# Chronic Walkers, mental illness? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 30, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717 "2013-05-30T15:29:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/21 "2013-05-31T08:30:52Z")
I walk when agitated. For me that is a mental health thing ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/22 "2013-05-31T09:37:55Z")
Besides parks and trails, have you ever seen recreational walkers who weren’t “off?” Sitting while passively watching TV or actively reading, creates a lower neural oscillation rate than while moving around. I think the majority of people get hooked on this frequency. I know of some yoga enthusiasts who are hooked on the lower frequency during meditation. And depressed people who use sleep as a drug; draw your own conclusion. I used to walk miles and miles, enjoying looking at different houses and buildings. Yes, I knew I was seen as a weirdo by drivers. People i knew would say “hey, i see you walking” with only slightly difference in their tone than “hey, I saw you painting rings around your nipples with mud.” I didn’t need that, and anyway I was getting back into running. After a few weeks I realized that instead of huffing & puffing, I could forget that I was running, and my neural oscillation rate had returned to what it had been while walking. I could still mull over issues, daydream, imagine Nobel Prize-winning SDMB posts like before. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/23 "2013-05-31T10:52:24Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I watched these people for close to 50 years and they never changed, they just got older then eventually dissapeared. And you’re worried about _their_ mental health?:dubious: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/24 "2013-05-31T12:51:32Z")
I’m wondering if looking askance at walkers is a USA phenomenon? Or maybe associated with areas having heavy car usage? When I was in England once long ago, we stayed in some smallish towns where people thought nothing of walking a couple of miles to visit a friend. That would never happen in the car-centric place I live. There are some suburban neighborhoods here where you never see ANYONE walking unless they’re in fitness clothes or leading a dog. I stayed in Mexico one time and at a certain time of the evening, everyone came out to walk, teens, elderly, whole families. Not sure if that still goes on. They’re probably inside on Facebook today. I know there are other countries where seeing regular walkers would not trigger questions about mental health. At least I think that’s the case. What say those outside the US? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/25 "2013-05-31T13:49:23Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > And you’re worried about _their_ mental health?:dubious: > > 😃 Kayaker, I am a recently out of the closet chronic people and animal watcher since my earliest memories. Normal people never grab my attention but anything I perceive as odd or unusual seems to grab my attention. On the rare occassion when I actually have some background on what catches my attention I can often surmise a theory as to why. I have several little case studies I found interesting that I plan on posting. As for the walkers, these people were not going to work, they never had jobs, all they did was walk from early morning till dark. They had a very specific style and posture that never changed over decades. I feel like all of them were probably schitzophrenic. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/26 "2013-05-31T15:04:51Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > As for the walkers, these people were not going to work, they never had jobs, all they did was walk from early morning till dark. They had a very specific style and posture that never changed over decades. I feel like all of them were probably schitzophrenic. How do you know, “all they did was walk from early morning till dark.”? Did you follow each and every one of them every single day all day long? ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/27 "2013-05-31T15:17:42Z")
As a long distance cyclist and walker I can say that those activities are good for my mental health. Had I been born more recently I’d certainly have been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a child. I’ve slowed down a little in the last 50+ years but not much. I’d doing a 100 mile ride tomorrow. I’ve talked to people like mentioned above. Most do seem to have a mental illness and the activity helps them cope. I have a cycling friend that is bi-polar (or whatever the PC term is now days) and cycling is a major part of his therapy. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/28 "2013-05-31T15:18:54Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > How do you know, “all they did was walk from early morning till dark.”? Did you follow each and every one of them every single day all day long? In my business I spent a lot of time on local roads around the city, over decades of seeing these people I would even become aware of the routes they would normally take. I am absolutely positive they did not have jobs. The later in the day you see them the further along the route they would be, very obvious. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/29 "2013-05-31T15:58:42Z")
Is this thread for real? Maybe they’re walking to where they have to go? Or they like taking walks? > [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Besides parks and trails, have you ever seen recreational walkers who weren’t "off? Uhh, yes? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/30 "2013-05-31T16:06:25Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Kayaker, I am a recently out of the closet chronic people and animal watcher since my earliest memories. Normal people never grab my attention but anything I perceive as odd or unusual seems to grab my attention. On the rare occassion when I actually have some background on what catches my attention I can often surmise a theory as to why. I have several little case studies I found interesting that I plan on posting. > > As for the walkers, these people were not going to work, they never had jobs, all they did was walk from early morning till dark. They had a very specific style and posture that never changed over decades. I feel like all of them were probably schitzophrenic. All this and you’re only mental health concerns are for those you obsessively observe? Case studies? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/31 "2013-05-31T17:47:43Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > All this and you’re only mental health concerns are for those you obsessively observe? Case studies? I never said I was overly concerned, it just caught me attention and I sometimes wondered about them. The last few years most of them have disappeared. Lots of obsessive behaviors are not so obvious so are more prone to not even being noticed. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/32 "2013-05-31T18:20:02Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I never said I was overly concerned, it just caught me attention and I sometimes wondered about them. The last few years most of them have disappeared. Lots of obsessive behaviors are not so obvious so are more prone to not even being noticed. you seem pretty concerned to me. You seem to have the complete travel route and schedule of people who are just walking, so much so you’re certain of where they’re going and not going, have certainty that they don’t work because you’ve mapped their paths. Case studies? Close your drapes and get a life. Maybe you should take a walk. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/33 "2013-05-31T18:52:06Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > you seem pretty concerned to me. You seem to have the complete travel route and schedule of people who are just walking, so much so you’re certain of where they’re going and not going, have certainty that they don’t work because you’ve mapped their paths. Case studies? Close your drapes and get a life. Maybe you should take a walk. Thats just a bad observation on your part, I have a pretty decent active life and I am not so self obsessed as to be oblivious to those around me. And I do take daily walks. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/34 "2013-05-31T19:26:11Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Thats just a bad observation on your part, I have a pretty decent active life and I am not so self obsessed as to be oblivious to those around me. And I do take daily walks. Somebody is probably watching you… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/35 "2013-05-31T22:42:13Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Thats just a bad observation on your part, I have a pretty decent active life and I am not so self obsessed as to be oblivious to those around me. And I do take daily walks. Danny isn’t here, Mrs. Torrance. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/36 "2013-05-31T23:13:44Z")
It is reassuring to know that we have posters here of such high caliper they can tell other posters that thier interests are not valid for some reason. I am glad I finaly reached a point in life where I don’t really give a shit what others think. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/37 "2013-06-01T00:02:27Z")
Yes, several of the small towns I’ve lived in had walkers. I don’t know if they walked all day or not, but in a small town you are apt to notice the same person out walking at all hours of the day. One walker, a young woman, was hit by a truck and came to the hospital where I worked for treatment. She was clearly developmentally disabled. We found out as we were treating her hip fracture that she was also 6 months pregnant. She did not understand that she was pregnant nor how she got that way. I saw her again when she came in to deliver a few months later. She told me the doctors had removed a giant worm from her belly. Another small town in the west had the Happy Walker. He was a town fixture. He paced all over town at a good clip, often up and down the main drag, and he had a very distinctive style of walking, arms swinging vigorously, with both index fingers pointed – it looked like he was pointing down the road where he was headed. He also smiled and waved at passing motorists. He seemed happy all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/38 "2013-06-01T01:05:22Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > If they ever stop they’ll be shot by the guy in the half-track. LOL, good one. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/39 "2013-06-01T01:27:46Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > you seem pretty concerned to me. You seem to have the complete travel route and schedule of people who are just walking, so much so you’re certain of where they’re going and not going, have certainty that they don’t work because you’ve mapped their paths. Case studies? Close your drapes and get a life. Maybe you should take a walk. Perhaps you don’t have enough mental bandwidth to multitask, but I’m pretty sure the OP does. I do sometimes wonder what it’s like to be someone who doesn’t think about whatever they see. Would seem boring to me. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717/40 "2013-06-01T02:21:03Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > In the case of these people I believe walking is about all they do, I see them walking south in the morning and in the late afternoon walking north toward home, not unusual to see them 12 or more miles from home. > I have been trying to force mysef to walk 1.5 hours per day but usually get bored after I hit the 1 hour mark and quit. Do you know if they use public transit? When I have visited larger cities with decent public transit, I would spend the entire day riding the busses and trains, and walking. It killed time and let me explore the city. If I were unemployed and/or unable to work I would probably do a lot of that during the day to get out of the house and have something to do. As a result I’m sure I would be seen walking all over town. However I wouldn’t be walking everywhere, I would be taking busses and trains to places, then walking. Have you seen any of these people at a bus station, or any public transit hub? I don’t know if your body ever adjusts to it, but walking 12+ miles a day in high heels is going to be hard as hell on your feet. I don’t know if a woman would be able to do that. People have trouble walking that much in a day in hiking boots or walking shoes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronic-walkers-mental-illness/659717.md?page=3)