I need to walk naked more for my sanity

Over the last few weeks, I have been feeling increasingly down. I always get this way during winter, and the Christmas period does not help because I do not partake in it. At work last week, nearly everyone I work with asked me if anything was wrong because I was quiet and withdrawn. Some wondered if they had annoyed me, and others just thought I was not right.

Well, fate allowed me to find out the cause and the cure. On Thursday, I had to go out from work to pick up a vehicle and soon realised that due to the Christmas traffic, it was jammed up solid, and the dual carriageway was outside. I headed out, and it took me 20 minutes to get a mile. Once I had collected the vehicle, I had to go back through the same traffic, and after another 20 minutes, I managed to return to work, albeit 30 minutes after I was supposed to finish. Now, I knew I had to go down the carriageway to get home and decided instead of taking ages to get home in my van, I would walk as I expected the usual 10-minute drive to take nearer an hour.

I grabbed my things, put on a hi-vis padded jacket because it was 5°C outside, and set off. Walking down the path by the carriageway, I passed most people I work with sitting in their cars stuck in the jam. I passed all the industrial units, and before long, I got to the path that runs parallel to the main dual carriageway to my home. This path was unlit and deserted. I walked for about 2 minutes in the dark, and then I had the moment that was a turning point.

I stopped, took my rucksack, and took the coat off. I then got naked other than keeping my footwear on. I placed my clothes in my rucksack, put the coat back on but fully open, and popped my backpack back on. The wind was northeasterly and cool, but I was warm as I walked. This path is about 2 miles long, and at one point, it comes up next to the carriageway to cross a bridge. When I got there, I closed the coat and walked over the bridge, but as soon as I passed that, I opened the coat up and let it flap behind me in the wind.

Doing this was my fix; I could feel myself feeling more normal again, and by the time I got to the end of the path, I felt fine. I needed to do this, to be able to be nude and walk in the fresh air. It was like a total reset of my feelings, and I was happy again. At the end of the path, it opens onto the road into my town, and there is a Lidl store. I stopped and thought about getting dressed again, but I had no willpower, so I held the coat closed and walked up the main road. Once I was past the store and the road was quiet, I opened the coat again as I passed the houses. When I saw headlights coming or a car from behind, I just closed my jacket and walked past. I reached the estate where I live and plodded into it with my coat open as nobody was about. I reached my home and, once inside, removed the coat and stayed nude.

I had managed to reset myself. I felt mentally refreshed and had a smile on my face. The following day came, and I realised I would need to ride my bike to work as I had no vehicle. I looked outside, and the sky was clear. The sun was coming up, but it was 3°C. I put my work clothes into my backpack and popped on my walking shorts with the poppers on the side and my padded hi-vis coat. I put my cycle helmet on and my backpack on my back and rode to the end of the estate. I crossed the road and headed on the foot/cycle path along the opposite side of the industrial estate. Once I got there, I popped off my shorts, opened the jacket up, and set off nude with the jacket blowing out behind me. I passed two people walking their dogs, and neither said anything. When I arrived at the end of that path, it joined the one that goes towards work next to the main dual carriageway where the bridge is. I carried on riding down there, passing a few people. I soon got to the bridge part, but I did not stop. I rode up the slope to it and onto the bridge, passing the oncoming traffic nude on my bike.

I rode across the bridge and down the next section of the path until I reached where I had gotten nude the night before when walking home. I stopped and got off the bike to remove my backpack and coat. As I was getting my work clothes out of my backpack, a couple came around the corner walking their dogs. I looked up and said good morning, and they said hello. They then asked if I had been riding nude. I told them I had and that it was refreshing. They told me I was brave considering it was 3°C, but good on me for doing it.

After getting my work clothes on, I rode to work, and when I got there, my work colleagues said I seemed to be back to normal again, and I explained that walking home nude and riding to work nude had reset me. They were pleased I had fixed myself but were very glad I had not ridden into the yard nude!

I now know that if I am feeling down, the cure is to get out in the world naked, and I will feel better again.