Get into the Flow - how shooting can benefit your mental health

In the 2020 Game Shooting Census, carried out by GunsOnPegs in association with Lycetts, 98% of game shots stated that shooting benefits their mental and physical wellbeing in some way. Time outside, spending time with friends, dogs, good fresh air and health-giving exercise: what’s not to like? But there’s more to this than meets the eye.

A sense of community and belonging

A recent study carried out by Dr Tracey Latham-Green of University of Northampton into the social impact of driven game shooting found that the communal element of shooting also plays an important role in promoting good mental health among the game shooting community. The study says: 

“Participation in driven game shooting in any form [including beating, picking up, loading etc] has a moderate to large positive effect on participants’ mental health due to a number of factors including strong social support networks, reduced loneliness, strong rural and/or cultural heritage identity, time spent outdoors in nature, regular physical exercise and participating in an activity that gives a sense of purpose.”

The importance of that time outdoors and sense of community is highlighted in the Game Shooting Census, especially among game shots aged under 35 and living in cities. 88% of this group specifically said that ‘shooting benefits their physical and mental wellbeing because spending time outside in nature is good for my mental health’, while 79% of the young town and city folk also said that shooting provides them with an opportunity to see their friends.

Shooting plays an important role in people's social lives and gives a sense of community

All this is, you might think, self-evident. This year we have learned that “awe-walks” - that is walking in landscapes that evoke a feeling of wonder - are effective in improving our mental well being, while the positive benefits of good friendship and support networks, fresh air and exercise are well documented, almost to the point of truism. But when you go shooting there is something more… innate at work. 

Go with the flow - how shooting improves your mental health

There is a state of mind that at least 95% of you reading this will have experienced at some point in your life. It goes by various names. Among sportsmen and women it is called “the zone”. Among musicians it might be referred to as “the groove”, while we have all heard of the “runner’s high”. In the world of psychology the term is “flow” which is defined as an “optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best.”

The Hungarian-American psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who first recognised and examined the mental phenomenon described it thus:

"Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost.”

If you’ve ever looked up from a task and found that hours have passed when it felt like only minutes, or experienced time slowing in moments of danger or when playing sports, then you’ve experienced “flow.” The state can arise when your mind engages in almost any activity - writing, skiing, surfing, knitting - anything that occupies your full attention.

By its very nature, shooting takes us to some pretty "awe-inspiring" places

Personally, I can think of occasions when salmon fishing when I’ve felt it - the background thrum of daily problems drifting away as I settled into the rhythm of cast, swing, cast, swing. I’ve also had climbing sessions when I’ve completed routes that I’d never thought possible - technique, self-belief and coolness under pressure coming together perfectly. Playing cricket, bowling my ropey legspin, I’ve had days when everything clicked and I’ve felt “in rhythm”, as the pundits would put it.

In this state our senses are heightened almost to the point of clairvoyance, our confidence is high and our concentration is total, we feel in control. Muscle memory and skill combine with these factors to deliver optimum performance.

Bathtub Birds are good for the soul

One of the biggest triggers for “flow” is a sweet spot that lies just beyond the point where your skills and the difficulty of the task meet. That is to say, when something is right on the edge of your ability. You should be challenged - to prevent boredom - but not so challenged that it is beyond your skill set. It helps if it is something you love, too. And what activity can you think of that could more perfectly fit that description than game shooting? 

The act of stretching one's abilities is a trigger for "Flow" 
Photo Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

One of shooting’s core philosophies - that of ‘fair chase’ - dictates that shooting is all about the challenge, be that the height of the pheasant, the speed of the grouse, the agility of the pigeon or the suddenness of the partridge, or even the wiliness of the deer. The game shot is always seeking that higher, faster, wider shot, the fabled “bathtub bird”. That very search for the limit of one's skill could help you to enter a flow state when you're out shooting.

Long-term benefits of getting into the flow

Think back to the last time you remember experiencing “flow”. How did you feel, emotionally, while in that state and immediately after? If words like “euphoric”, “happy”, “fulfilled” or “motivated” spring to mind, there’s a reason for that.

When you enter “flow state” something strange happens in your brain. Flow is caused by something called “transient hypofrontality”— the temporary deactivation of the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that houses most of our higher cognitive functions, along with our “inner critic” and sense of self, resulting in hyper-focussed concentration and clarity of thought. 

Steven Kolter, an expert in the field, writing in Psychology Today, explains that this deactivation of the prefrontal cortex is accompanied by 

“an enormous cascade of neurochemistry. Large quantities of norepinephrine, dopamine, endorphins, anandamide, and serotonin flood our system. All are pleasure-inducing, performance-enhancing chemicals. Both norepinephrine and dopamine amp up focus, helping us gather more information. They also lower signal-to-noise ratios, increasing pattern recognition.”

The dopamine spike induced by being in a “flow state” has been compared to that experienced by cocaine users.  According to the mental health app Headspace, being in a deep flow state is often described as “an intrinsically positive experience [...] the pleasure comes with being in the moment and doing something that you are passionate about.” That phrase - being in the moment - is precisely what is meant by “mindfulness” and is sought by those who practise meditation.

Either way, that flood of happy chemicals has both short term and long term positive impacts on mental health. In simple terms, this is because, as Steven Kolter wrote: “No one ever has a bad time in a flow state.” What’s more, because flow states typically enhance performance, not only do you feel great, but you probably shoot better, making you feel great: it is the ultimate positive feedback loop!

Mental health and game shooting

The heady cocktail of passion, skill and challenge that is game shooting creates the ideal conditions in which a flow state can arise. Add this to the acknowledged benefits of spending time in nature and amongst friends who share a passion with you, and you’re looking at a powerful tool in the fight against poor mental health. This year we have all had our mental well being challenged by the changes that 2020 has thrust upon us, but shooting - now we’re allowed back out to play - can help us to manage that challenge. We just have to get back into the flow.

WATCH: At the end of last season we made a short film about what it is that makes shooting so special