Fishing improves mental health
The garage of my childhood home in Mahopac, New York, wasn’t an ordinary garage. Instead of cars, there were several large tanks filled with water and small fish. Sawbellies and shiners, we call ‘em. I’d always hear water flowing and splashing in there as the pipe aeration system poured the water into the tanks. I would also hear the camaraderie and chuckles from the humorous old-school trout fishermen who were — and still are — some of the best people in the community.
My garage served as a bait and tackle store owned and run by my father. Because of this, and my father’s love for fishing, I have been fishing since I was three years old. My old man taught me everything that I know about fishing, and he still manages a bait shop — “Fish On” located across the street from the Lake Mahopac marina — to this day.
If it wasn’t for my having the knowledgeable angler dad that I have, I don’t think I would have won my first fishing contest at five years old, let alone win anything else all the other times after that.
When I was about eight years old, my parents got divorced and my father’s bait shop shut its doors. In 2018, I joined the United States Navy: Aircraft handling was my main job.
After I was honorably discharged, Veterans Affairs (VA) told me I was a 90% disabled workable veteran, a high percentage that is largely due to my Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This was a big shock to me because I am not a combat veteran.
The best way I can describe my PTSD is that I can be irritable at times. Under extremely stressful situations, my fight or flight is triggered with no clear happy medium. At my worst moments, I am either really angry or sad. Unfortunately, I had some very close friends, both military and civilian, who passed away during my time in service. Due to strict military lifestyle and work schedules, I was unable to attend any of their memorial services. Because of this, I often forget that I have deceased friends. Then, out of the blue, something will remind me of them, and I’ll get overwhelmingly depressed — but I’ve never had any of these problems while fishing.
Whenever I am fishing — whether it be in a rowboat, offshore or fly fishing in a stream — it’s impossible for my mind to consider anything else besides what I’m physically doing at that very moment. My mind never wanders when I’m fishing. I am never worried, and I feel fully in control. It’s relaxing to repeatedly cast rod lines out into the water while surrounded by nature and beautiful scenery.
When I am fishing, I have hope. When I am fishing, time doesn’t exist, and I don’t care about anything else. When I fight and land a big fish, I get a bonus dopamine rush. Fishing is my ultimate medicine and my peace. It is goal-oriented, which makes it fun and rewarding. It is also an adventure — so much water to cover. Even when you don’t catch anything, it’s still a day well spent. Fishing keeps me in the present moment, and without it, I’m not sure I’d know what the present feels like.
Fishing has improved my mental health, especially in regards to my PTSD. I’ve also seen firsthand how it helps the many people my father teaches to fish out of the kindness of his big heart.
Anyone who is seeking peace or wants to know how to live in the present should take up fishing. If you stick with it, you will view the whole world differently in only the most positive of ways.
