and if gratitude can also help you, why not call it, gratitude therapy. A bit like Wim Hof saying get high on your own supply, (see Which way is the best, and how, to do Breathwork) why can’t we review our lives for added value as a source of gratitude therapy. That’s why I prefer to call practicing gratitude, valuing. It could be gratitude for, or valuing, a purchase we made, and the myriads of processes and work that went into making it, like in I, Pencil, or it could be valuing our ancestors, or as simple as valuing the day itself. I prefer valuing because it is neutral and doesn’t require a belief in a higher power.

And valuing could even be a self-fulfilling prophecy as Deepak Chopra suggests.

“By offering gratitude for all the goodness we experience, we’re inviting the universe to give us more and more of what we want.” – Deepak Chopra[11]

We will explore some strategies for practicing gratitude, or valuing, soon, but for now I just wanted to throw out the concept that we may be undervaluing our life, if we never take time to value it— suffering in its absence—and missing out on a plethora of benefits.

4. Gratitude benefits

It is perhaps not so surprising that researchers found negative mood decreased after participants received a letter of gratitude[12], but actually practicing gratitude to others offers many benefits itself, potentially including: 1. Improved mental health; 2. Higher Positive Affect and Enhanced life satisfaction; 3. Better Physical Health; 4. Reduction in Stress; and, 5. Increased Prosocial Behaviour. Let us briefly consider the research evidence for each to decide whether practicing gratitude is really worth it?

4.1 Improved mental health

A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of 64 randomized clinical trials by Diniz et al (2023) found that patients who underwent gratitude interventions—which we shall come to shortly when we consider the Top 5 researched gratitude exercises—experienced “better mental health and fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression” [13].

Another study also found that grateful people are “lower in negative emotions such as depression, anxiety and envy.”[14]

Finally, a meta-analysis on The Association between Gratitude and Depression found that, “higher gratitude was significantly associated with lower depression.”[15]

4.2 Higher Positive Affect and Enhanced life satisfaction

A study by Emmons et al. (2002) called The Grateful Disposition found that compared to less grateful people, more grateful people were, “higher in positive emotions and life satisfaction.”[16]

This was confirmed a year later in a controlled experiment by Emmons and McCullough (2003) called Counting blessings versus burdens, which found that the “gratitude-outlook” groups who kept a gratitude journal exhibited “heightened well-being across several, though not all, of the outcome measures”.[17]

“In a recent Gallup (1998) survey of American teens and adults, over 90% of respondents indicated that expressing gratitude helped them to feel “extremely happy” or “somewhat happy.””[18]

4.3 Better Physical Health

In the same paper Counting blessings versus burdens, Emmons and McCullough also found that there was a significant effect on the health of participants in the gratitude condition who experienced, “16% to 34% [depending on the assessment method used] less bother from aches and pains.”

Therefore, there is indeed some evidence to suggest, as I wondered in my introduction, that I may have less chance of getting ill by practicing gratitude.

4.4 Reduction in Stress

Cortisol is known as the “stress hormone”[19], and a study of pregnant women by Matvienko-Sikar and Dockray (2017) [20], quoted by Xiaoxiao Wang and Chunli Song (2023), showed that gratitude can even reduce cortisol levels:

"The gratitude intervention group showed lower cortisol and stress levels in wakefulness and sleep during pregnancy compared to the control group that received conventional therapy". [21]

Another possible indicator of stress is cardiovascular disease (CVD), and Xiaoxiao Wang and Chunli Song’s (2023) paper showed that, “gratitude therapy helps prevent the occurrence and development of CVD.”[22]

4.5 Increased Prosocial Behaviour

A landmark paper by Bartlett and DeSteno (2006) demonstrated that we will help the person we feel grateful to even when it doesn’t give us pleasure: “Gratitude increases efforts to assist a benefactor even when such efforts are costly (i.e. hedonically negative), and that this increase differs from the effects of a general positive affective state.” [23]

Further, Grant and Gino (2010) showed that the benefactor’s motivation to help even spread beyond the beneficiary to another person: “Receiving a brief written expression of gratitude motivated helpers to assist both the beneficiary who expressed gratitude and a different beneficiary.”[24] [My italics]

Another study found that there may be a link between expressing gratitude and being less lonely, “The results showed, as expected, that gratitude and loneliness were negatively correlated.”[25]

I definitely didn’t feel that I was experiencing all of these gratitude benefits in my life, so I wondered what my current level of gratitude was, and if it is was low, what I could do to improve it.

5. What is your current level of gratitude?

5.1 The Gratitude Questionnaire – Six Item Form (GQ-6)

The Gratitude Questionnaire-Six-Item Form (GQ-6) is a commonly used six-item self-report questionnaire designed to “assess individual differences in the proneness to experience gratitude in daily life.”[26] In other words, it measures the tendency to recognise, respond to, and experience gratitude.

5.2 How to score The Gratitude Questionnaire – Six Item Form (GQ-6)

• Add up your scores for items 1, 2, 4, and 5 ((from left to right, 1 point to 7 points where Strongly Agree = 1, Disagree=2, Slightly disagree=3, Neutral=4, Slightly agree=5, Agree=6, Strongly agree=7).

• Reverse your scores for items 3 and 6. If you scored a “7,” give yourself a “1,” if you scored a “6,” give yourself a “2,” etc.

• Add the reversed scores for items 3 and 6 to the total from Step 1.

• This is your total GQ-6 score. This number should be between 6 and 42.

It is important to treat your final score as a self-improvement guide to indicate where you can improve, rather than a final judgmental arbiter. Gratitude is like a muscle, the more you exercise it, the more it grows.

You can use the Interpretation Table for Gratitude Questionnaire – Six Item Form to analyse your result.

5.3 Interpretation Table for Gratitude Questionnaire – Six Item Form

Please note that this table provides general guidance, and individual scores should be interpreted with caution and in context. Factors such as cultural differences, personal circumstances, and the specific population being assessed can influence the interpretation of GQ-6 scores, as we shall see below.

But first, just between us, what follows are my results.

5.4 Analysing Results on the Gratitude Questionnaire Six-Item Form (GQ-6)

I will analyse my results using the instructions previously given, step by step, as an example:

• Add up your scores for items 1, 2, 4, and 5 (from left to right, 1 point to 7 points where Strongly Agree = 1, Disagree=2, Slightly disagree=3, Neutral=4, Slightly agree=5, Agree=6, Strongly agree=7).

  [Q1] 6 + [Q2] 5 + [Q4] 3 + [Q5] +2 = [Total] 16 points

• Reverse your scores for items 3 and 6. If you scored a “7,” give yourself a “1,” if you scored a “6,” give yourself a “2,” etc.

  [Q3] “5” + [Q6] “1” = [Total] 6

• Add the reversed scores for items 3 and 6 to the total from Step 1. This is your total GQ-6 score. This number should be between 6 and 42.

  16+9 = 25 / 42

This is just above the midpoint of the scale, 24, equivalent to answering every 6-point item with 5 points, which would be the neutral option on the 7-point Likert scale.

However, the mean and standard deviation can vary for different groups, and my score of 25 is a very low average score compared to Older adults (Male) with a mean of 36.98 and Business School graduate students with a mean of 38.50. My score is closer, and just above, the PTSD group’s mean of 22.1, see table below.

Further, a survey of 1,224 adults who took this survey as part of a feature on the Spirituality and Health website, quoted by the University of California San Diego[28], suggested the following benchmarks:

• If you scored 35 or below, then you are in the bottom quarter of the sample in terms of gratitude.

• If you scored between 36 and 38, you are in the bottom half of the people who took the survey.

• If you scored between 39 and 41, you are in the top quarter, and if you scored 42 or higher, you are in the top one-eighth.

• Women score slightly higher than men, and older people score higher than younger people.

Therefore, you need to place my score of 25, indicating “average gratitude”, reading from the interpretation table, within context, and recognise that the mean can actually be higher or lower depending on different samples in studies, and the interpretation table is only a rough guide.

According to this interpretation table, which I created, this score suggests that I have some capacity for gratitude, but there is significant room for improvement in recognizing and appreciating positive aspects of my life. I might benefit from practicing gratitude more frequently to enhance my ability to experience and express thankfulness.

So, what are the best ways for me to practice gratitude and improve my score?

6. The Top Five Research-based Gratitude Exercises

In reverse order, these are the five best ways I found to practice gratitude. I will briefly describe the research first, for each one, and then my experience of practicing it.

6.1 Thinking about someone you are grateful for

Watkins and colleagues (2003) carried out a controlled experiment to see which way of remembering grateful events would enhance positive emotions the most[29].

Watkins used PANAS (Positive and Negative Affective Schedule) which is a psychological questionnaire, to measure participants mood by rating a list of emotions before and after the experimental intervention on a Likert scale.

One group was asked to write an essay about someone they were grateful for, another group was asked to write a letter to someone they were grateful for, and the other group was asked to think about someone they were grateful for, and this proved to be the most effective.

“Somewhat surprisingly, the grateful thinking conditions showed the strongest effect. We expected the letter-writing condition to show the strongest effect… It is possible that writing about positive events or persons engages cognitive processes that interrupt the experience of positive affect.” [30]

However, the evidence for writing about positive events in a gratitude journal has shown to be very effective, as we shall consider next.

6.2 How to keep a Gratitude Journal

Let’s start with evidence from the most famous study by Emmons & McCullough (2003) called Counting Blessings Versus Burdens on the benefits of keeping a gratitude journal.

In their controlled experiment, participants were asked to either a) write about their hassles, b) reflect on how they were better off than others, or c) given the following instruction, in case you want to follow it yourself, like I did:

“There are many things in our lives, both large and small, that we might be grateful about. Think back over the past week and write down on the lines below up to five things in your life that you are grateful or thankful for.”

In Study 1, participants kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis for 10 weeks and the results showed that they, “felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic regarding their expectations for the upcoming week. They reported fewer physical complaints and reported spending significantly more time exercising.”

However, the gratitude task didn’t seem to effect participants’ global positive or negative affect, which the authors suggested may be due to only completing one report per week. Therefore, they ran Study 2 with a more intensive daily requirement to keep a gratitude journal for 13 days in the expectation that emotional well-being might be clearer.

Study 2 found that gratitude participants, “reported significantly more positive affect (attentive, determined, energetic, enthusiastic, excited, interested, joyful, strong)” and were, “more likely to report having helped someone with a personal problem or offered emotional support to another.”

In their third study, they gave the PANAS and Satisfaction with Life Scale to the spouse or significant others of the participants, and interestingly found they also recognised how happy grateful participants were in terms of positive affect and life satisfaction.

6.3 A Gratitude Visit

The benefits of gratitude were further confirmed in a study by Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson (2005) that compared how well five different interventions, including delivering a letter of gratitude, writing down three good things or using signature strengths, see figure below, increased personal happiness and decreased depression[31].

The results showed that Using signature strengths in a new way and Three good things in life improved happiness and reduced depressive symptoms for six months.

However, the Gratitude visit caused by far the largest positive changes, see graph below, although only for up to one month, which may be because participants didn’t practice the gratitude visit subsequently.

6.4 Huberman’s Gratitude Protocol

It isn’t just psychological either, there is a neurological effect of practicing gratitude.

In the Huberman Lab podcast, The Science of Gratitude & How to Build a Gratitude Practice, Dr Andrew Huberman explains that by building an effective gratitude practice we can experience, “genuine chemical and neural circuit activation lift if you will.”

To do this he advocates building a Gratitude Protocol, which he explains in the video above, or is summarized in the graphic below.

When you are choosing a story/narrative for the Gratitude Protocol, the amazing thing is you get the same ‘neural circuit activation lift’, as Dr Huberman puts it, from observing someone else receiving gratitude, as you do receiving it yourself. You can even select a book or movie that means something to you, for example, demonstrating the beauty of the human spirit.

Here are the steps of the Gratitude Protocol I followed.

Step 1 – Choose a story/narrative

I selected Still (2023)a documentary about Michael J. Fox, the famous movie actor, dealing with his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, which moved me deeply.

Step 2 – Feel the emotional experience

I reflected on how Michael J. Fox doesn’t complain or feel sorry for himself in the documentary, instead cherishing his wife and family while struggling to learn to walk and coping with the bruises and breaks from falls due to his condition. This, strangely, made me feel grateful for what I had, myself.

Step 3 – Take Brief Notes

I made a few notes, as above, and then searched online and found a revealing interview where Michael explained the cause for his optimism back in 2021: “I started to notice things I was grateful for and the way other people would respond to difficulty with gratitude. I concluded that gratitude makes optimism sustainable.”

But he believes you have to be actively searching for things to be grateful for, optimism doesn’t just come to you, he says, “if you don’t think you have anything to be grateful for, keep looking. Because you don’t just receive optimism. You can’t wait for things to be great and then be grateful for that. You’ve got to behave in a way that promotes that.”

In a CBS Sunday Morning interview[32], see video above, Michael J. Fox reinforced this attitude, “I realize, with gratitude, optimism is sustainable. If you can find something to be grateful for, then you find something to look forward to, then you carry on.” If he can still be grateful, having suffered so much, I thought anyone can, and, even, perhaps, should.

I have followed this Gratitude exercise with other movies, like The Fundamentals of Caring (2016), about a boy struggling with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, because it also moved me, and the power of this exercise is always in the reflection of what I felt, and writing that down, however briefly, because that reinforces the memory.

Other Gratitude Movies—for me, although they might not be for you, yours may obviously be different—are Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983), The Elephant Man (1980), Once Upon A Time in America (1984), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), Groundhog Day (1993), Forrest Gump (1994), Rocky (1976) and, A Beautiful Mind (2001). You get the idea.

Gratitude doesn’t need to be hard work; it can be an absolute pleasure.

6.5 A Gratitude Prayer/ Gratitude Meditation

Finally, research by Rao and Kemper (2017) found that online gratitude meditation training given to health professionals was “associated with statistically significant improvements in gratitude.” [33]

You can listen to a free secular 10-minute audio guided Gratitude Meditation here , or here, by Dr. Kathi Kemper at the Ohio State University’s Center for Integrative Health and Wellness, or try reciting the following gratitude prayer/meditation from Jack Kornfield[34] sitting quietly every morning:

Kornfield then suggests widening gratitude for our own blessings, to be grateful for the blessings of others, and shifting the practice to the cultivation of joy by picturing someone you care about and feeling the joy you have for their well-being, happiness and success with each breath:

And then extend this to other loved ones and when it turns strong, come back to include yourself and continue repeating the intentions of joy, over and over, until you are ready to include the categories of neutral people, difficult people and even enemies until you extend joy to all beings everywhere.

For a deep dive into meditation, see Which way is the best, and how, to meditate.

Further, if you are a Christian, or Christian-Buddhist like me(!), you may find prayer useful for developing a Gratitude disposition.

I always give thanks and say the traditional Christian (from Latin) grace[35] before a meal by making the sign of the cross, before and after, praying: “Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

We finally come full circle because as we noted at the start of this post, above, in 2. Who do we usually give most gratitude to and in which ways? the fifth most common method of expressing gratitude was “saying grace at meals (64%)”.

Developing gratitude doesn’t have to be a burden, it can be a blessing, and like I said earlier, an absolute pleasure, and short of sex(!) what can be more pleasurable than food!

Although it probably wouldn’t be appropriate to offer thanks before sex—perhaps somewhat presumptuous(!)—it’s hard for me not to post-coitus! (Particularly at my age!) 😊

7. Conclusion

In this post we have considered what gratitude is and what we could be grateful for, who we give the most gratitude to and in which ways, and the benefits of having a grateful disposition. This led to a discussion about taking things for granted and the parable of I, Pencil and the invisible hand, before we considered the researched benefits of practicing gratitude.

I then considered how you can find your current level of gratitude using the Gratitude Questionnaire, which I did myself and found I had a low level of gratitude relative to a group of ‘Older’ peers.

To improve my level of gratitude, I considered the Top 5 Researched Gratitude Exercises, including: Thinking about someone you are grateful for; How to keep a Gratitude Journal; A Gratitude Visit; Huberman’s Gratitude Protocol; and a Gratitude Prayer / Gratitude Meditation.

What you need to remember is that while the gratitude exercises are helpful, they are like a means to an end which is about developing a gratitude attitude, which leads to a gratitude disposition.

Once you have developed a gratitude disposition, you will not find it necessary to do gratitude exercises as a task, because they will be second nature. Gratitude will naturally permeate your life and you will feel happier and healthier for it, and enjoy all the gratitude benefits listed above.

I cannot put my hand on my heart and say I am totally there, yet! But I feel grateful for definitely feeling like I am on my way there, and grateful for the opportunity of having this wonderful gratitude journey to explore, and grateful to be able to share it with you.

Good luck thriving—more than surviving—on your gratitude journey today!

If you want to show your gratitude(!) for this article, you can buy me a coffee below:

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References

[1] Michael J. Fox, Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist (New York: Hyperion, 2009), 201.

[2] (PDF) The Role of Gratitude in Coping with Uncertainty: A Qualitative Analysis. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/386047135_The_Role_of_Gratitude_in_Coping_with_Uncertainty_A_Qualitative_Analysis [accessed Nov 23 2024].

[3] Bono, Giacomo & Mccullough, Michael. (2006). Positive Responses to Benefit and Harm: Bringing Forgiveness and Gratitude Into Cognitive Psychotherapy. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy. 20. 147-158. 10.1891/088983906780639835.

[4] Gallup, G.H., Jr. (1998, May). Thankfulness: America's saving grace. Paper presented at the National Day of Prayer Breakfast, Thanks-Giving Square, Dallas.

[5] Gallup, G. H., Jr. (1998, May). Thankfulness: America’s saving grace. Paper presented at the National Day of Prayer Breakfast, Thanks-Giving Square, Dallas.

[6] Mccullough, Michael & Emmons, Robert & Tsang, Jo-Ann. (2002). The Grateful Disposition: A Conceptual and Empirical Topography. Journal of personality and social psychology. 82. 112-27. 10.1037//0022-3514.82.1.112.

[7] Sheldrake, R. (2019). Science and Spiritual Practices: Transformative Experiences and Their Effects on Our Bodies, Brains, and Health. United States: Catapult.

[8] Foundation for Economic Education, https://fee.org/ebooks/i-pencil/ accessed at 11:22 on 01/03/25.

[9] Economics, an Introductory Analysis, Paul A. Samuelson. (New York: McGraw-Hill Company, 1948.)

[10] Smith, A. (1976). The theory of moral sentiments (6^th ed.). Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. (Original work published 1790)

[11] https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/articles/2012/11/20/3-essential-practices-gratitude accessed at 10:21 on 5^th March 2025.

[12] Hori D, Sasahara S, Doki S, Oi Y, Matsuzaki I (2020) Prefrontal activation while listening to a letter of gratitude read aloud by a coworker face-to-face: A NIRS study. PLoS ONE 15 (9): e0238715. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238715

[13] Diniz G, Korkes L, Tristão LS, Pelegrini R, Bellodi PL, Bernardo WM. The effects of gratitude interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Einstein (Sao Paulo). 2023 Aug 11;21:eRW0371. doi: 10.31744/einstein_journal/2023RW0371. PMID: 37585888; PMCID: PMC10393216.

[14] Mccullough, Michael & Emmons, Robert & Tsang, Jo-Ann. (2002). The Grateful Disposition: A Conceptual and Empirical Topography. Journal of personality and social psychology. 82. 112-27. 10.1037//0022-3514.82.1.112. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11547100_The_Grateful_Disposition_A_Conceptual_and_Empirical_Topography

[15] Iodice JA, Malouff JM, Schutte NS (2021) The Association between Gratitude and Depression: A Meta-Analysis. Int J Depress Anxiety 4:024. doi.org/10.23937/2643-4059/1710024

[16] Mccullough, Michael & Emmons, Robert & Tsang, Jo-Ann. (2002). The Grateful Disposition: A Conceptual and Empirical Topography. Journal of personality and social psychology. 82. 112-27. 10.1037//0022-3514.82.1.112.

[17] Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377

[18] (PDF) Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/10900879_Counting_Blessings_Versus_Burdens_An_Experimental_Investigation_of_Gratitude_and_Subjective_Well-Being_in_Daily_Life [accessed Nov 23 2024].

[19] https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-cortisol Accessed at 09.20 on 7^th March 2025.

[20] Matvienko-Sikar K., Dockray S. (2017). Effects of a novel positive psychological intervention on prenatal stress and well-being: a pilot randomised controlled trial. Women Birth 30, e111–e118. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2016.10.003, PMID: [DOI] [PubMed]

[21] Wang X, Song C. The impact of gratitude interventions on patients with cardiovascular disease: a systematic review. Front Psychol. 2023 Sep 21;14:1243598. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1243598. PMID: 37809310; PMCID: PMC10551131.

[22] Wang X, Song C. The impact of gratitude interventions on patients with cardiovascular disease: a systematic review. Front Psychol. 2023 Sep 21;14:1243598. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1243598. PMID: 37809310; PMCID: PMC10551131.

[23] Bartlett, M. & Desteno, D. (2006). Gratitude and Prosocial Behavior Helping When It Costs You. Psychological science. 17. 319-25. 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01705.x.

[24] Grant, A. M., & Gino, F. (2010). A little thanks goes a long way: Explaining why gratitude expressions motivate prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(6), 946–955. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017935

[25] Neto, Félix. (2016). Gratitude uniquely predicts loneliness above sociodemographics, the big 5 personality factors and life satisfaction.

[26] McCullough, M. E., Emmons, R. A., & Tsang, J. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 112-127.

[27] https://pages.ucsd.edu/~memccullough/gratitude/GQ-6-scoring-interp.pdf Accessed at 14.05 on 5th March 2025.

[28] https://pages.ucsd.edu/~memccullough/gratitude/GQ-6-scoring-interp.pdf Accessed at 14.05 on 5^th March 2025.

[29] Watkins, P.C., Woodward, K., Stone T., and Kolts R.L. Gratitude and happiness: development of a measure of gratitude, and relationships with subjective well-being. Social behavior and personality, 2003, 31(5), 431-452 society for personality research (inc.) Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA, USA

[30] Watkins, P.C., Woodward, K., Stone T., and Kolts R.L. Gratitude and happiness: development of a measure of gratitude, and relationships with subjective well-being. Social behavior and personality, 2003, 31(5), 431-452 society for personality research (inc.) Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA, USA

[31] Seligman, Martin & Steen, Tracy & Park, Nansook & Peterson, Christopher. (2005). Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Interventions. The American psychologist. 60. 410-21. 10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410.

[32]

Accessed at 11:11 on 12^th March 2025

[33] Rao, N. and Kemper, K. J. (2017). Online training in specific meditation practices improves gratitude, well-being, self-compassion, and confidence in providing compassionate care among health professionals. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 22(2): 237-41.

[34] Kornfield, J. (2009). The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology. United States: Random House Publishing Group.

[35] https://www.prayinglatin.com/prayers-for-meals/ Accessed at 11:36 on 14^th March 2025

Although many US presidents have been accused of procrastination[1], this is the last thing you could accuse Donald Trump of, having hit the ground running on the first day of his inauguration as 47^th President signing twelve executive orders ranging from ending birthright citizenship to leaving the World Health Organisation to declaring national energy and border emergencies[2], which made me wonder why I kept on postponing actually writing about procrastination?

Yes, I have been procrastinating about returning to writing this blog after a three-month hiatus due to cataract surgery (subscribe for free not to miss WWH Cataracts coming soon—hopefully!) but if I am really honest, it only took six weeks to recover from surgery, and the rest is months of procrastination.

My last post was on 30^th October 2024 and then I had a post on Gratitude lined up for Thanksgiving, which I only managed to start and never finish, another on Loneliness for Christmas, which I never managed to finish either, and I didn’t really know why, and it is now 5^th March 2025.

Procrastination lurked below my radar in the shadows, like a self-defeating phantom. The saddest thing is the weight I had to carry while ostensibly doing ‘other’ things, and this constant nagging stress of having things undone. I didn’t know which way to look for the best; I was every which way but loose!

It’s not like I could afford to take time off work either. One look at my bank balance would be enough to shock Frankenstein back to life! (And another thing, why does my bank have to add salt to injury by stating my mortgage account balance below my current account balance? It’s like falling in the crevasse and seeing the abyss below! That’s just mean(!) Or maybe I’m already looking to blame someone else for my procrastination! (Or looking for more excuses not to write about it! Sorry!!!)

The opportunity cost of procrastination is obviously the money I might have earnt from paid subscriptions, never mind the loss of paid subscribers, but there is also the moral cost to my free subscribers. Don’t I care about letting them down?

Of course, I do. I hate being like this. I loved researching and writing my fortnightly posts and the excitement of hitting publish and feeling that sense of accomplishment. What went wrong?

I am fed up of constantly doing almost anything but writing: I have hung new curtains in my office; replaced the door handle in the lounge; installed a CCTV camera; cleaned my desk; replaced my laptop keyboard; darned a shirt and pair of trousers… And, OK, it pains me to say, and I feel terribly guilty for admitting this, reached Level 23 on Fallout 76 on my Xbox!

It hurts. It is akin to self-destruction. An overwhelming crisis of inaction and indecision. Am I mentally unwell? Is it just me? For heaven’s sake, why did I start procrastinating and what is the cure?

If you’re anything like me and this has happened to you, don’t worry, I’ve finally researched this issue so you don’t have to, and discovered which is the best way, and how, to avoid procrastination from the best scientists on the subject, viewed, as always, from the lens of my personal experience. This is a mega deep-dive and you can see the Key Findings first, and jump directly to topics in the Content, below.

Reading Time: 35m 20s

Words: 8,406

Key Findings

1) Procrastination affects 15-20% of all adults in the US, and men and women differently.

2) Procrastination can be measured using the Pure Procrastination Scale.

3) The FBM identified three core motivators and six simplicity factors affecting our action threshold.

4) New research has validated The Getting Things Done System and elaborated the process workflow clarifying actions, decision points and external memories.

5) Both the FBM and Elaborated Getting Things Done System are useful frameworks for thinking about your thinking, or acting on your inaction by investigating the cause and suggesting ways forward.

CONTENT

1. What is Procrastination?

2. How prevalent is Procrastination in society?

3. What causes procrastination?

4. How can you measure how much you procrastinate?

5. The Pure Procrastination Scale

6. My Results on the Pure Procrastination Scale

7. The PPS Score Interpretation Table

8. The Top 10 Strategies, supported by research, to overcome procrastination

9. The Fogg Behaviour Model

10. The GTD (Getting Things Done) System

11. Conclusion

1. What is Procrastination?

The word “procrastination” means to prefer the next day, coming from the Latin ‘pro’ meaning ‘forward, forth, or in favor of,” and “crastinus,” meaning “tomorrow”[3]

Which is easier said than done, because this time delay may be the behavioural manifestation of underlying irrational causes which is why procrastination is usually conceptualized by researchers as, “an irrational tendency to delay required tasks or assignments despite the negative effects of this postponement on the individuals and organizations.”[4]

The problem is procrastination can be both harmful to your own psychological, physical and financial well-being, as well as to others who count on you.

2. How prevalent is Procrastination in society?

Procrastination is highly common among students (80-95%), with three-quarters identifying themselves as procrastinators, and half procrastinating “consistently and problematically”. Students typically report that it claims over a third of their daily activities through sleeping, playing or watching TV.

But it isn’t just students, in the US procrastination affects 15-20% of all adults, and over 90% want to reduce it[5].

McCown and Johnson (1989) found that “over 25% of subjects stated that procrastination was a “significant problem” in their lives” and “almost 40% of subjects stated that procrastination had personally caused them financial loss during the past year.”[6]

And procrastination costs US taxpayers approximately $400 per return, due to errors from rushing to meet the deadline, and this equated to an overpayment to the government of $473m in 2002.

More worryingly, according to another study, most Americans haven’t saved up for their retirements due to procrastination:

“At least 80 percent of Americans have put off saving for their retirement so long that they no longer can realistically make up for their procrastination.”[7]

Interestingly, procrastination reaches a peak in the mid to late twenties for men, and then falls until mid-fifties, whereas for women it falls from the age of 20 until more or less stabilizing between 45 and 55, but then for both sexes, begins rising from 55 (see graph below)[8].

In terms of the wider effect of procrastination on businesses, in the UK, according to a survey of 2,000 workers by musicMagpie, procrastination costs businesses over £21 billion each year.[9]

3. What causes procrastination?

Firstly, procrastination is positively correlated with impulsivity, and both are heritable, 46% and 49% respectively, and variation in goal-management ability accounts for the difference.[10]

The correlation with impulsivity may explain why although we intend to do work, we suddenly change our mind to do something more enjoyable instead. This is consistent with neurobiology because the prefrontal cortex is primarily responsible for long-term intentions but these can be overwhelmed by impulses from the limbic system.[11]

“We are putting off tasks with long-term rewards because we are impulsively distracted by short-term temptations.” Steel (2010).

Steel (2022) has more recently also suggested that task aversion, fear of failing and perfectionism may also be the cause of procrastination.[12] We will return to a strategy to resolve this shortly.

Procrastination may also be due to self-regulatory failure relating to short-term mood repair and emotion regulation[13]. If you are contemplating an aversive task, it may make you feel anxious or stressed and the way to relieve this is not to do it, or task avoidance, which will immediately provide relief. (I assume the more often you do this, the better you will feel, almost like a self-reinforcing downward spiral, but this is not claimed in the research.)

In a study by Tice et al (2001), though, participants who were artificially put in a negative mood did spend more time procrastinating, by not preparing for the next task in the study, and they concluded, “Even a seemingly artificially induced negative mood proved to be enough to make people postpone an important self-control goal”[14].

In other words, when we are upset, we do something else, impulsively, to make us feel better, which is the same as prioritizing short-term mood, or affect, over other self-regulatory goals, which is why it is known as self-regulatory failure. Presumably, the more impulsive you are as a person, the worse this effect will be and the more you will procrastinate, thus the correlation found above, between impulsivity and procrastination.

Further, isn’t it reasonable to project from this, and again, I am going beyond the research, that if you are suffering from anxiety or depression, you will be more likely to procrastinate, which ironically, may make the anxiety and depression worse?

“Stress is magnified when we procrastinate. We anticipate being criticized not only for our work but for turning it in late; we tempt fate by pushing limits; we expect the worst to be waiting right around the corner; we feel guilty for disappointing, inconveniencing, or irritating others. It’s a vicious circle: procrastination produces stress, and stress can produce procrastination.”[15]

Further, in a study of 342 college students, Solomon and Rothblum (1984) found that procrastination “correlated significantly with depression, irrational beliefs, low self-esteem, anxiety and poor study habits”.[16]

Therefore, there are many different causes of procrastination which may be different according to the individual and their circumstances.

But how do you know how bad your procrastination is? Is there a way of measuring it?

4. How can you measure how much you procrastinate?

The best method to measure procrastination is the Pure Procrastination Scale created by Piers Steel (2010) [17] because it has “improved validity over previous instruments” [18] and has been used to measure procrastination using a 7-point Likert scale self-report measure.[19]

Complete the questionnaire below to determine how much you procrastinate scientifically.

5. The Pure Procrastination Scale

The realisation that I had been procrastinating, despite of all the evidence, didn’t sink in until I actually rated these questions. There may be a knowledge gap between what I told myself and the reality, so trust me, you should try answering the questions, like me!

To encourage you, let’s look at my results, and shoosh(!) don’t tell anyone else, this is just between us!

6. My Results on the Pure Procrastination Scale

This is me being as honest as possible, otherwise these instruments are meaningless, but at least you don’t have to show the whole world your scores! But what does this ‘total’ figure actually mean?

7. The PPS Score Interpretation Table

Normative data for comparison is hard to find, so you can use the following PPS Score Interpretation Table to interpret your scores, but note this is not research-based and only a rough non-medical guide I created based on the following estimated Mean and SD:

In research using a 5-point scale, the mean PPS score is typically 36 with an SD of approx. 7 -8.

Therefore, using a 7-point scale:

Estimated Mean: (36/5) x 7 = approx. 50

Estimated SD: (7/5) x 7 = approx. 10

The intervals in the range have been chosen to broadly reflect psychometrically valid ranges using standard deviation (SD) bands, rather than evenly distributed cutoffs.

Reading from the table, my procrastination score of 65 is high procrastination, and as a consequence, I did, like it states, “experience stress and/or anxiety”. Both.

Since we estimated from previous research using a 5-point scale that the mean score was 50 and the standard deviation was 10, we can calculate how many standard deviations my score deviates from the mean using the formula:

Z = (Your Score – Mean) / Standard Deviation.

In my case, Z = (65-50)/10 = 1.5.

A Z-Score of 1.5 means my score is 1.5 Standard Deviations above the mean, which means my level of procrastination is significantly above average, but not at the extreme high end or potentially chronic procrastination. I fall into the “High Procrastination” range (between +1 SD and +2 SD), which means it could be affecting my productivity, stress levels and/or well-being.

With this result I need a strategy to overcome my procrastination but what strategies are actually supported by research? After this we will try and integrate our understanding of how individual strategies might fit into an overall framework for conquering procrastination using the Fogg Behaviour Model and the Getting Things Done System.

8. The Top 10 Strategies, supported by research, to overcome procrastination

8.1. Address the Root Causes of Your Procrastination

Procrastination is often linked to perfectionism, task aversion, or motivation deficits (we will return to motivation in our focus on the Fogg Behaviour Model). For example, Steel (2007) found that procrastination is mostly a failure of self-regulation, relating to boring or aversive tasks and impulsivity[20], which we discussed earlier. Understanding your reason for procrastinating may help in choosing the right intervention.

If you procrastinate due to perfectionism, or fear of failure, it may help to try setting "good enough" standards rather than aiming for perfection. I think my procrastination may in part be due to perfectionism, rooted in a fear of failure, when related to writing these posts.

I am so desperate to succeed due to financial difficulties, I may be unconsciously frightened to fail and, ironically, procrastinating because I have an unrealistic expectation that my work must be ‘perfect’ to succeed.

If you are anything like me, we need to set realistic expectations and remember that anyone’s first draft isn’t going to be as good as their last, and that there is a point at which any further work on a draft, stops adding value in proportion to the time employed.

8.2. Use the “10-Minute Rule” to Overcome Task Avoidance

One of the hardest parts of overcoming procrastination is getting started. Research by Zeigarnik (1927) showed that we experience cognitive tension when a task is unfinished so we are more likely to finish it[21]. Indeed, it is more difficult to forget about an incomplete task than a completed task, which is known as the Zeigarnik effect. So, if we can only get started, we have a better chance of finishing the task.

Sometimes we may avoid an aversive task, not because the task itself is necessarily aversive, but the timeframe (we set ourselves!) required for the task, may be many hours, which is overwhelming, and that alone makes the task aversive. Which is why I suggested researching a reasonable timeframe on AI earlier!

One theory is that if we can handle ten minutes, however hard the task may or may not be, then we can make an informed decision, based on information gathering, rather than procrastination, about whether to continue after that, which may not be to the task’s completion, but at least allow you to make headway.

This is known as The 10-Minute Rule (often erroneously and countless times referred to online as the 5-minute rule without any source!) and was originally intended to help adults with ADHD[22]. It is simply having a goal of working on a task for just 10 minutes. After that, you can stop the task if you want.

But, according to the Zeigarnik effect, you will not want to! This may also lower your mental resistance to an aversive task, because starting is often the hardest part. Set a countdown timer for 10 minutes and if you complete it, you win! Even if you don’t continue working after that you have achieved your goal. Mission accomplished!

If you still find it difficult to start with the 10-minute rule, you can use the 5-second rule, which is just a trick to get around talking yourself out of doing something: Simply count down from 5 and start the 10-minute timer as soon as you hit 0!

8.3. Implement the “2-Minute Rule” for Small Tasks

Created by David Allen, author of “Getting Things Done”, the Two-Minute Rule states, “If it takes less than two minutes, then do it now.”[23] We will consider his system in more detail later.

This rule may help remove small, accumulating tasks that may be overwhelming. However, it may also be the start of something bigger, in the form of habit creation, which is useful if the task you are procrastinating is a regular occurrence like exercise, yoga or meditating.

James Clear cleverly adapts the Two-Minute Rule to habit creation when he writes, “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.”[24]

Clear explains that if you can’t “show up”, you can’t “master the finer details”.

And you can tie habits together sequentially so they become a routine. I do this for my morning routine, which involves a breathing practice (see WWH Breathwork) meditation (see WWH Meditation) and yoga (see WWH Yoga, coming soon!!!)

8.4. Break Big Tasks into Micro-Tasks

If you procrastinate due to task aversion, it may help to try breaking big tasks into smaller, more manageable parts or micro-tasks. There is research to support this.

A study by Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1973) identified the availability heuristic[25], which is a cognitive bias that results in irrational or false conclusions. If we remember events relating to something easily, we assume it is more likely to happen. For example, if we see a car crash on the motorway, we may remember other car crashes on the motorway and assume the risk of a crash on a motorway is higher than it really is. But how does the availability heuristic apply to procrastination, you may fairly ask.

Firstly, we may wrongly estimate the difficulty of a task because we remember recently failing similar tasks (rather than our successes!) because of the availability heuristic.

Secondly, if you break tasks into smaller tasks, you may perceive each micro-task as easier, because you remember completing similar small tasks successfully due to the availability heuristic.

I have applied this technique to D.I.Y projects because I am hopeless at D.I.Y. and almost have an aversion to tools and ladders before I begin an aversive task! I literally wrote down all the steps, in order, in my free Microsoft To Do app. Which allowed me to break down the big task “How to Hang a Net Curtain” into micro-tasks, see box below, and I ticked off each one as I completed it on the app. I made it so easy a child could do it, and it was actually a breeze, when tackled like this!

If you don’t know the necessary steps to write down, there may be a knowledge gap, which is preventing you from completing the task. It sounds obvious, but I didn’t think of watching a YouTube video on how to do it, while the task was sitting on my task list for weeks, before I finally did!

Another tip is to ask for advice from AI, particularly with regards to a reasonable time frame to complete the task. There are several free apps I use for research including Perplexity, ChatGPT and Google Gemini. You need to double-check your results, and a quick way of doing this is to use one AI app to check another, although they could still both be wrong! So, always, if possible seek an expert opinion, ideally from primary sources, or for more practical DIY matters, YouTube! For a small monthly cost, and no I am not sponsored by them, you can even add ChatGPT to Alexa to make it easier to ask verbally. The Google Gemini mobile app also offers verbal enquiries.

If you struggle with motivation, it may help to use ‘temptation bundling’ (pairing a task with something enjoyable, like listening to music). I often ask Alexa to play music to accompany tasks, but more often with routine tasks, like writing this, rather than something I really struggle with, like hanging a net curtain! Music would have been too much of a distraction.

AI TIP: You could even ask AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, MS Copilot) to prepare timed manageable steps for you at your level of difficulty. For example, “How to hang a net curtain in 14 timed easy steps for beginners”, or do an internet search for the same question.

8.5. Use the Pomodoro Technique for Focused Work

The Pomodoro Technique, named after Francesco Cirillo’s tomato-shaped kitchen timer (Pomodoro means tomato in Italian 🍅) involves breaking down a long-timed task into more manageable shorter-timed tasks, usually of 25 minutes, with a 5-minute break in between, four times, before a longer break of 15-30 minutes[26]. How does this help overcome procrastination?

In psychological terms, it can improve cognitive endurance and reduce decision fatigue.

For example, it may make big tasks seem less daunting. The countdown timer for each shorter-timed task may also create a sense of urgency to improve focus. And taking regular breaks may be rewarding and positively reinforce a sense of achievement increasing motivation to complete the task.

Having short, focused and structured sessions can also help overcome what Boice (1989) termed “bingeing” as a work pattern; when you avoid work for a long time and then have intense marathon-like sessions, which can lead to burnout and create a downward spiral of procrastination.

The pomodoro technique may also help overcome what Boice termed “Busyness”; the tendency for procrastinators to engage in busywork or work of no practical use or value[27].

App Tip: There are many apps you can use to help you time your sessions and breaks. The Pomodoro Timer is a lightweight pc app from Francesco Cirillo, offered on a free donation basis. For a more immersive pomodoro experience, with external accountability, see more next, there is the Sukha app.

8.6. Set Up External Accountability

A study by Ariely and Wertenbroch (2002) found that self-imposed deadlines are not as effective as evenly spaced externally imposed deadlines, although these were least liked by participants[28]!

It is easier to be externally, or socially accountable, when you are at work and physically surrounded by colleagues or having face-to-face meetings but obviously harder when you are working alone, like I am writing this (!), or remotely.

The question is how can we set ourselves “externally imposed” deadlines, if we are suffering with procrastination in their absence?

We could share our deadline for a task with family or friends, or publicly on social media, to create external accountability. If that sounds too much like mixing work and pleasure, you could find an accountability partner and set up regular check-ins to increase your commitment to goals and reduce your procrastination. But where do you find one? Other work colleagues working remotely is one source.

However, there is also an app which may help reduce procrastination by increasing your external accountability by virtually working online ‘with’ others—watching others like you working at the same time on their webcams—combined with the Pomodoro technique, see above, called Sukha.

It feels like you are working with others in real time, although you are working alone. And others can see what task you are working on if you describe it, and even congratulate you when it’s done! But not before, or during, your task, which is important (see the findings on the damaging effect of interruptions next!)

It is great if you’re working remotely, or a writer on Substack like me, and I have met other Substack writers on there (Hi Nik!) and you can try Sukha for 14 days free here without a credit card, and then it’s £10/month, and if you want to get a 20% lifetime discount, use the code “GETFOCUSED” at checkout.

I find it also helps me relieve feelings of isolation and loneliness when I am working alone (Subscribe for free below not to miss WWH Loneliness coming soon!!!)

8.7. Adjust Your Environment for Success

A study by Mark, Gudith and Klocke (2008) found that interruptions caused participants more stress, higher frustration, time pressure and higher effort but, interestingly, didn’t affect the quality of the outcome, which was often completed in less time[29].

However, they found that it took participants 23 mins and 15 seconds on average to return to their original task, often after doing two different tasks first, which presumably, if repeated with each distraction, could eat up a lot of working time during your day. For example, I often find my work interrupted by notifications on my phone, do you?

The Sukha app, discussed above, has a QR code link which you can scan with your phone, to disable your phone during tasks so you are not distracted. Or you could simply turn your phone off (Shock horror!!! Now there’s a revolutionary thought!)

Or if you find yourself distracted by accessing websites on social media, gaming or video streaming platforms you could use website blockers like Cold Turkey or Freedom.

8.8. Reward Yourself Immediately for Completing Small Tasks

A study by Woolley and Fishbach (2018) found that people who receive immediate rewards for completing small tasks had increased intrinsic motivation and perceived the experience more positively, although interestingly not more important, than those receiving a delayed reward[30].

This doesn’t need to be a monetary reward. It could be as simple as treating yourself to a cup of tea or coffee, or allowing yourself 5 or 10 mins reading or browsing your favourite app.

I have also tried Habitica which is a pc and mobile app that virtually rewards you with gifts for completing tasks of varying difficulty you set yourself. This is great fun, but requires a little bit of work to set up your tasks, ironically, distracting you from actually doing them! It didn’t work for me, but it may work for you.

However, it is worth noting that if you lack intrinsic motivation according to Ryan and Deci (1985), you may not be meeting your needs for Autonomy (feeling in control over your actions and decisions), Competence (feeling capable and effective) and Relatedness (feeling supported, understood and valued) [31].

I think this is important because I have definitely experienced procrastination for certain tasks that I didn’t feel I had the agency—read competence, autonomy and relatedness—to complete, even though I was quite capable. I didn’t feel empowered enough to do the task, in spite of being physically able and it felt like I wasn’t emotionally able. Don’t let others prevent you from doing what you think is right. Even counsellors see counsellors as a requirement of their practice, so don’t hesitate to seek professional guidance if you need help in this area.

9. The Fogg Behaviour Model

The Fogg Behaviour Model (FBM) (2009) eponomously named after Brian Jeffrey Fogg, attempts to explain what causes people to take action[32], and it was intended to inform persuasive techniques like advertising but I also think it may be applicable to procrastination, and it may make you look at your procrastination in an entirely different way. It did for me, at least.

The FBM claims that action is the result of three varying factors: 1. Motivation, 2. Ability and 3. A trigger, which Fogg plotted on a graph, see below, to show how they influence achieving target behaviour:

Therefore, if we want to complete a Task we have been putting off, we need to consider what motivates us, our ability to do it and identify a suitable trigger. The trigger will depend on our level of motivation combined with our level of ability, and if neither are high enough in combination to cross the threshold for action, the prompt, or trigger, will not work. We can see this represented diagrammatically below. The trigger needs to be anywhere right of the curving Action Line.

Fogg explained that we need to identify the following dimensions within each of the three factors 1. Motivation, 2. Ability and 3. Triggers.

1. Three Core Motivators:

i) Pleasure/Pain. Primitive response, and result immediate. Eg. Hunger, sex, self-preservation. There may also be intellectual or emotional pain associated with a task you may be procrastinating, and this will reduce your motivation to complete it.

ii) Hope/Fear. Anticipating good/bad outcome. Eg. Hope-Join Dating site / Fear-Install Virus Software. We have already mentioned above how Perfectionism and Fear of Failure may influence procrastination and in the FBM we can clearly see how this would lower motivation to do the task, regardless of the dimensions of ability, which we will consider below.

iii) Social Acceptance/Rejection. Motivation to be socially accepted, or avoid rejection. Eg. Facebook. One way of increasing motivation and use this dimension to avoid procrastination is by sharing your task with a partner or friend, or on social media.

2. Six Simplicity Factors that influence Ability:

i) Time. If a task takes more time, it is not simple, and increases in complexity, reducing our ability to do it. (Lower ability would obviously be marked left of the x-axis on the graph.) Our estimation of time for a task, as explained above, may influence our level of procrastination, which is why it is important to have realistic estimates for the total task, and set realistic goals for achievable completion. For example, rather than a task of 6 hours being scheduled for one day, break it down into 3 x 2hours a day.

ii) Money. If a task costs more to do, it is less simple, and more complex, reducing our ability to do it. If this is a factor in your procrastination, it would be better to abandon the task, or reschedule it to a later time and place, than leave it hanging. Or redesign the task to accommodate the time and resources available.

iii) Physical Effort. The greater the physical effort required, the lower our ability to do it. If this is causing you to procrastinate, try using different tools or planning around it. For example, rather than walking from London to Edinburgh, catch a train or a plane.

iv) Brain Cycles. If a task causes us to “think hard” that may not be simple, and more complex. Fogg claims that, “we tend to overestimate how much everyday people want to think. Thinking deeply or thinking in new ways can be difficult.” If I am honest, I think this dimension is a factor when I was procrastinating the completion of at least one of my blogs. Sometimes it can be intellectually challenging to research topics and interpret primary research, especially in a number of different fields. My way of overcoming this was to find the excitement and enjoyment again in a new topic, and make a conscious decision to return to the other topic when this was completed.

v) Social Deviance. Fogg describes this dimension as, “going against the norm, breaking the rules of society. If a target behavior requires me to be socially deviant, then that behavior is no longer simple.” He gives the example of wearing pyjamas to a council meeting and the subsequent social price paid for flouting convention, increasing the complexity, and reducing our ability to action that behaviour. If you are procrastinating about a task that involves a moral or social complexity, like getting a divorce, which may be frowned on, it may be useful to reflect on the extent to which the consequences are real or imagined, and how any emotional pain can be minimised, perhaps, by sharing information or seeking support.

vi) Non-Routine. A non-routine increases complexity, reducing our ability to action it. When a task becomes a routine, it is relatively simple to action, which is why I suggested above that the 2-minute rule may be usefully adapted to help avoid procrastination by making an action a habit.

The key point about all the dimensions of simplicity is that, “Simplicity is a function of a person’s scarcest resource at the moment a behaviour is triggered.” Before we consider the three dimensions of behaviour triggers, which are what tell people, or we prompt ourselves, to perform a behaviour now, it is worth mentioning that it is probably more effective to increase simplicity, than increase motivation in this model, which I think is particularly true when it comes to procrastination.

“In General, persuasive design succeeds faster when we focus on making the behaviour simpler instead of trying to pile on motivation. Why? People often resist attempts at motivation, but we humans naturally love simplicity.” Fogg (2009)

3. Three Behaviour Triggers.

When you have the necessary motivation and ability, a trigger is all that’s needed to start the task, but not all triggers work in the same way. The three dimensions of triggers are:

i) Spark. When motivation to complete a task is low a trigger could be designed with an element of motivation. For example, thinking back to the second of the three motivators, above, hope/fear, a spark could be adding a note to the task on your Todo app/list like a warning, eg. Task: Complete Tax Return. (Added note: ) Failure to comply £X Fine. Or, for hope, recording a selfie video for self, or partner/friend, sharing you have a tax return to complete before Friday, and promising a treat if it is done.

ii) Facilitator. This trigger may be useful when you have high motivation to complete a task but lack ability. As Fogg explains, “The goal of a facilitator is to trigger the behaviour while also making the behaviour easier to do.” For example, if you are procrastinating a task because it is too complex, like for me, hanging a curtain, you can break it down into smaller steps and add these to your Todo app/list, as described above.

iii) Signal. This type of trigger works best when you have the motivation and ability to complete the task and all you need is a reminder. The signal doesn’t aim to motivate or simplify the task, just inform you what needs to be done at the right time. For example, a traffic light at a pelican crossing, which is activated when people need to cross the road. In order to avoid procrastination, when you have the motivation and ability to do a task, you need to set a timely reminder and that should be enough. For example, a notification in your calendar app should be sufficient. I often set my google calendar to send me an email notification 4 hours before, or a notification to the home screen an hour before, a task needs to be undertaken.

The factors, and dimensions, of the Fogg Behaviour Model are therefore useful in identifying problems causing you to procrastinate, and failing to complete intended tasks, and hopefully suggest systematic ways to overcome this.

10. The GTD (Getting Things Done) System

Another way to positively think about tasks you are procrastinating is what would be great?

Or as David Allen puts it, “Wouldn’t it be great if . . .” is not a bad way to start thinking about a situation, at least for long enough to have the option of getting an answer.”

David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, starts his book by asking you to visualise the successful outcome of one task and identify the first step[33]. We may add tasks to our to-do list eg. Hang curtains, to an ever-growing list, but without clearly perceiving the benefit of doing this, we are just increasing the burden, and not getting things done.

“Getting things done requires two basic components: defining (1) what “done” means (outcome) and (2) what “doing” looks like (action). And these are far from self-evident for most people about most things that have their attention.”

Allen suggests that as soon as your to-do list reaches two in your mind, you’ve already created personal failure because you can’t do both at the same time.

Before we consider the system, it is important to note that there is independent research to support the effectiveness of the Getting Things Done system, which we will identify below, because it is not just another self-help book, that although well-meaning may lack academic authority. The theory behind the system has been supported by cognitive science[34].

So, let’s briefly consider how David Allen’s system works to see whether it can help you as much as it helped me.

There are five steps to manage the horizontal aspect of our lives, everything we need to do—in contrast to the vertical aspect, which is only considering one task in depth—Capture, Clarify, Organise, Reflect and Engage.

Let’s briefly consider the key aspects of each step in case you want to implement the system.

Step 1. Capture

Collect each task on your mind physically, eg. letters, reports, articles, notebooks, etc., and digitally, eg., emails, texts, mobile apps, and write each task on a separate piece of A4 paper, like a placeholder. You can add information to the A4 paper, which is important later.

“You can only feel good about what you’re not doing when you know everything you’re not doing.”

Do not do anything about this stack of tasks on paper, however tempted, the goal of the system is to process them effectively, and train yourself to do this systematically and periodically.

If you want help identifying items, or you want to make sure you have captured everything in your life, you can subscribe for free to Whichwayhow.com and download the “Getting Things Done Life Inventory -Triggers List” pdf in the welcome email! (If you’re already an existing free or paid subscriber, you don’t have to do anything, you will find this as an attachment to this newsletter when it was emailed (another great reason to subscribe free below and not miss out on time and money-saving posts like this one!)

Subscribe now

But you really don’t need this pdf to practice the GTD method, and you can also find it in David Allen’s book at your local library, or from Amazon here. It is basically just an 8-page list of triggers to help you remember everything that may be either on your mind or nagging away at the back of your mind that I haven’t got room for in this post, but I still personally found useful.

When collecting items for your inbox you are looking for “all the things you consider incomplete in your world—that is, anything personal or professional, big or little, of urgent or minor importance…” but David Allen’s inspired conclusion is this “…that you think ought to be different than it currently is and that you have any level of internal commitment to changing.” [My italics].

I think it is easy to forget that our procrastination is only an issue when we think some aspect of our lives should a) be different, and, b) we want to change it. This is like going back to first principles. If not, just trash it!

Step 2. Clarify

Process what each item means, and what to do with it; what to keep and what to throw away (see Original Getting Things Done Process Flowchart, below).

The “Getting Things Done Process Flowchart (Elaborated)” is an elaboration of the one in David Allen’s book, by Heylighen and Vidal (2008) which I think is clearer by clarifying actions (rectangles), decision points (diamonds), external memories eg. lists, folders, files (stacks), see below.

Further, the connecting lines have specific meanings: a) continuous arrows indicate the immediate sequence of processing, b) broken arrows indicate delayed processing during a review of external memory, c) dotted lines indicate follow-up processes[35].

This is important because when I think about why I was procrastinating while there may be an emotional element, with this elaborated model I can clearly see it could be a decision-making ‘fault’ or block (rectangle), because I wasn’t clarifying the action needed, but rather trying to do all five processes at once.

Work down from the top of your “in” tray, and process each item, which doesn’t mean start thinking about solving it, just decide what to do with it. If it isn’t actionable right now, a) Bin or delete it, b) Add it to Someday/Maybe File/List (manually or digitally), c) Add it to your Reference system (Printed Label Envelope Files, alphabetically ordered, or Create Categories on Email, or on your favourite To-Do app, and add digitally.

If an item is actionable right now, a) Do it now (if it will take less than 2 minutes), b) Delegate it (Add to ‘Waiting’ list, c) Defer it, i) Add to Calendar ii) Add to “Next Actions” list, to do asap.

Step 3. Organise

Organise what you keep – when are you going to act on it? Short-term – now, this morning/afternoon, or, long-term, next week, month and set a reminder.

Step 4. Reflect

Reflect on the options, periodically and systematically review current and planned tasks to ensure that new tasks don’t suddenly hijack the agenda!

Step 5. Engage

Engage with the right task at the right time. Do it!

“A task left undone remains undone in two places—at the actual location of the task, and inside your head. Incomplete tasks in your head consume the energy of your attention as they gnaw at your conscience.” - Brahma Kumaris

11. Conclusion

This deep dive on avoiding procrastination has considered: the definition, prevalence and causes of procrastination; how you can measure procrastination using the Pure Procrastination Scale and interpret your results with the PPS Score Interpretation Table; the Top 10 strategies, supported by research, to overcome procrastination; and two frameworks for rethinking procrastination in The Fogg Behaviour Model and the Getting Things Done System.

As so often is the case, there is not necessarily one best way, because it varies from person to person, but hopefully by considering the main ways to overcome procrastination, supported by over thirty primary references (see below), you will have found a cause and strategy that resonate with you.

For me, procrastination sometimes varied by task, for example, procrastinating about completing a post or making a dentist appointment had entirely different causes; the former was caused by perfectionism and fear of failure and the latter by a psychological or emotional reason, that is, fear (see The Self-Determination Model, above). The cause will determine the strategy you use to overcome your procrastination about a task.

The next time you find yourself procrastinating, or putting off something to do something else, it may help to, firstly, be mindful of when this is happening, secondly, to consider the cause. To identify the cause, it may help to identify which stage, or action, you are struggling with in the Getting Things Done System, above, eg. Clarify, Organise, or a Decision-making stage, like, “Is more than one action needed?” Try and visualise the flowchart in your head to see where a blockage may be.

Or is your procrastination related to one of Fogg’s three core motivators or six simplicity factors, for example Pleasure/Pain? And if so, what is causing that, for example, what is that pain related to? Applying Self-determination theory, is it possible that one of your needs is not being met, for example, Autonomy, Competence or Relatedness. These may lie at the root of your problem. If you can identify it, you are half-way to solving it. Then implement one of the Top 10 Strategies, supported by research, above, that is most applicable. If the strategy you selected doesn’t work try unpeeling the onion, so to speak, and considering the underlying cause.

In the same way that getting a job is like a job, with procrastination, you just have to do it—that is investigate doing it—to get it done. Don’t struggle with your to-do list and barely survive, thrive in leaps and bounds with your to-do list, and start generating that upward spiral of positive reinforcement.

This is how I successfully overcame my procrastination to write this blog, and got my passion for writing back! And not only this, I have even finished WWH Gratitude and WWH Loneliness which will be published in the next two consecutive fortnights! Thrive-to-do!

I hope you found this post helpful in conquering your procrastination and good luck on your procrastination-free journey!

Thank you for reading.

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References

[1] Farnham, B. R. (1997). Roosevelt and the Munich crisis: A study of political decision-making. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. See also, Kegley, C. W. (1989). The Bush administration and the future of American

foreign policy: Pragmatism, or procrastination? Presidential Studies Quarterly, 19, 717–731.

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/20/tump-executive-orders-list Accessed at 09:57 on 27^th January 2025.

[3] Klein E.. (1971). A comprehensive etymological dictionary of the Hebrew language for readers of English. Tyndale House Publishers

[4] Yan B, Zhang X. What Research Has Been Conducted on Procrastination? Evidence From a Systematical Bibliometric Analysis. Front Psychol. 2022 Feb 2;13:809044. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.809044. PMID: 35185729; PMCID: PMC8847795. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8847795/

[5] Steel, Piers. (2007). The nature of procrastination: a meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychol Bull 133: 65-94. Psychological bulletin. 133. 65-94. 10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65.

[6] McCown, w., & Johnson, J. (1989a, April). Validation of an adult inventory of procrastination.

Paper presented at the Society for Personality Assessment, New York.

[7] Steel, Piers. (2010). Arousal, avoidant and decisional procrastinators: Do they exist?. Personality and Individual Differences. 48. 926-934. 10.1016/j.paid.2010.02.025.

[8] Ferrari, Joseph & Johnson, Judith & McCown, William. (1995). Procrastination and Task Avoidance--Theory, Research and Treatment. 10.1007/978-1-4899-0227-6.

[9] Cost of procrastination to UK businesses based on 261 working days each year, 24,213,000 full-time workers and an average wage of £28,677. Research based on survey of 2,010 full-time workers, ran with Censuswide in November 2019. https://www.musicmagpie.co.uk/paid-to-procrastinate/

[10] Gustavson DE, Miyake A, Hewitt JK, Friedman NP. Genetic relations among procrastination, impulsivity, and goal-management ability: implications for the evolutionary origin of procrastination. Psychol Sci. 2014 Jun;25(6):1178-88. doi: 10.1177/0956797614526260. Epub 2014 Apr 4. PMID: 24705635; PMCID: PMC4185275.

[11] Steel, Piers. (2010). Arousal, avoidant and decisional procrastinators: Do they exist?. Personality and Individual Differences. 48. 926-934. 10.1016/j.paid.2010.02.025.

[12] Steel, P., Taras, D., Ponak, A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. (2022). Self-Regulation Of Slippery Deadlines: The Role Of Procrastination In Work Performance. Frontiers In Psychology, 12, 783789.

[13] Sirois, F. and Pychyl, T. (2013) Procrastination and the Priority of Short-Term Mood Regulation: Consequences for Future Self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7 (2). 115 - 127. ISSN 1751-9004

https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12011

[14] Tice, D. M., & Bratslavsky, E. (2000). Giving in to feel good: The place of emotion regulation in

the context of general self-control. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 149-159. See also, Tice, D. M., Bratslavsky, E., & Baumeister, R. F. (2001). Emotional distress regulation takes precedence over impulse control: If you feel bad, do it! Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(1), 53-67.

[15] Burka, Jane & Yuen, Lenora. (2008). Procrastination: Why You Do It; What To Do About It NOW. Jane Burka and Lenora Yuen 2008. Cambridge: Da Capo Press.

[16] Solomon, L. J., & Rothblum, E. D. (1984). Academic procrastination: Frequency and cognitive-

behavioral correlates. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31, 503-509.

[17] Steel P. (2010). Arousal, avoidant and decisional procrastinators: do they exist? Pers. Individ. Dif. 48 926–934. 10.1016/j.paid.2010.02.025

[18] Svartdal F, Pfuhl G, Nordby K, Foschi G, Klingsieck KB, Rozental A, Carlbring P, Lindblom-Ylänne S, Rębkowska K. On the Measurement of Procrastination: Comparing Two Scales in Six European Countries. Front Psychol. 2016 Aug 31;7:1307. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01307. PMID: 27630595; PMCID: PMC5005418.

[19] Validation of the Pure Procrastination Scale, Kiser, Monica Mae.   California State University, Fresno ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  2020. 27998580.

[20] Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65–94.

[21] Zeigarnik, B. (1927). On finished and unfinished tasks. Psychologische Forschung, 9(1), 1–85.

[22] Ramsay, J.R., & Rostain, A.L. (2014). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adult ADHD: An Integrative Psychosocial and Medical Approach (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203375488

[23] Allen, D. (2001). Getting things done: the art of stress-free productivity. New York, Viking.

[24] Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: tiny changes, remarkable results : an easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. New York, New York, Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

[25] Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1973). Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cognitive Psychology, 5(2), 207–232.

[26] Cirillo, Francesco (2018) The Pomodoro Technique. Penguin Random House.

[27] Boice, R. (1989). Procrastination, busyness, and bingeing. Behavior Research and Therapy, 27(6), 605–611.

[28] Ariely, D., & Wertenbroch, K. (2002). Procrastination, deadlines, and performance: Self-control by precommitment. Psychological Science, 13(3), 219–224.

[29] Mark, G., Gudith, D., & Klocke, U. (2008). The cost of interrupted work: More speed and stress. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 107–110.

[30] Woolley, K., & Fishbach, A. (2018). It’s about time: Earlier rewards increase intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(6), 877–890. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000116

[31] Ryan, Richard & Deci, Edward. (2000). Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being. The American psychologist. 55. 68-78. 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68. See also, Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Springer Science & Business Media.

[32] Fogg, B. J. (2009). A behavior model for persuasive design. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology.

[33] Allen, David. (2015). Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity. Penguin Books.

[34] Heylighen, Francis & Vidal, Clément. (2008). Getting Things Done: The Science Behind Stress-Free Productivity. Long Range Planning. 41. 585-605. 10.1016/j.lrp.2008.09.004.

[35] Heylighen, Francis & Vidal, Clément. (2008). Getting Things Done: The Science Behind Stress-Free Productivity. Long Range Planning. 41. 585-605. 10.1016/j.lrp.2008.09.004.

I hope you have been well over the last couple of weeks, and the coming US Elections next week are not praying too heavily on your mind. Half-term this week in the UK means looking after my kids full-time, which has been challenging with a little toddler, but brought us together more. This week, ready in time for Halloween tomorrow, here’s my horror(!) story!

Word Count: 3014

Reading Time: 12 mins 40 secs.

I’m just going to come out and say it because there isn’t a nice way of saying it. I was in the shower, and had an itchy bottom and when I felt behind down there, I could feel a tiny squishy bulb, at the opening of my anus that I couldn’t wash away, however much soap I used. It wasn’t painful to touch but it was weird, and I wondered if it was normal?

First off, I’m not the only one, apparently. Over half of men and women over 50 in the US have hemorrhoids[1], so it is actually pretty normal. Flip a coin at my age and the chances are, if it comes up tails(!) you have it. But why? And how the heck did it get there?

If you are anyone like me, you might be asking yourself the same question, but too afraid to ask anyone else. It isn’t something you are likely to discuss over coffee or at the water cooler at work, ‘Hey, you’re not going to believe this, last night I stuck my finger up my anus and…” So, this week, I am going to get to the bottom(!) of it, reviewing the latest research, which frighteningly suggests it may be caused by bacteria, some of which are resistant to antibiotics, and give my personal experience of what I did to cure it!

Key Findings

1) There are three theories of the cause of hemorrhoids: the varicose vein theory; the

vascular hyperplasia theory; and the theory of sliding anal canal lining.

2) A Sitz bath and Anusol relieved my symptoms of Stage 1-2 hemorrhoids.

3) Lifestyle changes including a high-fibre diet and water intake helped me to heal.

4) A squat toilet adaptation may aid defecation more naturally in line with the colon.

5) There are 4 grades of hemorrhoids and rubber band ligation is recommended for Stage 2.

1. What even are hemorrhoids?

Hemorrhoids, or piles, are “swollen and inflamed veins around your anus or in your lower rectum.”[2] Also known as “varicose veins of the anus and rectum”. They occur when the blood vessels stretch and bulge. As these vessels expand, their walls become thinner, similar to a balloon that's been inflated too much, which can lead to bleeding if they break. If the pressure and stretching continue, these weakened vessels may protrude, causing itchiness, which is a symptom, as well as discomfort or pain defecating.

There are two types, external, under the skin around the anus, and internal, in the lining of the anus or lower rectum (see pic below).

What I thought I had was external hemorrhoids, because it was just at the entrance of the anus, which is lucky, because if it is internal, you’re going to need a doctor to gel up a rubber-gloved finger to diagnose it.

I know, because it got worse, and I found it incredibly painful to defecate at one point, and there was blood when I wiped my bottom, and had the procedure to check. Afterwards, when I moaned about the discomfort of the procedure, the doctor said, “Imagine how I feel!” Quite.

2. So what causes hemorrhoids?

When I asked the doctor, he scrunched up his face to express strain and simulated pushing a stool.

What he should have said was this:

“In the medical field, there is no consensus on the etiology of hemorrhoids. Currently, there are several main theories on the causes of hemorrhoids: (1) the varicose vein theory, (2) the vascular hyperplasia theory, and (3) the theory of sliding anal canal lining, which is widely accepted (Palumbo et al., 2023). The earliest theory proposed that hemorrhoids may be related to varicose veins, such as varicose swelling caused by increased local pressure from hard stools (Burkitt, 1972; Chawla and Dilawari, 1989). Some scholars believe that the formation of hemorrhoids may be a result of vascular proliferation during the inflammatory response and tissue remodeling process (Chung et al., 2004; Aigner et al., 2009). The latest theory suggests that the pathological sliding of the anal cushions is the main cause of hemorrhoid formation (Thomson, 1975; Haas etal., 1984; Loder et al., 1994; Lohsiriwat, 2012). The above three theories are based on the characteristics of human tissues. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, dietary habits such as a low-fibre diet, lack of regular exercise, and low water intake are also believed to be associated with the formation of hemorrhoids (Feyen et al., 2022).” [3]

Although, most of the online guides I found did suggest “strain during bowel movement” was a cause, among the following:

• Straining during bowel movements.

• Sitting on the toilet for long periods of time.

• Chronic constipation or diarrhea.

• A low-fiber diet.

• Weakening of the supporting tissues in your anus and rectum. This can happen with aging and pregnancy.

• Frequently lifting heavy objects.[4]

But I confirmed this with a study which explained that “forced and prolonged straining during defecation, and the adverse effect on lymphatic circulation” may cause an anal edema to develop.[5]

What I didn’t know was that too much cleaning around your anus may make the symptoms worse. The irony of my shower. Go figure!

The good news is that external hemorrhoids can go away on their own within a few days. Internal hemorrhoids are not usually painful, unless they prolapse, which means it has fallen through your anal opening, which is what had happened to me.

3. How did I treat my own hemorrhoids?

Warning: Contains medical pictures which some may find upsetting.

First, I was told to take a warm bath a few times a day, and I was amazed that this actually made a difference. You can also have a sitz bath using one of these on your toilet and pour warm water into it:

But I found sitting in a shallow hot bath for 10 to 20 minutes, a few times a day, helped the healing process and was enough to relieve my symptoms with the ointment I was given, Anusol, which contains zinc oxide, bismuth oxide and balsam peru, and comes with a nozzle you can use to insert internally.  

I used it after a hot bath, and drying the anus gently, and this stuff was amazing, although it may be psychological. You can buy it online without a prescription. However, I am not medically qualified, and I highly recommend visiting your doctor, like I did, before using any medication, because there may be other complications.

“Over the counter hemorrhoid creams and suppositories may provide temporary relief for some but do nothing to help reduce the increased pressure in the rectum… Their usage may also mask symptoms due to other conditions such as colorectal or anal cancer. It is not safe to assume your bleeding, pain, or itching is due to hemorrhoids.”[6]

However, the Hemorrhoid Centers of America, which are not sponsoring this post, also state, “Steroids and OTC preparations or suppositories are ineffective and do not help the increased anal pressure and pain,” but, for me, Anusol helped, but importantly, with a change in diet.

4. How does diet affect hemorrhoids?

I found I was straining to defecate because I was constipated, and my stools were too hard. This may be because I wasn’t drinking enough water and not eating enough fiber. Although low fiber and constipation are commonly reported as a cause of hemorrhoids, this has not actually been proven.[7]

Another study found that diarrhea rather than constipation was associated with hemorrhoids.[8]

I can’t remember if I had diarrhea before, which may have developed the hemorrhoids, but not caused a notable pain, and constipation may have simply exacerbated it.

However, avoiding constipation definitely helped me with hemorrhoids, and eating a higher fiber diet of, depending on age and sex, between 22 to 34 grams of fiber a day[9] will make stools soft, formed and bulky, and the table below which shows how much fiber is in different foods, may help.

“First-line therapy typically involves dietary modification with adequate fluid and fibre intake, along with avoiding straining and limiting prolonged time on the toilet.”[10]

The foods to avoid[11] if you have hemorrhoids, with little or no fiber include:

• cheese

• chips

• fast food

• ice cream

• meat

• prepared foods, such as some frozen and snack foods

• processed foods, such as hot dogs and some microwavable dinner

Also, having enough water, approximately 2 and a half litres a day for my size (see Whichwayhow to cure Nocturia (without medication) here) helps the fiber in your diet work better and helps prevent hard stools and aid healing.

Another important tip is not to spend more than 3 to 5 minutes on the toilet [12]. You can always come back again if you still need to defecate.

And do not sit for more than 2 to 3 hours in a chair. Get up and have a break, walk around, exercise is good for you.

And interestingly, hemorrhoids are more common in the Western hemisphere, and it has been proposed that this is because squatting on the toilet is healthier because it opens the kink in the colon (see pic below).

You can find many devices on Amazon to help accomplish this, like this one for £12.99:

If you can, avoid alcohol, which is known to cause dehydration, and if you are struggling with alcohol, you can get help to control or quit drinking in my book here.

Another study I read, made me wonder again about the link between diarrhea and hemorrhoids because it explained that research suggested microbes play a role in the development of hemorrhoids. It analyzed 49 different bacterial strains from seven patients with hemorrhoids. The study focused on special structures within bacteria called plasmids, some of which contained genes that make bacteria resistant to antibiotics, which makes treating infections even more difficult.[13]

However, while diarrhea may have a viral or bacterial etiology, another study showed that it wasn’t gut microbes, but rather skin microbes, specifically Staphylococcus, which are “more abundant on hemorrhoid surfaces”.[14]

There is much exciting research in this field underway, but I can confidently say already, there may be more to it than over-straining when you defecate, like my doctor said!

5. What are the different grades of Hemorrhoidal disease?

“Hemorrhoidal disease is divided into four grades according to Goligher [11]. In grade one, proctoscopy shows slight bulging of the hemorrhoids. In grade two, the hemorrhoids prolapse into the anal canal on defecation with spontaneous reduction. In the case of grade three hemorrhoids, the prolapsed hemorrhoids protrude outside the anal canal and do not spontaneously reduce but can be manually repositioned. Grade four hemorrhoids are irreducible and constantly prolapsed.”[15]

In more severe cases at Grade 3 or 4, you may require surgery, which is called a hemorrhoidectomy.

However, I had grade 1 or 2 hemorrhoids, which my doctor said didn’t require surgery. Although, in grade 2 hemorrhoids, rubber band ligation is recommended. “The hemorrhoid tissue is tied off at the base with a rubber band. The tissue dies and falls off. The resulting scarring results in repair of the remaining hemorrhoid tissue.”[16]

The Hemorrhoid Centers of America offers this non-surgical banding treatment which they call a “Disposable Hemorrhoid Ligation System” and describe how the procedure works here:

“Our ligation system uses a sterile, disposable device to apply gentle suction to the problem area, with the physician then placing a small rubber band over one internal hemorrhoid. The rubber band cuts off the blood supply to the hemorrhoid, reducing its size and pressure. The band may fall off as soon as 48 hours after the banding. There are usually three banding sessions required at two week intervals.”[18]

Like I said, I didn’t require this procedure, but if you have been diagnosed with stage 2 hemorrhoids this is the best procedure I have found, rather than laser, cutting off, or injecting the hemorrhoids, which come with greater risks, although may be necessary with higher stage hemorrhoids.

6. Conclusion

There is nothing to be ashamed of about having hemorrhoids. It is common in pregnancy and in the over-fifties.

In this article I have even explained that it may not be something you caused yourself by over-straining when you defecate, but have a microbiomial etiology, contrary to what my doctor suggested! Don’t believe everything doctors say, like I explained, the jury is still out on the cause!

However, it is important to get it checked out by a doctor at the earliest opportunity, because as I found to my horror, it can become worse if it doesn’t go away in a few days, and there may be underlying complications. I described the procedure in a slightly comical way, but it isn’t that bad, and you just have to grin and bear it, you imagine it a lot worse than it is, and it is over in seconds.

I do think diet makes a difference, though, in my personal experience. Water, with a touch of salt (salt may be better for you than you think) and enough fiber in your diet (see Whichwayhow Atkins, coming soon! If you are on an Atkins diet) are important, and go easy on alcohol. The recommended amount is a glass of wine a day, as a rough guide, although I don’t believe there is any ‘good’ amount of a poison!

With these behavioural changes, coupled by warm baths and a cream for relief, I was able to successfully treat Stage 1 to 2 hemorrhoids myself.

So, next time you’re at the water cooler, and someone complains of an itchy bottom, be nice, and don’t assume they don’t use enough toilet paper!

Bonus Tip:

As a bonus for reading to the end, I’ll give you another tip: Wipe your bottom with toilet paper three times. No more. If you still feel dirty, have a shower. If you constantly wipe more than this you are just aggravating the skin, with ever-decreasing efficiency at cleanliness, and making things potentially worse!

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References

[1] Fox A, Tietze PH, Ramakrishnan K. Anorectal conditions: hemorrhoids. FP Essentials. 2014;419:11–19.

[2] https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/hemorrhoids Accessed at 10:14 on 28^th October 2024.

[3] Wang YQ, Su W, Liu Z, Wang YH, Li L, Xu H, Wang M and Shen W (2024) The microbiomic signature of hemorrhoids and comparison with associated microbiomes. Front. Microbiol. 15:1329976. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1329976

[4] https://medlineplus.gov/hemorrhoids.html    Accessed at 10:29 on 28th October 2024.

[5] GÜLEN, M., EMRAL, A.C., EGE, B. (2024). Management of Hemorrhoid Rubber Band Ligation Complications: Massive Rectal Bleeding. Namık Kemal Medical Journal, 12(1), 40-44. doi:10.4274/nkmj.galenos.2023.36036.

[6] https://hemorrhoidcentersamerica.com/hemorrhoids/   Accessed at 11:36 on 28^th October 2024.

[7] Sandler RS, Peery AF. Rethinking What We Know About Hemorrhoids. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019 Jan;17(1):8-15. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2018.03.020. Epub 2018 Mar 27. PMID: 29601902; PMCID: PMC7075634.

[8] Johanson JF, Sonnenberg A. Constipation is not a risk factor for hemorrhoids: a case-control study of potential etiological agents. Am J Gastroenterol 1994;89:1981–6.

[9] U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015–2020. 9th Ed. Published December 2020.

[10] Sandler RS, Peery AF. Rethinking What We Know About Hemorrhoids. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019 Jan;17(1):8-15. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2018.03.020. Epub 2018 Mar 27. PMID: 29601902; PMCID: PMC7075634. See also, Alonso-Coello P, Mills E, Heels-Ansdell D, et al. Fiber for the treatment of hemorrhoids complications: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The American Journal of Gastroenterology 2006;101:181–188. [DOI] [PubMed] 

[11] https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/hemorrhoids/eating-diet-nutrition

[12] Jacobs DO. Hemorrhoids: what are the options in 2018? Curr Opin Gastroenterol 2018;34:46–49. [DOI] [PubMed]

[13] Wang Y, Su W, Zeng X, Liu Z, Zhu J, Wang M, Li L, Shen W. Surprising diversity of new plasmids in bacteria isolated from hemorrhoid patients. PeerJ. 2024 Aug 30;12:e18023. doi: 10.7717/peerj.18023. PMID: 39224828; PMCID: PMC11368089.

[14] Wang, Yuquan & Su, Wenya & Liu, Zhiqiang & Wang, Yihua & Li, Ling & Xu, Hai & Wang, Mingyu & Shen, Wenlong. (2024). The microbiomic signature of hemorrhoids and comparison with associated microbiomes. Frontiers in Microbiology. 15. 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1329976.

[15] Feyen L, Freyhardt P, Schott P et al. Hämorrhoidenembolisation: Eine neue minimalinvasive endovaskuläre Therapieoption bei Hämorrhoidalleiden. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2022; 194: 266 – 271https://www.thieme-connect.de/products/ejournals/html/10.1055/a-1662-5487?articleLanguage=en

[16] Feyen L, Freyhardt P, Schott P et al. Hämorrhoidenembolisation: Eine neue minimalinvasive endovaskuläre Therapieoption bei Hämorrhoidalleiden. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2022; 194: 266 – 271. See Also Paikos, Dimitrios & Gatopoulou, Anthia & Moschos, John & Koulaouzidis, Anastasios & Bhat, Sharanya & Tzilves, Dimitrios & Soufleris, Konstantinos & Tragiannidis, Dimitrios & Katsos, Ioannis & Tarpagos, Anestis. (2007). Banding hemorrhoids using the O'Regan Disposable Bander. Single center experience. Journal of gastrointestinal and liver diseases : JGLD. 16. 163-5.

[17] GÜLEN, M., EMRAL, A.C., EGE, B. (2024). Management of Hemorrhoid Rubber Band Ligation Complications: Massive Rectal Bleeding. Namık Kemal Medical Journal, 12(1), 40-44. doi:10.4274/nkmj.galenos.2023.36036.

[18] https://hemorrhoidcentersamerica.com/non-surgical-hemorrhoid-treatment/   Accessed at 11.48 on 28^th October 2024.

I hope you had a good fortnight and made progress in your careers and/or your family are happy. This week, to celebrate World Mental Health Day, I’m doing a deep dive on meditation, comparing different methods, from beginner to advanced—that I’ve tried myself—to show you which one worked the best for me to relieve anxiety and depression (Not one size fits all!) So, if you’ve never tried, or tried and failed, or are even an advanced practitioner, this post may be just what you need.

Reading Time: 22 mins

Word Count: 5163

The Problem with Not Meditating?

Did you know, you have an onslaught of approximately 6,000 thoughts per day,[1] which is roughly equivalent to 4 thoughts a minute. Buddha said, ‘we are what we think, all that we are arises within our thoughts.’[2]

While we would hope that most of our thoughts are concerned with work-related solutions, how many of these are negative thoughts, like worries about the future— anxiety—or worries about the past—depression—in your typical day?

Before we consider how meditation has personally helped me avoid negative thoughts like these and which way I have found to be the best way, and how to do it, it may help to briefly consider where meditation comes from—the most ancient techniques to help modern life—and its researched scientific benefits, and the limitations of that research (don’t believe the hype, it isn’t a panacea for every ailment!)

Key Findings

1) Meditation has been practiced for millennia; It is integral to who we are as human beings.

2) Research on meditation shows slight to moderate benefits for reducing anxiety and depression, but meta studies are not conclusive about other benefits.

3) Every meditation method requires a concentration object: Silent mantra, verbal mantra, breath, but it could be as simple as a flame or bowl of water.

4) Three methods are evaluated: TM, OM MANI PADME HUM, and The Four Tetrads of The Ānāpānasati Sutta, plus one BONUS method!

5) The best way to meditate depends on your personal characteristics. Not one size fits all, as many practitioners may have you believe.

Who invented meditation and does it matter who?

Who invented meditation depends on how you define meditation, but in the broadest sense, it means concentration and contemplation[3], and I’ll tell you why it matters who after we consider a few suspects for the earliest inventor.

Some say the earliest detailed meditation instruction, still practiced today, comes from The Ānāpānasati Sutta (Pāli) (3^rd – 2^nd century BCE, "Breath-Mindfulness Discourse," (or mindfulness of breathing) in the Majjhima Nikaya, in the Pali Canon, which is from Therevada Buddhism, containing sixteen steps (see below).

Others say the mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum”, which first appeared in written form in the Mahayana Karandavyuhasutra, a Tibetan Buddhist text, is earlier from around the end of the 4^th Century BCE.

This mantra (‘that which protects the mind’[4] ) is known as “The Jewel in the Lotus” (Om=Jewel, PADME=Lotus) considered the purist summation of all Buddhist teachings, printed on prayer flags outside every Tibetan house and monastery, and chanted by thousands still every day, today.

Others say, the earliest mention of meditation may be even earlier, in the Uttarajjhayaṇa, from Jainaism, (approximately 3^rd-4^th century BCE[5]).

“One early passage (Uttarajjhayaṇa 29.72/1174) speaks of a ‘pure meditation’” [6]

Although, there is some debate about the extent to which this represented meditation instruction.

“The history of Jaina meditation shows a number of discontinuities and innovations that show that there was much uncertainty with regard to the way in which Jaina monastics (and perhaps lay followers) were supposed to meditate, or whether they were supposed to meditate at all.” [7]

However, there is an even earlier reference to meditation in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (7^th-6^th Century BCE[8]) of Vedic, or early Hindu, tradition:

“Having become calm and concentrated, one perceives the self (Ātman) within oneself.”[9]

And bear in mind the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad lists 57 Vedic scholars who taught the oral tradition from one generation to the next,[10] which suggests that meditation may have been in practice much earlier.

What I am desperately trying to get across here is that meditation is nothing new, has been practiced for millennia, in one form or another, and therefore perhaps might have contemporary relevance to help YOU!!! (Not to necessarily become enlightened, just to cope with the drama of everyday life! We don’t all want to be spiritually enlightened at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, some of us just want to get through the day, with less pain and drama!)

From the most ancient record of meditation to the most recent, perhaps the most famous this century is Transcendental Meditation, invented by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (who interestingly wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita[11], referred to above) which he began teaching in 1955. Famously associated with The Beatles (see pic below), who infamously fell out with him[12]. But that doesn’t necessarily mean we should throw out the baby with the bathwater!

But why does it matter who invented meditation? (The kids are crawling the roof!)

Who invented meditation matters because there are widely varying methods of practice associated with different traditions, and you need the right one that works for you. Otherwise, how do you know?

Are you going to research and try all of them yourself, or subscribe to Whichwayhow.com, and let me do the hard work for you? I have read so many, like you, and most have gone right over my head and resigned to the useless perhaps-try-later drawer, never to be considered again! Right? You can’t begin to try something different, until you trust somebody. Hopefully, Whichwayhow.com is who you trust. (End of plug!)

Not even I, though, can speak for ALL the different ways of meditating to my subscribers, only for the methods that I have researched for you, and tried myself. Which include, from above: 1) The Four Tetrads of the The Ānāpānasati Sutta; 2) Om Mane Padme Hum; and 3) Transcendental meditation. Plus, one mystery bonus method if you keep reading until the end!

But first, what does science have to say about the benefits, if any, of meditation? You need to consider these carefully, because you don’t just have to take my word for it, and I’ll keep it brief, too, because I know you’re busy, and I’ve got to pick the kids up!  (How does anybody have time to meditate? This better be good. [It is!] If practicing meditation for twenty minutes a day doesn’t offer you these benefits— and save you untold misery for many more hours—using my chosen method how—I’ll refund your subscription! This is the real deal!

What does science have to say about the benefits of meditation?

Reducing Anxiety and Depression

Let’s start with the last, the baby and the bathwater, Transcendental Meditation (TM), because we ended by knocking it, with the Beatle’s fallout, and who knows, I may like it the best!

During the COVID 19 pandemic, 65 frontline Healthcare providers from three South Florida hospitals were taught TM and practiced for 20 mins a day. After 3 months there was a mean reduction in Anxiety of 62% and depression, 50%.[13]

You might fairly say this is a very small study. However, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials from more than 600 research papers, from which 14 were selected focusing on anxiety among 1,295 participants, found that populations with the highest initial anxiety levels in the 80^th to 100^th percentile, after practicing TM, showed the greatest benefit with anxiety levels reduced to the 53^rd to 62^nd percentile range.[14]

But beneficial effects of meditation on reducing anxiety are not just found in TM. Another study, “Randomized control trial of Mindfulness Meditation for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Effects on  Anxiety and Stress Reactivity” found that:

“1. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) appears to be an effective tool to reduce anxiety in patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. 2. Patients who learned Mindfulness Meditation had less stress reactivity, and were more resilient, to a laboratory stress task.”

And the reason why they think meditation worked at reducing anxiety is instructive, particularly in view of my opening example above:

“Because mindfulness meditation teaches participants to let thoughts pass by without judgment, it is possible that participants who learned MBSR were less likely to ruminate over negative thoughts about the speech and their performance, and treated themselves with more kindness and less self-judgment, an inherent part of the practice."

An even larger meta-study[15] reviewing 17,801 citations, and focusing on 47 randomized clinical trials of 3,320 participants found an effect size of 0.22 to 0.38 for reduced anxiety symptoms from using a mindfulness meditation program, which means that the average person would have lower anxiety symptoms than about 58-65% of people who didn’t participate. For depression the effect size was 0.23 to 0.33 which means that the average participant would have lower depression symptoms than about 59-62% of non-participants.

While this is considered a small to moderate outcome, to put this in context, it is equivalent to the benefits of taking anti-depressants without any of the side effects:

“These small effects are comparable with what would be expected from the use of an antidepressant in a primary care population, without the associated toxicities.”

In terms of the meditation training provided for participants, MBSR programs provided 20-27.7 hours training over 8 weeks, other mindfulness meditation programs provided half this amount, TM trials provided 16-39 hours training over 3-12 months, while other mantra programs about half, too.

I recount this because I found it incredibly hard to maintain my practice on a daily basis without any support, and if you don’t maintain it yourself, or with someone, or part of a group (there are many Buddhist centres you can join locally) you may not see the benefits. You can still do it alone if you want to, and have the necessary self-discipline, but keep in my mind how much training they had to produce these results! Consistency is everything, as we shall see later, whatever method is right for you.

Which way is the best to meditate and how?

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

The bad news is that nothing is free, every method requires effort, time and/or money, but you probably knew that already. Which is also the good news; not every method requires money!

As I said, I tried three methods, over more than six months, and I will describe the personal challenges they involved in terms of effort, time and money and effectiveness in my personal experience, concluding with the method I found that works best for me.

1) Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation is the easiest of the three methods I tried but the most expensive (from low/no wage £190 on a scale up to £490 for household incomes over £60K), and it is surrounded by a certain mystique of preparation, which all the Hollywood endorsements don’t really explain.

You have to book an appointment with a registered TM instructor and bring certain gifts for the ceremony: two pieces of fruit; some flowers; and a clean white handkerchief. My instructor seated me in an armchair, and told me to relax, while she knelt at an improvised altar, with a photo of, I think, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and lit two candles before placing my gifts on it. She sung a hymn and chanted some words I didn’t understand, and then whispered a two-syllable word in my ear. Apparently, this is unique and different to every candidate.

Technique. She asked me to keep repeating this word in my mind, with my eyes closed, until she returned twenty minutes later. She asked me to practice this for twenty minutes every morning at sunrise and every evening at sunset.

There was no need to adopt any lotus position, just sit comfortably, with feet flat on the floor, and hands folded over one another.

There is slight to moderate evidence[16] that any mantra, or single focus on a meaningful phrase to you, repeated over and over again may confer beneficial effects on mental health, exemplified by TM, because the word I was given had no meaning to me, except by the context of the altar and the authority of the instructor.

There is a fantastic video by David Lynch, the famous film director, on YouTube explaining Transcendental Meditation here, and Ray Dalio and Martin Scorsese here.

2) Om Mani Padme Hum

The second method I will explain is one of the oldest Buddhist methods of meditation, a mantra, “Om Mani Padme Hum,” considered by the Buddha, “the most beneficial mantra” in the Mahayana Karandavyuhasutra, and “the condensed form of all the Buddha’s teachings”. [17]

Technique. Recite “Om Mani Padme Hum”:

Om: Sounds like "A-ooh-m" (A-u-m)

Mani: Sounds like "mah-nee" (with a short "a" as in "father")

Padme: Sounds like "pahd-may" (with "pad" rhyming with "bad" and "may" like the month)

Hum: Sounds like "hoom" (with a nasal "m" sound at the end)

So, the full pronunciation would be: "ohm mah-nee pahd-may hoom."

You don’t need to understand the meaning to benefit from this mantra, as we saw above, but I personally found it strange chanting something I didn’t understand, and the Dalai Lama maintains that it is essential to understand the meaning:

OM means the mother of all sounds—body, mind, speech—which leads to the truth.

MANI means ‘jewel’ or altruism/compassion. Just as a jewel removes poverty, so altruism/compassion removes the poverty of suffering.

PADME means ‘Lotus flower’ representing wisdom, (purity), like a lamp in the darkness.

HUM means ‘Union’, ‘Indivisibility’, combination of altruism and wisdom, ‘I want that’ or Seed which will sprout into a plant of enlightenment. [18]

This is closest to the Dalai Lama’s interpretation but there are many commentaries on the meaning of this mantra, and, although approached in a different way—referencing God and the Devil, I suspect for Western ears—I recommend this one  here by Ven. Guan Cheng.

How can Mala beads help?

You don’t need any equipment to recite a mantra, but in practice I found Mala beads really helpful, to support this technique.

Equipment: 108 Mala Beads – 8mm with string tassel.

These are the Mala beads I bought for £11.99 on amazon, and I like them because the size of the 8mm beads is not too small, unlike the 6mm beads I tried which kept slipping, and the tassel makes it easy to see, and more importantly feel, where you are in your round. But, frankly, any 108 Mala beads will do, and if you want to support the Tibetan nuns project, you can even buy pre-blessed ones in all shapes and sizes, including amethyst and stones with apparently special properties! Just don’t get them wet or the string may break!

Technique.

Holding each bead between thumb and index finger of the left hand, from the guru bead (above the tassel), and count one bead for each recitation of the mantra, before passing to the next one, clockwise, until you reach the guru bead, and then reversing the beads, over your hand, and continuing to the next round, for five rounds or twenty minutes.

In terms of cost, the beads are relatively cheap, and in terms of effort, this is the second easiest after TM, because you have to learn the mantra, which is easy, but also get used to using the beads. However, once you find your natural rhythm, and I found there to be a natural tone and speed which resonated with my breathing and speaking, it is very easy.

One tip is to begin by imagining you are radiating goodwill to your immediate family, then widening the circle, to your street, town, country, the world.

The nice thing is that it is very easy to maintain focus, because it is so active, and if you find yourself easily distracted, or too hard to focus, using other methods, this method will be a lot easier.

3) The Four Tetrads of the The Ānāpānasati Sutta

This is the hardest method I tried, and is really the culmination of many years practicing Meditation and perhaps not for beginners, because it involves memorizing the following sixteen verses:

The Four Tetrads of the The Ānāpānasati Sutta

1. First Tetrad: Contemplation of the Body

Breathing in long he knows 'I am breathing in long.'
Breathing in short he knows 'I am breathing in short.'

Breathing out long he knows 'I am breathing out long.'
Breathing out short he knows 'I am breathing out short.’

He trains himself 'breathing in, I experience the whole body'
'breathing out, I experience the whole body.'

He trains himself, 'breathing in, I calm the bodily formation.'
'breathing out, I calm the bodily formation.'

2. Second Tetrad: Contemplation of the Feeling

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in experiencing joy.'

He trains himself, 'I will breathe out experiencing joy.’

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in experiencing pleasure.'
He trains himself, 'I will breathe out experiencing pleasure.'

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in experiencing mental formation.'  
He trains himself, 'I will breathe out experiencing mental formation.'

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming the mental formation.'
He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming the mental formation.'

3. Third Tetrad: Contemplation of the Mind

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in experiencing the mind.'
He trains himself, 'I will breathe out experiencing the mind.'

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in pleasing the mind.'
He trains himself, 'I will breathe out pleasing the mind.'

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in concentrating the mind.'
He trains himself, 'I will breathe out concentrating the mind.'

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in releasing the mind.'
He trains himself, 'I will breathe out releasing the mind.'

4. Fourth Tetrad: Contemplation of the Mental Objects

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in observing impermanence.'
He trains himself, 'I will breathe out observing impermanence.'

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in observing dispassion.'

He trains himself, 'I will breathe out observing dispassion.’

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in observing cessation.'
He trains himself, 'I will breathe out observing cessation.'

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in observing relinquishment.'  
He trains himself, 'I will breathe out observing relinquishment.' [19]

This seems like a daunting task but I found if you start with just one tetrad and get comfortable with that, and then add the next couple of lines, and slowly build up, you will find you are reciting the four tetrads quite naturally. It isn’t as hard as it looks, trust me, but my tip is to make sure you memorise the titles of each tetrad, which are like your anchor points for the verses within.

How to body scan?

Another tip, which applies to all the methods, is that I found it very useful to body scan before starting.

Technique.

Sitting upright on a chair—imagine a string pulling your head up, keeping your chin horizontal— feet flat on the floor, (if you can raise or lower the chair or find one that keeps your knees at right angles to the floor even better!) and the backs of your hands on your knees, thumb and forefinger touching, look around your environment, listen to any sounds, feel the touch of your feet on the floor or any point of contact with the chair. 

Close your eyes. Now starting with the toes of your left foot, feel the muscle under your foot, trace your ankle with your mind, up the calf, thigh, up through your body, to your left shoulder, left bicep, left hand, and back up your arm, across your shoulders to your right arm, down the arm to the hand and back to your shoulder, to your neck, up over your head to your face, your ears, your cheeks, your mouth, your nose, your eyes, between your eyes  and rest your attention on your ‘third eye’. Notice your breathing, focusing in on the edge of your nostrils, feel the air come in and out, naturally, without making any effort.

BONUS METHOD OF MEDITATION

Breath-Contemplation.

Some meditation practices suggest focus on the inflows and outflows of breath is the only technique you need, without employing any of the methods above. This is the bonus method I promised earlier. You don’t have to do any more than this. Your mind will naturally want to wander but all you need to do, without judgment, blame or complaint is bring your focus back to the breath, which we call present-moment awareness.

“You cannot contemplate without concentration… Concentration gives you the power,” Ven. Guan Cheng.

The breath is our object of concentration. The object of concentration could be anything, the flame of a candle, a bowl of water, many things, TM uses a word/phrase as the object of silent concentration, OM MANI PADME HUM similarly uses a mantra, as the externally vocalized object of concentration. But we cannot concentrate, without an object, and the Buddha suggested the best one was our breath.

However, the object of concentration is only half the story, if you consider Buddhist practices, like I said from the start in my broad definition, contemplation is the other half. Contemplation of what?

When we concentrate on the breath, or a verbalized mantra, we are naturally contemplating our body, when we concentrate on a silent mantra, we are naturally contemplating the mind.

Breath-contemplation is harder than it sounds, because the monkey-mind wanders, wanting to contemplate anything else! The trick is to make peace with your mind, and lovingly return to the breath without blame, fear or anger, returning from the waves to the sea of calm underneath.

The Four Tetrads of the The Ānāpānasati Sutta comes into its own in contemplation of Body, Feeling, Mind and Mind-Impressions.

But what happens if you are always thinking negative thoughts?

An alternative dimension to this discussion, is what happens if you concentrate on something bad? Is the corollary true? That is, if we don’t meditate, if we are reactive without thinking, and dwell on dark thoughts?

“Whatever the mind can concentrate on, the mind can do… Whatever you concentrate on long, wholeheartedly, you carry it out, good or bad… If you’re concentrating on bad behaviour, you’re gonna be a criminal…. Part of the Meditation is to clean up your garbage…. They stink!... The more you clean it up, the cleaner you are… Nobody can clean it up for you.”

These are the highlights from watching Ven. Guan Cheng’s video series, chosen because I think they relate to my earlier scenario, and he brings the message home, for me, with this one, explaining that meditation is not a separate activity but a way of life.

“Meditation is not just sitting meditation. Meditation is in every moment of your life… In walking and lying down, any actions… Every second you are in meditation you are in control of your own mind. Are we in control of our mind? Mostly we are not. Most of the time we are not in control of our own thoughts. If you’re in control you won’t be angry, if you’re in control you won’t be jealous, if you’re in control you won’t have anxiety, depression, guilt, fear, worry. You don’t want those, but they all come up because you can’t control them.”

[Ven. Guan Cheng from a YouTube video on How to Meditate[20]]

Ven. Guan Cheng also says you can’t drink poison on the one hand, and meditate on the other because it will only increase the affliction. Here, it is important to note, he is not just meaning poisoning by alcohol, (if you need help with quitting or controlling drinking see my book here), but any bad behaviour, which may damage you, emphasizing the importance of the eightfold path.

“You could be a master in concentration but if your moral virtue is bad, you will never get enlightened. As a matter of fact, you will get into more and more mental afflictions…. A lot of people say I want to be a monk… For the first five years you learn nothing… You have to stop all your bad speeches… That’s the first requirement, moral standard.”

I think this is great wisdom, or according to our mantra, earlier, wisdom in the lotus flower.

Finally, which way is the best to meditate and why?

Conclusion

The best method of meditation will depend on your personality, character, education, culture, religion and mental characteristics like focus and concentration. Not one size fits all, which nobody ever told me. I just assumed I was doing them wrong, and therefore it was me, or the way I was doing the technique, rather than the method, to blame.

Don’t get me wrong, technique is important, and, like I said at the start, nothing is free, they all require self-discipline, and varying degrees of effort, but, that said, I still found some more comfortable to practice than others.

In terms of comfort and ease, TM wins hands down, but it is so expensive. What you are really buying is the mystique, and who’s to say that isn’t worth it, if it adds to your commitment to practice. I will also confess I don’t believe the mantra they give you, is any different to using any other word or phrase that has significance to you, that is, you can create the meaning yourself, without the context, Eg.  ‘Loving-kindness’, over and over again for twenty minutes, and that will not cost you a penny, and, research shows (see above), and I truly believe, produce the same benefits.

We have considered the benefits of meditation above, and it is worth noting, perhaps, that meditation is not a panacea for curing everything, according to the research, but there are proven slight to moderate effects for reducing anxiety and depression. Do not go into it expecting to levitate or gain enlightenment and become the Buddha after a few weeks!

How to manage your expectations of meditation

Whatever your worries in life, Ajahn Brahm, has a talk about it among thousands available free online at the Buddhist Society of Western Australia, and this is what he has to say about managing your expectations.

“It is like a person who goes to work all day Monday and gets no money at the end of the day. 'What am I doing this for?', he thinks. He works all day Tuesday and still gets nothing. Another bad day. All day Wednesday, all day Thursday, and still nothing to show for all the hard work. That's four bad days in a row. Then along comes Friday, he does exactly the same work as before and at the end of the day the boss gives him a pay cheque. 'Wow! Why can't every day be a pay day?!'”[21]

Gelong Thubten said you don’t go to the gym and suddenly see all your muscles transformed after one session, but you gradually become fitter. And if you don’t go, you start noticing it very quickly. Meditation is no different. That’s easy to forget!

If I skip my hourly morning routine, which usually involves a breathwork exercise (see Whichwayhow breathwork here  20mins) meditation (20mins), and yoga (5mins —see Whichwayhow yoga— coming soon!) it is like missing my gym-for-the-mind.

The Buddha said if you haven’t got time to meditate for twenty minutes, meditate for two hours.

If all this talk of Buddha, or Buddhism, is off-putting for religious or cultural reasons, but you still crave the benefits, Dr Andrew Huberman, coined the term, “Non-sleep deep rest” (NDSR), which is a secular method of practicing meditation which he explains  here.

There are also many apps, Eg. Headspace (£9.99/month), and apps are proven to have slight to moderate researched benefits for reducing anxiety and depression[22], too.

You can also find many guided meditations free online, and I would recommend Ajahn Brahm’s, here.

In my book, “Holmes’s Complete Guide To Stop Drinking Alcohol; the easy, mindful and pain-free way,” I describe meditation as an essential tool to help conquer addiction. You can cut down on your drinking while reading it, and gradually build up your meditation practice, to help you cope when you finally quit completely, and there is a program in the book to help you plan this.

Thank you for reading.

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If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy: Whichwayhow to do Breathwork, Whichwayhow to Journal, Whichwayhow to Reverse Cavities and Whichwayhow to be a hero (of the everyday!)

If you have never done meditation before and find the idea a bit weird, like I did at the start, and want to schedule a 10x (40min lesson) Online zoom 1:1 bespoke course catered to your level of ability, contact me for current pricing at mark dot holmes at Whichwayhow.com.

References

[1] Tseng, J., Poppenk, J. Brain meta-state transitions demarcate thoughts across task contexts exposing the mental noise of trait neuroticism. Nat Commun 11, 3480 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17255-9

[2] Dhammapada: The Sayings of the Buddha, tr. Thomas Byrom (Shambhala Publications, 1993)

[3]

accessed at 15:52 on 13^th October 2024.

[4] https://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/texts/read?num=101&at=text Accessed at 16:40 on 12Oct2024.

[5] Yoga: The Indian Tradition. Edited by Ian Whicher and David Carpenter. London: Routledgecurzon, 2003. ISBN 0-7007-1288-7 page 64

[6] Bronkhorst, Johannes. (2016). The History of Jaina Meditation. 10.21313/hawaii/9780824855680.003.0005.

[7] JOHANNES BRONKHORST Discontinuity and innovation in the history of Jaina meditation (appeared in: Asian Traditions of Meditation. Ed. Halvor Eifring. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 2016. Pp. 93-102)

[8] Patrick Olivelle (1998). The Early Upaniṣads (in English and Sanskrit). Oxford University Press. p. 11-12. ISBN 978-0-19-535242-9.

[9] Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 94–95. ISBN 978-0-521-43878-0.

[10] Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 437–443. See also Max Müller, Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad The Sacred Books of the East, Volume 15, Oxford University Press

[11] Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (1969). Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-gita: a new translation and commentary with Sanskrit text. Chapters 1 to 6. Harmondsworth :Penguin

[12] Bose, A. (2018). Across the Universe: The Beatles in India. Penguin Random House India

[13] Nestor MS, Lawson A, Fischer D. Improving the mental health and well-being of healthcare providers using the transcendental meditation technique during the COVID-19 pandemic: A parallel population study. PLoS One. 2023 Mar 3;18(3):e0265046. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265046. PMID: 36867626; PMCID: PMC9983866.

[14] Orme-Johnson DW, Barnes VA. Effects of the transcendental meditation technique on trait anxiety: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Altern Complement Med. 2014 May;20(5):330-41. doi: 10.1089/acm.2013.0204. Epub 2013 Oct 9. PMID: 24107199.

[15] Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga EM, Gould NF, Rowland-Seymour A, Sharma R, Berger Z, Sleicher D, Maron DD, Shihab HM, Ranasinghe PD, Linn S, Saha S, Bass EB, Haythornthwaite JA. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Mar;174(3):357-68. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018. PMID: 24395196; PMCID: PMC4142584.

[16] Julie Lynch, Lucia Prihodova, Pádraic J. Dunne, Áine Carroll, Cathal Walsh, Geraldine McMahon, Barry White, Mantra meditation for mental health in the general population: A systematic review, European Journal of Integrative Medicine, Volume 23, 2018, Pages 101-108, ISSN 1876-3820, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eujim.2018.09.010. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876382018304591)

[17] https://indivyoga.com/the-meaning-of-om-mani-padme-hum-in-tibetan-buddhism/ Accessed at 13:29 on 13^th October 2024

[18] https://www.shambhala.com/snowlion_articles/om-mani-padme-hum-dalai-lama/ Accessed at 13:23 on 13^th October 2024

[19] Fronsdal, Gil (n.d.), The Discourse on MIndfulness of Breathing. Ānāpānasati Sutta (Majjhima Nīkāya 118)

[20]

Accessed at 16:12 on 13^th October 2024.

[21] The  Basic Method  of  Meditation by Ajahn Brahmavamso 2017 URL: https://bswa.org/teaching/basic-method-meditation-ajahn-brahm/

[22] Gál, Éva & Stefan, Simona & Cristea, Ioana. (2020). The efficacy of mindfulness meditation apps in enhancing users’ well-being and mental health related outcomes: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Affective Disorders. 10.1016/j.jad.2020.09.134.

[i] Image generated using Microsoft's Image Creator by Designer AI tool on at 19:08 on 12Oct24

I hope you’re all well, but this week I’ve been a bit down with the dying days of summer, and if you have too, we’re about to try and lift it together, with science and my personal experience of using a unique, and well-researched method, to reframe our lives that I am genuinely excited about! But, as always on Whichwayhow—and like every great Sherlock Holmes (!) story—unfortunately, it doesn’t always start in a good place…

Words: 3237

Reading Time: 14 mins

Key Findings

1) The Hero’s Journey can significantly increase your perceived Meaning in Life.

2) The Hero’s journey can be distilled into 7 elements: Protagonist, Shift, Quest, Allies, Challenge, Transformation and Legacy.

3) The Hero’s Journey Scale is a 21-item 7-factor scale to measure how each element manifests in a person’s life story.

4) A Restorying Intervention can be used to increase how meaningful your life feels.

5) Retaking the Hero’s Journey Scale Questionnaire after the restorying intervention can give you a measure of how your perceived Meaning in Life has improved.

What are the benefits of applying the hero’s journey to your life?

I sometimes struggle to understand what is the point of it all. I seem to go through life alone even though I’m married with two kids, working from home while my wife is out at work and the kids at school, following a daily routine like a treadmill, which can occasionally lead to despair, and may have contributed to my depression in the past, and three decades of alcohol abuse (which I wrote about how I overcame, in my book here, but anxiety and depression lingered.) I am apparently not the only one.

A study designed to “characterise rates of clinically documented diseases of despair over the last decade and identify sociodemographic risk factors” found that:

“From 2009 to 2018, the prevalence of alcohol-related, substance-related and suicide-related diagnoses respectively increased by 37%, 94%, and 170%. Ages 55–74 had the largest increase in alcohol/substance-related diagnoses (59% and 172%). Ages <18 had the largest increase in suicide-related diagnoses (287%).”[1]

But research has shown that applying the Hero’s Journey can significantly increase your perceived Meaning in Life.

“Eight studies and six supplementary studies point to a profound connection between the lives we live and the stories we tell. In particular, our findings show that seeing life as similar to the enduring and ubiquitous Hero’s Journey narrative can lend life deeper meaning [2].

The Hero’s journey can also enhance your Narrative Identify [3], which is a theory that we form our identity by the internalised and evolving story we construct about our own lives, with characters, plots, settings, and themes.

Studies have found that how we do this can improve our well-being and mental health.

“Research into the relation between life stories and adaptation shows that narrators who find redemptive meanings in suffering and adversity, and who construct life stories that feature themes of personal agency and exploration, tend to enjoy higher levels of mental health, well-being, and maturity.” [3]

Further benefits from research demonstrate that The Hero’s journey can also improve your: Resilience [4]; Personal Growth and Transformation [5]; Self-Efficacy [6]; Social Connection [7]; Sense of Purpose [8]; Cultural Resonance [9]; Positive Reframing [10]; and Emotional Processing [11].

Stories matter. None more so than the stories we form about our own lives. And the best way to do this is, drumroll please, by starting with the Hero’s journey!

So, what is the hero’s journey anyway?

Researchers distilled seven essential elements from Joseph Campbell’s seventeen stages, in ‘The Hero of a Thousand Faces’ describing the monomyth common to all stories:

1) Protagonist

2) Shift

3) Quest

4) Allies

5) Challenge

6) Transformation

7) Legacy

A comparison between the Classic Hero’s Journey and the Modern Hero’s journey is illustrated below:

There is a description of each of these elements in the Table below, with an example of each from the Hero’s Journey Scale (HGS), which is “how a narrative element would manifest in a person’s life story’:

There are 21-items on the Hero’s Journey Scale on which participants rate themselves on a seven factor scale (1=Strongly disagree, 7=Strongly agree) with each being factor loaded and reverse-coded for certain items) depending on how strongly they agree or disagree with each of the following statements:

The Seven-Factor Hero’s Journey Scale Questionnaire

The Hero’s Journey Scale was found to be “a reliable measure that correlates with meaning life”, “predicted meaning in life above and beyond other narrative measures”, and “demonstrated high internal consistency… convergent validity and discriminant validity from unrelated constructs.” [2]

And the researchers developed a method, what they call a “Re-storying intervention”, that can be used to look back at “past experiences to emphasize or deemphasize certain events or reframe them within different narrative structures,” which is based on White and Epston’s (1990) classic work on restorying, and Embodied Restorying Practices. [12]

How to conduct a Re-storying Intervention

In order to learn more about your life story and how it has shaped you into the person you are today, it may help you to write your story and capture important details of your life for each of the distilled seven elements of the Hero’s Journey, using the following Intervention Writing Prompts in the Table below:

Before we consider how I applied this to my life, and if you have any doubts about the effectiveness of doing this, researchers concluded:

“The Hero’s Journey re-storying intervention does not just increase participants’ perceptions that their lives match a Hero’s Journey, it also increases how meaningful their lives feel, regardless of whether they initially perceived their lives as highly meaningful or not.” [2]

How I applied The Hero’s Journey Re-storying Intervention to improve well-being, reduce despair and depression, and improve my mental health

First, do the Hero’s Journey Scale Questionnaire, above, to determine your bench mark.

After rating yourself on each element, add up all your scores.

NB. Qs 5, 8, 9, 12, 15, 19, 21 are reverse coded (I didn’t mark these on the questionnaire above so as not to influence you while doing the questionnaire) so use the following table to calculate the true value:

1 becomes 7
2 becomes 6
3 becomes 5
4 stays 4
5 becomes 3
6 becomes 2
7 becomes 1

Although, as stated earlier, in the actual research study, “each being factor loaded”, the study also mentions that “exploratory factor analyses revealed that the Hero’s Journey Scale was unidimensional” which suggests that all items contribute to a single construct, so a simple sum of all items (after reversing where necessary) should still be appropriate.

Divide your total score by 21, to calculate an average score.

A higher average score (1-7) suggests your life story more closely aligns with the Hero's Journey narrative, as I propose, in a simplified form, below:

Results Table for Hero’s Journey

1 = Not at all aligned with the Hero's Journey
2 = Slightly aligned with the Hero's Journey
3 = Somewhat aligned with the Hero's Journey
4 = Moderately aligned with the Hero's Journey
5 = Considerably aligned with the Hero's Journey
6 = Highly aligned with the Hero's Journey
7 = Extremely aligned with the Hero's Journey

This is your benchmark result before using the re-storying intervention, and you will take the same questionnaire afterwards, ideally when some time has passed, like a few days, to see whether there is a significant difference in your results, and your life is indeed more meaningful and your well-being and mental health improved, which would be reflected in a higher average alignment with the Hero’s Journey.

My results before:

Please bear in mind, that I have written a book about my life so I already have a strong bias towards viewing my life as a story, overcoming difficulties and obstacles and becoming a better version of myself.

Still, I found it interesting to challenge myself on these questions, particularly the last few legacy questions.

I calculated my score as follows, by way of demonstration:

Calculating the total for The Seven-Factor Hero’s Journey Scale Questionnaire

Average: 117/21 = 5.57

Reading from the Results Table for Hero’s Journey, above, “5 = Considerably aligned with the Hero's Journey.”

Therefore, my average before the Hero’s Journey Restorying Intervention of 5 is considerably aligned with the Hero’s journey, which, like I said, may be because I have already written a book about my life.

This is a better result than I expected, to be honest, and I hope you are pleasantly surprised, too, if you try it, but I wonder if I can improve my score by undertaking The Hero’s Journey Restorying Intervention?

My Hero’s Journey Restorying Intervention

Step 1: Protagonist

What makes you, you? Think about your identity, personality, core value?

I am Mark, and I am married with two kids, and family is the most important thing in my life, I always put the needs of my kids first. I am kind, compassionate, sensitive and I have an inquiring mind and a love of learning. I used to be a teacher but now I work as a writer and an addiction, anxiety and depression counsellor. My core values are spirituality, I consider myself a Buddhist Christian, empathy, I try to see things from others’ perspective, and service, I am driven by trying to help others and make a positive impact on their lives.

Step 2: Shift

What change of setting or novel experience prompted your journey to become who you are today?

I used to be a grey-area drinker, successful in my teaching career, but increasingly dependent on alcohol to get by. After thirty years of alcohol abuse, I finally quit, which had a profound impact on my life, like taking the shackles off, and I felt free. I was literally like a different person, in a strange way, like being sixteen again, with open eyes about the world.

Step 3: Quest

What overall goal were you striving for that led to who you are today?

I was trying to regain control of my life, stop making stupid career decisions, but I didn’t really think beyond quitting alcohol. Once I did that, a new sense of purpose arrived, to help others do the same, so I studied Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), wrote a book about how I quit, and became a CBT Therapist.

Step 4: Challenge

What challenges or obstacles, such as a nemesis/rival or negative event, stood in the way of your journey?

Anxiety and depression still lingered, which I realised I had been trying to self-medicate with alcohol. This shift forced me to adapt, and find new solutions through therapy, spirituality, life-style changes, and writing, which I am still working on today. Sobriety is not the total solution I thought it was, but it was the start of trying to find one, and face the obstacles head-on.

Step 5: Allies

Who supported or helped you in your journey?

My wife was supportive in encouraging me to try anti-depressants, but they didn’t help, they were like a sticking plaster, and I tried AA, but that didn’t work for me, either. The only thing that helped was CBT therapy. The problem with my drinking was my thinking.

Step 6: Transformation

How did you personally grow as part of your journey to become who you are today?

It’s easy to forget how far I’ve come, because like a child getting taller, change happens gradually over time. I think I’ve grown stronger by facing my fears, and I think I am better at dealing with uncertainty. I am generally more positive, and I look for the good in people with loving-kindness. I know what suffering feels like, which helps me understand what my clients are going through.

Step 7: Legacy

In what ways has your journey left a legacy?

It has helped my clients grow, challenge their misconceptions and find better solutions, to lead more authentic lives and relieve their suffering. And hopefully my writing inspires and empowers readers to do the same. On a personal level, I think I am less selfish and a better father. I am not sure I am a better husband, though. Arguments hurt a lot more when you can’t forget them or relieve them with alcohol, and when you quit drinking, you also have to deal with the legacy of your drinking and its damage to the relationship, but I hope we are slowly getting there and rebuilding trust.

The next step is to retake the The Seven-Factor Hero’s Journey Scale Questionnaire, which I did the following day.

My results after:

Average: 109/21 = 5.19 = 5

Reading from the Results Table for Hero’s Journey, above, “5 = Considerably aligned with the Hero's Journey.”

Therefore, my average AFTER the Hero’s Journey Restorying Intervention of 5 is still 5, considerably aligned with the Hero’s journey, which I at first thought proves that it doesn’t make any difference, if anything very slightly worse! But then I realised the distribution of my scores was very different.

If I didn’t actually retake the test, I could have missed this. I definitely felt generally more positive about perceiving my life in many ways: having a clear narrative arc (3 vs 5), being a hero on a journey (3 vs 5), my life has a clear objective (5 vs 6), my life has no mission (3 vs 5), others won’t remember me (5 vs 6) I will have a lasting impact on others (5 vs 6) I have little effect on people (5 vs 1).

In conclusion, you have to analyse your individual scores to see how The Hero’s Journey Restorying Intervention has encouraged a meaningful and empowering change in your perspective on your life story and may have increased your feelings of purpose, resilience and personal growth, as it has mine.

Thank you for reading.

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References

[1] Brignone, Emily & George, Daniel & Sinoway, Lawrence & Katz, Curren & Sauder, Charity & Murray, Andrea & Gladden, Robert & Kraschnewski, Jennifer. (2020). Trends in the diagnosis of diseases of despair in the United States, 2009-2018: A retrospective cohort study. BMJ Open. 10. 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037679.

[2] Rogers BA, Chicas H, Kelly JM, Kubin E, Christian MS, Kachanoff FJ, Berger J, Puryear C, McAdams DP, Gray K. Seeing your life story as a Hero's Journey increases meaning in life. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2023 Oct;125(4):752-778. doi: 10.1037/pspa0000341. Epub 2023 Mar 27. PMID: 36972106.

[3] McAdams, D. P., & McLean, K. C. (2013). Narrative identity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(3), 233-238

[4] Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227-238

[5] Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15(1), 1-18

[6] Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W.H. Freeman and Company

[7] Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review. PLoS Medicine, 7(7), e1000316

[8] Steger, M. F., Kashdan, T. B., Sullivan, B. A., & Lorentz, D. (2008). Understanding the search for meaning in life: Personality, cognitive style, and the dynamic between seeking and experiencing meaning. Journal of Personality, 76(2), 199-228

[9] Hammack, P. L. (2008). Narrative and the cultural psychology of identity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12(3), 222-247

[10] Gross, J. J. (2002). Emotion regulation: Affective, cognitive, and social consequences. Psychophysiology, 39(3), 281-291

[11] Pennebaker, J. W., & Seagal, J. D. (1999). Forming a story: The health benefits of narrative. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55(10), 1243-1254

[12] White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative means to therapeutic ends. New York, NY: Norton & Company. See also, Flora, J., Boje, D., Rosile, G. A., & Hacker, K. (2016). A theoretical and applied review of embodied restorying for post-deployment family reintegration. Journal of Veterans Studies, 1(1), 129. https://doi.org/10.21061/jvs.41

One of the things we most take for granted, breathing, may be our greatest superpower, or at least make you feel as if you’ve just had the strongest caffeinated coffee in the morning (!) if you do it right! Plus, according to studies, give you stress reduction, anxiety relief and many, many, more benefits.

I got into breathwork because I was suffering from anxiety and depression and looking at different solutions (see Whichwayhow yoga and Whichwayhow meditation (all to come)—I am my own test-dummy!)

I had to remove caffeine from my morning routine because research showed it may have contributed to my insomnia (see Whichwayhow insomnia-to come) and so I was also feeling sluggish first thing.

I tend to overthink and worry about everything from bills to my relationships to work, to writing this. Plus, I’m an addiction, anxiety and depression counsellor, so you could say I know my subject well!

Heck, even Jordan Peterson has anxiety and he’s a much better counsellor than I’ll ever be, and he tried a breathwork solution, too! (More of that later!)

I can feel stress about something for no reason with my wife – how can you put plastic in the organic recycle bin?!? – so I don’t claim to be a guru, or have any spiritual attraction to breathwork, but I think I may have found something here. And, as I always say, my problem is your solution at Whichwayhow.com!

In the beginning, tbh, I just wanted a nuts ‘n’ bolts solution that might help calm me down and reduce my worries because I was so worried; about everything.

If you’re in the market for the same, I have done the work for you, and researched different ways to do breathwork to calm down and re-energise before I tell you which way works best for me, and how to do it.

If this ONE article doesn’t save you the annual subscription fee of £50, in morning cappuccinos for a month, then it will have failed. You’ll see why, hopefully, and it will be a breath(!) of fresh air! I’m breathless(!) to start and this should be fun if you’re in the market for alternative esoteric solutions to anxiety from my experience and, as always, backed by solid research evidence.

Hold your breath(!), and without a moment to waste, exhale: here goes…

Key Findings

1) Breathwork is voluntarily changing rate, pattern and depth of breathing.

2) Pranayamic breathing can increase or decrease oxygen consumption and metabolic rate, depending on how its done.

3) Holotropic breathing means consciousness moving towards wholeness.

4) The Wim Hof Method can help control and maintain the stress level.

5) The Wim Hof Method consists of 3-4 rounds of 30-40 breaths, with a retention phase of 30s to 2mins after each round, followed by a 15s recovery breath.

What is breathwork?

Breathwork is a form of breathing practice which “involves voluntarily changing the rate, pattern, and depth of respiration, affecting both cardiac and cortical activity.” [1]

(Great, so what? I’m still anxious! What are the different ways?)

What are the different types of breathing practices?

If you don’t know the alternatives, or different types, of breathing practices you can’t know which one is best for you, so I will try to briefly summarize them and give you a bit of the background and the science behind them.

(That’s easy for you to say! I’m freaking waiting—my heart rate monitor is already through the roof!)

In the Eastern tradition, breathwork is known as pranayama, the yogic practice of focusing on breath described in the Bhagavad Gita (500 BCE-200 BCE) which consists of three stages: conscious inhalation, retention and exhalation [1.5].

(Let ‘s shake this little baby up and cut to the action, p-lease!)

Pranayama can take several different forms varying from single, and alternating, nostrils to belly breathing, fast or slow, and interestingly studies have found different effects depending on how you do it:

“Pranayamic breathing, characterised by brief breath retention, caused significant increases in oxygen consumption and metabolic rate while pranayamic breathing, characterized by long breath retention, caused lowering of oxygen consumption and metabolic rate.” [1.5]

But the ultimate purpose is, ironically, the end of breathing:

“The real meaning of Pranayama, according to Patanjali, the founder of Yoga philosophy, is the gradual cessation of breathing, the discontinuance of inhalation and exhalation” [2]

In the Western tradition, in modern times, breathwork was famously advocated by Stanislav Grof who coined the term holotropic breathing, which I will let him explain:

“The discoveries of consciousness research confirm the claims of Eastern spiritual philosophies and various mystical traditions that human beings can also function as infinite fields of consciousness transcending the limitations of space, time, and linear causality… holotropic consciousness literally means consciousness moving toward wholeness. In contrast with the narrow and restricted hylotropic mode, holotropic consciousness has access to the entire material world without the mediation of sensory organs and also to normally hidden dimensions of reality that our physical senses cannot reach.” [3]

In more recent times, breathwork known as the Wim Hof Method, and referred to as hypoxic breathing [4], has gained popularity from Wim Hoff, also known as the Iceman, famous for climbing to an altitude of 7,400 metres (24,300 ft) on Mount Everest wearing nothing but shorts [5].

The Wim Hoff Method has been compared to Tibetan Buddhist Tummo meditation breathing, but Wim Hoff denies this on his website and claims it derives mainly from “’cold hard nature’ and has no religious components.” [6].

So, before we consider which one of these is the best way for me, and how, what do we stand to gain from breathwork?

What are the benefits of breathwork?

There are many benefits of breathwork:

“In psychiatric research and clinical practice, breathwork has been shown to diagnostically improve symptoms of anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, obsessions, compulsions, and inattention.” [1]

Different methods have different benefits, like I said about pranayamic breathing, above, and I tried several different ways, which I haven’t got the room to go into here, but the one that worked for me was the Wim Hof method.

The benefits of the Wim Hof method, according to Wim Hof, and reportedly “supported by scientific evidence” [7] are:

·         voluntary influence of the nervous system and immune system

·         anti-inflammatory effects

·         decreases in flu-like symptoms

·         increased levels of nervous system neurotransmitters

·         reductions in altitude sickness

·         improved oxygen delivery during exercise

Although a literature review of the Wim Hof Method has challenged some of these claims, it did find that there was evidence of a boost in mental health, which is what I was interested in:

“The breathing and meditation techniques can help control and maintain the stress level while the cold exposure method increases the secretion of endorphins (happy hormone) and reduces the demand for cortisol in the body.” [8]

So how do you do it?

How to do the Wim Hof method of breathwork?

I will give you the official instructions from his book, in a chapter titled, “Breathe Motherf*cker” and then I’ll tell you how I adapted these using an app, and what works for me in practice.

1. Sit or lie down in a safe place (I lie on the bed) before breakfast or eating.

2. Complete 3 to 4 rounds of 30-40 deep breaths (20mins)

3. Breathe in through your mouth or nose (I breathe in through my nose), from your belly, (your diaphragm), up to the chest, and slightly at the head, like a wave. “A wave come up on the beach, on the shore, and then it recedes” and let out the breath (I exhale through my mouth, but do what you feel comfortable with). You don’t need to force it out, but let it fully out, before commencing the next wave.

4. After you let thirty or forty breaths go (I use 35 breaths, but experiment to find what works for you) stop after the exhalation and stop breathing for as long as you can. You can go “without any air in your lungs for thirty seconds, a minute, even a minute and a half at this point.” (I hold my phone app as a timer, and usually manage a minute and a half). This is called the Retention Phase.

5. When you feel the urge to breathe, take one deep breath in, and hold it for 10 to 15 seconds, (I hold it for 15 seconds, watching my phone) this is called the Recovery breath, and then let your breath fully out and start the next round.

As you continue, if you are doing it right, you will feel “lightheaded with a tingling sensation in your arms and hands and a looseness in your body.” This is normal and nothing to be worried about.

You can see Wim Hof demonstrates this in the video below and gets “High on your own supply”, as he puts it:

Jordan Peterson’s experience of the Wim Hof Method

Immediately after Jordan Peterson practised the Wim Hof Method for a minute with Wim Hof for the first time on Youtube, he said, “God I hated that,” and Wim Hof replied, “You know what you hate more? Neurological defect.” Jordan said, “Yes.” And Wim Hof continued, “And this is the way to deep stress activated consciously.” Jordan was surprised he had held his breath for 90s. And when asked how he felt, he said, “Well I’m not wandering around the room, uncontrollably moving and screaming, so, that’s better than three or four hours of my day. I’m still able to stay calm and sit here and talk to you.” [9]

Further, in a follow-up video, Wim Hof asked Jordan Peterson if he was still practicing the method, and Jordan confirmed he was now doing it twice a day. [10]

So, how have I found practicing the Wim Hof Method after six months, and what was easy and hard?

My practical experience of using the Wim Hof Method

In the beginning I followed along the technique using an audio recording by Wim Hof, but I wouldn’t recommend this, because it forces you to adopt his rhythm and pattern of breathing, and since we are physiologically different, this didn’t work for me.

However, without any guide, it was very difficult in the beginning for me to count thirty breaths, because I was concentrating on breathing through my belly, chest and head and expiring fully, and creating that calming wave. I know when it is working because I feel the tingling and light-headedness AND importantly, can hold the retention phase longer.

This is the beautiful thing about this technique, because you are monitoring, and self-regulating your breathing, you have immediate feedback of its effectiveness when you enter the retention phase. I was gradually able to increase the retention phase from thirty seconds to two minutes on one round at the end, but on average one minute and thirty seconds.

When I finish the session, I feel energised and awake, as if I’ve just had an expresso(!), and a lot calmer and less anxious.

You can use a clock or timer on your phone to help you track your progress but I found an app which is brilliant, and I am not sponsored by the company to suggest this.

Which is the best app to use for the Wim Hof method?

What made the biggest difference for me, was using an android app called, “Simple Hof” which is free. This allows you to set the number of rounds, number of breaths, the speed of breaths, the length of the recovery breath, and very usefully, a pause timer between the next round. This pause timer allows you get ready for the next round for a few seconds.

There is a robotic voice coach, which you can set male or female, or turn off altogether. Although the motivation tips throughout the exercise can seem a little bit repetitive in the beginning, they are actually really useful for reminding you where you are in the exercise because they always occur at the same times.

There is also the option to be accompanied by music, but I can’t remember if this is only on the paid subscription model, but this is very cheap 89p (May 2024) for six months, and well worth it.

Conclusion

I have been practicing the Wim Hof method, using the Simple Hof app, for over six months, every morning, as soon as I awake, and I am very proud of the progress I have made, which I can see on a graph on my app, demonstrated by an increase in the retention phase.

It has helped me feel energised and awake, calmer, reduced my anxiety, and feel more in control of the day. I haven’t practiced it twice a day, yet, like Jordan Peterson, but I know that if I have a crisis, I can use this method to regain control.

Like anything new, it does feel a bit weird in the beginning, and I felt a little bit crazy for trying it, and full of self-doubt, but I had to push myself over the threshold and take a leap of faith. The more you do it, the more ‘normal’ it becomes, and eventually part of a daily routine.

I follow this with meditation (see WWH meditation--to come!) and yoga (see WWH yoga—to come!) and if you want to make sure you don’t miss these, subscribe now! And share this article if you found it useful and think it may help your friends energise and relieve their stress.

Happy breathing!

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REFERENCES

[1] Banushi B, Brendle M, Ragnhildstveit A, Murphy T, Moore C, Egberts J, Robison R. Breathwork Interventions for Adults with Clinically Diagnosed Anxiety Disorders: A Scoping Review. Brain Sci. 2023 Feb 2;13(2):256. doi: 10.3390/brainsci13020256. PMID: 36831799; PMCID: PMC9954474.

[1.5] Jerath, Ravinder & Edry, John & Barnes, Vernon & Jerath, Vandna. (2006). Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: Neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system. Medical hypotheses. 67. 566-71. 10.1016/j.mehy.2006.02.042.

[2] The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Full Human Potential by Hof, Wim - Sounds True - 2020

[3] Holotropic breathwork : a new approach to self-exploration and therapy ; Publisher: Albany : State University of New York Press ; 2010

[4]  Retrieved from The Guardian at 16:53 on 17June2024 https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/apr/13/can-i-get-out-now-please-could-wim-hof-help-me-unleash-my-bodys-inner-power

[5] Retrieved from Wikipedia at 16:32 on 17June2024 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof#:~:text=hours%2C%2028%20seconds.-,Mountaineering%20in%20shorts,to%20a%20recurring%20foot%20injury.

[6] Retrieved from Wim Hof Method website at 12:57 on 18June2924 https://www.wimhofmethod.com/blog/a-guide-for-tummo-meditation#:~:text=The%20ancient%20monks%20used%20Tummo,when%20it%20is%20extremely%20cold.

[7] Cronkleton, E. (2021, November 22). Can the Wim Hof method help you become more resilient? Healthline. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://www.healthline.com/health/wim-hof-method#what-is-it.

[8] Riaz, Safa & Arsenijevic, Nemanja & Niazi, Tahreem. (2021). A Literature Review of The Wim Hof Method. 10.13140/RG.2.2.16943.30884.

[9]

Accessed at 11:51 on 16th September 2024.

[10]

Accessed at 11:45 on 16th September 2024.

Notes:

Practice Tummo breathing: https://www.wimhofmethod.com/blog/a-guide-for-tummo-meditation#:~:text=The%20ancient%20monks%20used%20Tummo,when%20it%20is%20extremely%20cold.

Practice Hypoxic breathing: https://insighttimer.com/ryanbean/guided-meditations/introduction-to-hypoxic-breathing-to-calm-anxiety

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

My life was a mess and I felt totally out of control. I narrowly averted financial disaster, when I almost missed an agreed mortgage repayment date, and felt a cold shiver of shock. The problem was I had bills landing on me like bombs, recorded on pieces of paper and in several spiral-bound notebooks, if I was lucky, but they were a fat lot of use because I couldn’t reference anything without trudging back through them to the start, and couldn’t remember which notebook details were in because they were sometimes months apart. And the problem only got worse, the longer time went on, compounding tragedy. And that was just the bills.

I know, I know, use your phone. But the built-in Calendar soon got swamped, and there are only so many details I could record using my thumbs, which sometimes didn’t even make sense, without referencing my original notes! So, I tried using Note-taking apps, but these were a veritable minefield of hit and miss, like a gun misfiring! Some synced with my pc, but only if you paid, and the most famous one charged an extortionate fee for the privilege, and even their cheapest tier was heavily restricted, for example, with maximum storage allowances. But even if I could afford their maximum tier, it wasn’t as effective without some way of referring to my manual notes.

After much frustration, I finally realised I needed a combined manual and digital system to organise my life properly, but how is that possible? This is the story of how I regained control of my life manually and digitally, and affordably, containing references to the best products and research, and, as always, based on my personal experience, to manage my budget, appointments, research, work and play.

When life gives you lemons, here’s how to make lemonade.

Imagine a note-book that you could record key details in codes, so each specific item was immediately identifiable by their code. Instead of traipsing back through your notes looking for the word ‘meeting’, among thousands of other words, you only look for codes for ‘events’. If the meeting was months ago, imagine you could easily find the correct notebook, and there was an index at the front so you could also easily look up the event. Imagine your note-book also contained your day, month, and year planners immediately referenced by tabs.

You might be thinking I am talking about a Filofax, what’s new? A Filofax hasn’t got a manually referrable Index, and pages are not numbered for reference.

Imagine something better than a Filofax because once you know the rules you can create every page yourself without spending a fortune, so this is an affordable analogue solution to taking back control of your life.

The best manual, or analogue, system I have found for note-taking was created by Ryder Carroll, originally to help him manage symptoms of ADHD[1], in his book, “The Bullet Journal Method; Track your Past, Order Your Present Plan Your Future”[2] and I will describe the system from the book as briefly as possible, before explaining how I actually use it to solve my problems.

But first, in order to consider the variety of different ways of manually journaling, it will be instructive to consider how it has been used in the past, to show how it has been developed for different purposes—introspective, intellectual, travel, personal, literary, war, psychological, online, digital and analogue journaling— and how the modern context requires a different method and technique, in the form of bullet journaling.

PART 1: A brief history of journaling

16th-17th Centuries: Early Modern Journaling

Early modern journaling began in the 16^th and 17^th Centuries and arguably the most famous and inspired example is from Leonardo de Vinci (1452-1519) who recorded on loose-leaf paper—later folded into leaflets, then bound into notebooks—filled with personal thoughts, scientific studies and sketches and diagrams annotated with notes in 16th-century Italian mirror writing, which reads in reverse and from right to left. Was Leonardo naturally left-handed or protecting them from prying eyes? Perhaps there’s a clue in his notes…

“The painter who draws merely by practice and by eye, without any reason, is like a mirror which copies everything placed in front of it without being conscious of their existence.”[3]

Journals were also used for spiritual reflection during this period, laying the foundation for introspective journaling, for example, St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), who left the privilege of Spanish nobility to found the Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits. His ‘Spiritual diary’ was not like a diary of today, but rather a collection of daily notes and reflections showing Ignatius in daily mystical contact with God during a personal struggle, and it wasn’t published until 400 years later in Rome, 1934.

“I felt within me that I approached, or was brought before, the Father, and with this my hair rose and I felt what seemed an intense warmth in every part of my body, followed by tears and the most intense devotion.”[4]

Samuel Pepys was also writing his diary around this time, vividly describing some of the horrors of London life (see below), although his famous Samuel Pepys' Diary (1660-1669) wasn’t published until 1825.

18th Century: Enlightenment and Travel Diaries

The Enlightenment saw the rise of intellectual journaling exploring insights into social life and the psyche. When James Boswell (born 18 October 1740, Edinburgh) was only twenty-two, he kept a daily diary of staying in London from 1762 to 1763, with quite raw honesty:

“At night I strolled into the Park and took the first whore I met, whom I without many words copulated with free from danger, being safely sheathed. She was ugly and lean and her breath smelt of spirits. I never asked her name. When it was done, she slunk off. I had a low opinion of this practice and resolved to do it no more.” [5]

Travel journaling was also popular with explorers like Captain James Cook (1728-1779) recording his voyage to New-Holland (Australia) in his journal:

“From what I have said of the Natives of New-Holland they may appear to some to be the most wretched people upon Earth, but in reality they are far more happier than we Europeans; being wholly unacquainted not only with the superfluous but the necessary Conveniences so much sought after in Europe, they are happy in not knowing the use of them. They live in a Tranquillity which is not disturb’d by the Inequality of Condition: The Earth and sea of their own accord furnishes them with all things necessary for life, they covet not Magnificent Houses, Household-stuff &c., they live in a warm and fine Climate and enjoy a very wholesome Air. . . . In short they seem’d to set no Value upon any thing we gave them, nor would they ever part with any thing of their own for any one article we could offer them; this in my opinion argues that they think themselves provided with all the necessarys of Life and that they have no superfluities.” [6]

19th Century: Romanticism and Personal Diaries

The Romantic movement emphasised personal journaling reflecting emotion and nature like Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), who wrote, “Walden”[7], and his process was interesting:

“A basic flowchart of his writing would start with field notes, which were then recorded as journal entries, next transformed into a lecture, afterwards an essay, and eventually part of a book.”[8]

This was also when personal diaries became popular, like Samuel Pepys’s Diary (see above)

Early 20th Century: War and Literary Journals

I visited the home of Anne Franks in Amsterdam, now a museum, and it was heartbreaking to see her original war diary (1942-1944) with her neat hand-writing and pasted photos preserved in a glass cabinet.

“It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”[9]

The literary journal is embodied in the diaries of Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) who suffered from what is today called bipolar disorder—suffering mood swings from severe depression to manic excitement—but was unknown and untreatable at the time, and writing became her only way to cope.

“The only way I keep afloat is by working.…Directly I stop working I feel that I am sinking down, down. And as usual, I feel that if I sink further I shall reach the truth.”[10]

‘Sinking down’ was her metaphor for descending into depression but also finding the truth on the sea bed. She committed suicide at 59 by walking into the River Ousesea with stones in her pockets.[11]

Late 20th Century: Psychological and Online Journals

In the 60s, Ira Progoff (1921-1998) developed therapeutic journaling in what he termed the ‘intensive journaling method’ which is a three-ringed binder workbook containing tabs for personal relationships, career and special interests, body and health, events, dreams, and meaning in life, with writing exercises which “mirror the subjective process of perceptions and thoughts taking place inside you”.[12] Progoff believed that journaling alone was not enough to bring about changes in personality:

“Diary writing usually involves the unstructured, chronological recording of the events of a person’s life....the mere fact of continuously writing entries...is not sufficient in itself to bring about deep changes in a person’s life. To achieve a significant transformation in a personality, strong forces of energy must be generated.”[13]

In the 90s, online journaling arrived in the form of publicly accessible blogs or diaries like LiveJournal (1999) four years ahead of Wordpress in 2003. Blogging transcended its roots as mere personal diaries, transforming into a vast, dynamic landscape with niches like technology, travel, fashion. [14]

21st Century: Digital and Analogue Journaling

Day One (2011) is a digital journaling app which modernized journaling further still, incorporating multimedia and cloud storage, on your pc and syncing with your phone.

And in 2013, Ryder Carroll revolutionized journaling by merging productivity and reflection in what he called an ‘analogue’ journaling system to cope with the overwhelming propensity of ever more information in the digital age.

“Bullet Journal® (aka Bujo) is a mindfulness practice designed as a productivity system. It will meet you wherever you are to help you process the past, organize the present, and author your future.”[15]

Carroll describes his groundbreaking method in ‘The Bullet Journal Method: Track Your Past, Order Your Present, Plan Your Future’ and offers an online course ‘Bujo® Basics & Beyond Course’ for £196 here .

What follows is how I personally adapted the Bullet Journal method, after using it for years to transform my life, and the products I recommend to make it more affordable.

Key Findings

1) Equipment: Fineliner Pen & A5 Harbacked Journal

2) Setup new journal: Dates/Identity; Key/Signifiers, Index

3) Create a Future Log, Monthly Log, and Daily Log (Setup AM & PM)

4) Migrate activities/tasks/events ‘backwards’ to monthly log & ‘forwards’ to future log

5) Add Logs to Index and any Collections as you complete them.

PART 2: HOW DO YOU USE A BULLET JOURNAL?

Equipment: Pen & Notebook

The first thing you will need is a pen. This could be a whole article in itself because you create all the spreads in a Bujo yourself and you are constantly drawing ruled lines, so smudging and page bleed are serious issues.

The one I use is a Faber-Castell Art & Graphic Pitt Artist Pen Fineliner £3.90 on Amazon.

But, I have also used a Bic Fine Orange Original Black which works really well and you can get these much cheaper in a box of 20.

The second thing you will need is an A5 dotted-page hard-backed journal. You don’t need to spend a small fortune on the official Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal .

For half the price, I get two Rettacy hard-backed faux leather A5 journal from Amazon, which have the same dotted format 120gsm thick paper, Indexes in the first four pages, pre-printed with page numbers, sleeves in the back cover to keep any small papers, two ribbon bookmarks, pen loop and an elastic closure band. The main differences are each are only 160 pages rather than 206 pages, and they don’t include a pre-printed Future Log, quick Bullet journal guide or have stickers. But I only need 3 or 4 sticky tabs in a journal and you can easily improvise these by cutting up a sticky note; it’s the same difference. Don’t worry about the details, trust me, this one will work just as well.

I love unwrapping the cellophane from a brand-new journal, it feels almost like a fresh start at life, every quarter of the year, which is how long mine take to fill, and works for me with the quarterly business cycle, which I try to stick to (in the UK the annual financial year begins 1^st April, so I use April-June, July-Sept, Oct-Dec, Jan-March).

Step 1. Dates & Identity

The first thing I do is write today’s date in the top-right of the opening page (for easy reference to when that journal starts, and the month and year in block capitals on the spine with a “—” to which I will add the finish month and year. When all my journals are lined up, I can easily see which periods they refer to.

If I should ever lose it, I add my name, full address and phone details in the centre of the opening page, with a “Recovery Reward £100”.

I also create a double-page “Contacts” collection in the last two pages of the journal and split this up into 8 quadrants labelled, ‘ABC’, ‘DEF’, ‘GHI’, etc., with the last, ‘VWXYZ’ because I doubt I’ll have many contacts with these surnames.

Step 2. Key

After my identification page, before the Index, I always write a ‘Key’ for Bullets & Signifiers because these are easy to forget and for ease of reference without using any tab.

N.B. This is my own adapted list, which expands on the original Bujo list, and feel free to create your own, as long as you use a Key, so you know what each code means! This is very important.

Step 3: Index

If you have followed my advice with the A5 hardbacked journal you will not need to do this, but it is easy to create your own. Use the first two double-page spreads after your Key, and title them Index I, Index II etc., with a column on the left titled ‘Page No.’ and the remaining column titled ‘Contents’. This is crucial for finding what you need later on without having to scan the whole journal.

Step 4: Future Log

In the next double-page spread use the first 3 lines for your title, “Future Log” and then divide the page into six quadrants, for each month of the year. In the top left corner of each quadrant, I write the month and draw a small calendar with columns labelled “M, T, W, T, F, S, S” and simply write the days underneath. I need to make the calendar as small as possible to leave room to annotate it. For example, I circle a date ‘12’ and then beside the calendar wrote ’12 – Pay Mortgage (P.32)’, or whatever the future event I need to remember, with a page reference. (If you have bought the A5-journal I recommended you will not have to number all your pages manually, but if not, it doesn’t take that long, and is essential for the system to work.) It is also useful to create a tab for this double-page spread, which is basically just a small sticker that sticks out from the other pages when your journal is closed, and label this ‘Future’ so you can easily access it. I cut it out from a post-it note and sellotape it in place.

Step 5: Monthly Log/ Tasks

In the next double-page spread use the first three lines to title the left page with the month, “JUNE LOG” and the right page with “Tasks” and then create a left column on the left page and simply list the dates vertically, eg., “M1, T2, W3, T4, F5, S6, S7, M8, T9’ etc., I draw a horizontal line after each week across the page, and can easily fit a month, if I keep each date within the 5mm dotted grid. If you can’t do an activity on a particular day, you add it to your monthly log for another date. You use the Tasks page to bullet point all the activities you want to complete that month, and you can obviously prioritise this list by numbering them and add them to your monthly log, or if they are not urgent, add them to your future log. When you start a new Monthly Log, it is critical that you migrate any events from your Future Log into it. It is also useful to tab this double-page spread, eg. JUNE, so you can quickly refer back to it during the month, and I will have three Monthly tabs in each journal, separated by all the Daily Logs.

Step 6: Daily Logs

 A daily log is the “workhorse” of your Bullet Journey, and all it needs is a day/date and a page number, and Carroll suggests sitting down AM, to record all your thoughts overnight and plug in any events for the day, referencing your Monthly log, during the day you add notes to the journal as you go, and review it PM, to mark off events/activities completed.

This is where your Key comes in handy, because the way you record in a daily log is different to traditional journaling, and it’s calling rapid-logging. (I will base this explanation on using Carroll’s original codes, so you can compare with my Key later).

Rather than loosely structured and time-intensive full-sentence notes, Ryder Carroll explains, “Rapid Logging helps us capture and organize our thoughts as living lists” in quick bullet— thus the title—points, which record:

1. Things that you need to do (Tasks)

2. Your experiences (Events)

3. Information you don’t want to forget (Notes)

1. Tasks

The code for a task is the bullet point “•” and Tasks can have five different states according to their state of play (notice how the bullet point is changed in each case):

The use of the codes enables you to see the ‘state of play’ of tasks in an instant. But Carroll’s genius is in the idea of migrating tasks ‘forward’ to your Monthly log, if they can’t, or don’t need to be, actioned today, or ‘backward’ into your Future Log, if it lies outside your monthly log. This way you keep on top of all the activities happening during a day.

2. Events

3. Notes

Notes are “facts, ideas, thoughts, and observations” which you want to record but aren’t “immediately or necessarily actionable” and their code is “—”

4. Signifiers

Signifiers are separate codes that you place before a code to “highlight specific entries to give them additional context.”

You can invent your own signifiers, like I did, but here are his:

*             Priority: “Used to mark a bullet as important and is most commonly paired with the Task Bullet. Use this sparingly. If everything is a priority, nothing is.”

!              Inspiration: “Most commonly paired with a Note. Great ideas, personal mantras, and genius insights will never be misplaced again!”

5. Custom Collections

When you have a problem or activity that you want to specifically focus on you can assign a specific custom page to it with simply a title, date and page number, so you can reference it in your index. The easiest thing is to build your Index as you go along, although, tbh, I started by completing the index at the end of the journal, transferring all the key topics, I thought I might need in the future.

If you return to the topic again on another day, a useful tip is to use ‘Threading’, which is placing the page number of the previous page on the right of the current page number Eg. 50/10 (50 is the current page number, and 10 is the previous page number.) And if you got back to page 10, you can mark it 50 beside the original number Eg. 10/50 to indicate where the thread continues.

One Collection that I have found particularly useful, and use regularly, is a ‘Brain Dump’ where you literally create a page which is just ‘—’ Notes of everything on your mind without any ordering or priority, like a shopping list. It’s great for de-cluttering your mind.

Another Collection that I started using was ‘Quarterly Goals’ divided into sections:

1. Personal / Spiritual

2. Family

3. Professional

4. Financial

5. Reading

6. Writing

7. Music

8. Health

9. Training

10. Domestic

But I had mixed results with this because I didn’t track them.

I have created a ‘Tracking’ Collection for other goals, like meditation, and recorded minutes on a bar graph, which was more effective. And I’ve seen this idea used for tracking ‘Mood’ on a line graph. Because you create your Bujo, the sky is the limit on what collections you want to create.

Conclusion

We have considered a brief history of journaling from 18^th to 21^st Century, including introspective, intellectual, travel, personal, literary, war, psychological, online, digital and analogue journaling, and seen how these have changed according to the needs of the time.

With the overwhelming amount of data we are having to manage in the 21^st Century, it is perhaps slightly ironic that pen and paper manual, or analogue, journaling has risen as a response to this challenge.

There are many online and digital journaling apps, which I do use, but they will never replace my Bujo. I use Diarium, for example, for long-form full-sentence journaling, for reflection and pleasure, but not to organise my life. I also use Google Calendar, Google Keep and One Note to complete my combined digital and analogue system, but the heart of the system will always be my Bullet Journal.

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References

[1] ‘Inside ADHD’ by Ryder Caroll. Accessed @09:42 on 20August 2024 https://bulletjournal.com/blogs/bulletjournalist/inside-adhd?srsltid=AfmBOopSVhAwAwPHymBhvCqJvMgJvBsVI4reMAHB3GBEadxCZK4x-vUI

[2] The Bullet Journal Method: Track Your Past, Order Your Present, Plan Your Future

Front Cover. Ryder Carroll. 4th Estate, 2018

[3] Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519. (1970). The notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. New York :Dover Publications

[4] Inigo: Discernment Log-Book The Spiritual Diary Of Saint Ignatius Loyola

Edited and Translated by JOSEPH A. MUNITIZ, S.J. Published byINIGO ENTERPRISES, LONDON, 1987

[5] London Journal 1762-1763, James Boswell, Penguin Classics, 2010.

[6] The Journals of Captain James Cook on His Voyages of Discovery. Ed. by J. C. Beaglehole. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1967.

[7] Thoreau, Henry David. “I: 1837, Oct. 22.” The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau: Journal I, edited by Bradford Torrey. Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1906.

[8] ‘Thoreau’s Writing’ on The Walden Woods Project. Accessed at 13:39 on 22^nd August 2024. https://www.walden.org/education/for-students/thoreaus-writing/

[9] Frank, Anne, 1929-1945 author. (1995). The diary of a young girl : the definitive edition. New York :Doubleday,

[10] vol. 3, p. 235. The Diaries of Virginia Woolf, vols 1–5. Edited by Bell AO. New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977–1984

[11] Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) Katherine Dalsimer, Ph.D.Authors Info & Affiliations, American Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 161, Number 5, https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.161.5.809

[12] https://www.intensivejournal.org/AboutMethod_IntensiveWorkbook.php#workbook Accessed at 08:33 on 23^rd August 2024

[13] https://intensivejournal.org/AboutMethod_JournalFeedback.php  Accessed at 08:20 on 23^rd August 2024

[14] https://wpdeveloper.com/a-brief-history-of-blogging/#:~:text=Early%202000s%3A%20Blogging%20Platform%20Proliferation,travel%2C%20fashion%2C%20and%20more. Accessed at 08:59 on 23^rd August 2024

[15]

https://bulletjournal.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoojin5qp8eB5hPWy3w6GK6PewnHC05fs-fauCGIPYkiLbhhkGWn

Accessed at 09:37 on 23^rd August 2024.

I was too embarrassed to tell anyone about my issue downstairs.

Having to get up two or three times in the middle of the night to pee was disturbing my sleep, making me feel tired throughout the day and depressing this young-at-heart fifty-five-year-old male.

Was it my age? Was I paying the price for too many decades drinking? Did I have an enlarged prostate, or worse, the big C? Was there even a cure?

Of course, I buried my head in the sand until I was so fed up, I had to face my fears, like I did my alcoholism many years ago—more of that later because it could be a cause— and research it.

I am writing this so you don’t have to suffer, or anyone else in the same predicament, like I did. There is a cure, which I really needed to hear, because I genuinely didn’t think it was possible.

This is the story of how I found it.

Reading Time: 13 mins

Total: 2968 words

Key Findings

1) One nighttime urination is not unusual. Over 70% of adults over 30 are bothered by two, and two or more are associated with an impaired quality of life.

2) Nocturia may be caused by an enlarged prostate in men, and childbirth, menopause or pelvic organ prolapse in women, and a range of other conditions, including, importantly behavioural patterns.

3) Reduce caffeine intake, and limit to early mornings only. Studies show caffeine can disrupt sleep between 8 to 16 hours later. Go decaf.

4) Measure what you drink and emit/void, in a Void/Bladder Diary for 24hrs – 3 days and measure against norms. Use Colley’s Fluid Matrix, see below, to determine how much you should be drinking daily.

5) Drink “240ml/hr” (for me, according to Colley’s Fluid Matrix) for the first 10hrs, and once after with a meal before sleep.

What exactly is nocturia and how prevalent is it?

Nocturia is defined as:

"The number of times urine is passed during the main sleep period. Having woken to pass urine for the first time, each urination must be followed by sleep or the intention to sleep.” [1]

I felt incredibly embarrassed, and I thought I was the only one, but Nocturia affects 50m people in the US [2] - like everyone in California, the largest state, getting up to pee in the middle of the night!

Also, it isn’t just an age thing because a third of all adults over 30 urinate at least twice during the night.

“One in 3 adults older than the age of 30 years makes at least 2 trips to the bathroom nightly, and about 70% of these individuals are bothered by this.” [2]

Remember that quote about ‘bothered by this’ because it does scientifically affect your quality of life, as we shall come to soon.

And the cost of Nocturia is alarming: Annual direct cost of $1.5 billion; and annual indirect cost of $61 billion [4], so we are all paying for this.

Why are the costs of Nocturia so high?

Nocturia is associated with “sleep deprivation, which can cause exhaustion, mood changes, drowsiness, impaired productivity, increased risk of falls and accidents, fatigue, lethargy, inattentiveness, and cognitive dysfunction… Nocturia is also associated with decreased physical health, obesity, diabetes, depression, and heart disease.” [2]

The image above, ‘An accident at work’ is from Holland, and Nocturia isn’t just a problem in the US, but also across Europe [EU 15]:

"A similar European analysis showed an estimated annual cost of lost work productivity due to nocturia of €29 billion in the EU-15" [4]

Therefore, to put it mildly, I was not alone—and neither are you—which should be encouraging news! We can get through this, I promise.

However, the associated cost does not tell us how severely different people are affected by, or bothered by, Nocturia because it is variable from person to person.

Firstly, to reassure you, it is not uncommon for people to get up to urinate at least once during the night, I wish I could be so happy(!) and the following bladder functions are considered normal as a benchmark guide, which you may need to know, and copy/subscribe/bookmark for reference, because you might not actually have a problem at all (who knows what is normal urinary function although we urinate many times every day, do we ever count, or know what the benchmarks are? I didn’t.)

Here is a summary of the researched facts, and these results ‘killed’ me, which I have bullet-pointed for speed of reading:

• Frequency – 5 to 8 voids in 24 hours

• Maximum voided volume (the largest volume of urine voided in a single micturition) – 400ml to 500ml

• Nocturia – waking once at night to void may be considered not unusual. After the age of 60 years, nocturia may increase x 1 with each decade, so a person in their 80’s may wake 3 times at night to pass urine.

• Fluid intake varies greatly between individuals. A healthy individual weighing 10 stones (64 kilos) should have a daily fluid intake of around 3½ pints or 2 litres (Abrams & Klevmar, 1996). Click here for a Fluid Matrix to give you a weight/daily fluid intake recommended chart.

Source: Urinary Continence Assessment, Treatment and Management 2020 © Wendy Colley OBE, 2020. [9]

Whereas I was having to void two or three times a night, when I read this, and this upset me and made me feel inferior and depressed, because I was not ‘normal’ in my mind.

In studies, two and three or more, urinations (voids) a night have been known to impair quality of life and cause “moderate” to “major” “bother”, respectively, whereas one void causes no issues:

"At least two voids per night is associated with impaired HRQoL [ health-related quality of life]. The majority of people report having bother when the number of nocturia episodes is two and moderate or major bother when the number is three or more. One void per night does not identify subjects with interference from nocturia and, thus, is not a suitable criterion for clinically relevant nocturia." [3]

I had no choice but to face my fears and find out what the worst news could be.

So what causes Nocturia?

The causes may be different for men and women, according to the National Association for Continence:

“Women generally experience nocturia as a consequence of childbirth, menopause, and/or pelvic organ prolapse. In men, nocturia can be directly attributed to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also known as enlarged prostate.” [5]

But the good news is, if it isn’t these, there are ten additional factors which affect both sexes and may possibly be the cause: Behavioral patterns; Diuretic medications; Caffeine; Alcohol; Overactive bladder treatment; Excessive fluids before bedtime; Diminished nocturnal bladder capacity; Fluid redistribution [5].

It made sense for to me to try and rule out the ones I could, before seeking medical treatment, because it seemed in my power to do so, and, as a man, less invasive than a finger up the gazoo (to use the polite term!) to check my prostate.

It is also incredibly hard to get a GP’s appointment in the UK due to long waiting lists on the NHS, but at least it is theoretically possible—unlike trying to see a dentist (see my other post on which way how to reverse cavities which is impossible)—so, ironically another plus: I had time!

If you are lucky enough to be living in a more progressive country, or have money, I would recommend ideally going to a doctor straight away if you can, and ask them to also check for the following possible underlying medical conditions which I found may be causal factors: Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes insipidus; High blood pressure; Heart disease; Congestive heart failure; Vascular disease; Restless leg syndrome; Sleep disorders; Insomnia [5].

Me, Sherlock Holmes on-a-budget(!)—one way or another—had to do the hard work myself for now. So, what else could it be, Watson?

Looking at the list of possible causes I could deal with, I could immediately rule out alcohol as a suspect. I had long since quit drinking after too many decades of self-flagellation with ethanol and even written a book about it.

If alcohol is a possible cause for you, and you want help to cut down, control or quit drinking, my book is called, “Holmes’s Complete Guide To Stop Drinking Alcohol; the easy, mindful and pain-free way”, with over 300 academic references plus my drinking story—if you really want honesty! End of plug.

I could also rule out “Diuretic medications” and “Overactive bladder treatment”, as I wasn’t on any medications, which leaves: Behavioral patterns; Caffeine; Excessive fluids before bedtime; and Fluid redistribution.

Fluid imbalance may be due to poor kidney health [6] but that would need to be confirmed by a physician, so I ruled it out because I couldn’t confirm it myself, and focused on the remaining three.

If I could solve my Nocturia by fixing either 1) Caffeine 2) Excessive fluids before bedtime, or 3) Behavioural Patterns, I was a genius(!) and didn’t have to suffer on the inevitable endless waiting list for a doctor’s appointment.

And guess what? The good news is I could! Here’s how:

1. Caffeine