Keeping the “Black Dog” at Bay: Cycling and Depression.

[barnabyjones]

Mental illness or morbid obesity. Pretty much everyone I ride with has struggled with both. Cycling can be a life saver. Although I do know one guy who got into shooting heroin and drug dealing/distribution because he began to shoot up PEDs. He'll be in state prison for the next 2 years. Double edged, me thinks.

[Hilltopwalters]

I had some pretty intense depression in my late teens and early twenties and after a lot of my own research conducted some....chemical experiments...on myself over the course of a week. Eventually a memory surfaced of being a young lad and riding my bicycle round and round the neighborhood block. After a time, one of the other neighborhood kids came out and asked why I was doing that and I didn't have an answer but I understood that it made me inherently happy and just kept riding. I took that memory and ran (or rather pedaled with it) and devoted myself to cycling and to bikes. In a large way it fundamentally changed my life.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by colker

I read somewhere depression hit a significant number of cycling specialty climbers.
Cycling may keep depression at bay but it´s not a treatment. In the long term it should be treated. Depression is dangerous and a waste of life.

Cycling is an escape for me. For pro riders, it's their job. If I had to do it professionally, I'm sure it would be a lot less enjoyable.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

i dont know anything about depression, but i have always said that at then end of the day, when your head is ready to hit the pillow, it is always best to be more physically tired than mentally tired.

particularly for people with "desk jobs" i think it's hugely important to have some outlet to make the body work hard regularly, that's what our bodies are meant for.

put another way: a tired dog is a good dog.

Not all movement is created equal. Gyms are temples of monotony. Anodyne and sterile. I say this as a long-time personal trainer. No one has ever written an "Ode to the Stairmaster." At least not that I know of.

[kingpin75s]

I find that mountain biking works best to clear the mind for me as it is more consistently in the moment than other genres of cycling.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

https://www.bicycling.com/rides/a200...bike-in-japan/

"Descending in the rain terrifies some people. But I’ve had some of my most spiritual experiences while guiding a bike down a wet road. Brazilian racecar driver Ayrton Senna once said that he “saw God” while racing in the rain. On this long descent to our hotel I, too, feel guided by forces larger than myself, as if I have a supernatural intuition for my limits. I tuck my head to keep the rain out of my eyes, but my shoulders are. I have the sense that I know exactly what to do. Despite the chill, I arrive in Uwajima feeling elated."

One of the best articles on cycling I've ever read. I read it a few years back. Thanks for refreshing my memory. The lede just nails it. There's a synagogue right across the street from me. Same affiliation. Different temple. On Saturday mornings, I get dressed in my weekend best. My prayer shawl (reflective vest) tefillin (bibs) and, most importantly, yarlmulke (helmet).

The other congregants are nodding their heads to the melodic intonations of the Cantor. I'm hearing the rhythmic cadence of my breath and the smooth murmur of the chainring as I head up into the hills to seek my solace.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

Cycling is a good complement to other forms of therapy but it is not a substitute for them and is not something that one who is suffering from depression should rely on to get through the day. Flat tires and broken bodies happen - and if you are predicating your ability to cope with life on your ability to be active, that is a recipe for ending up in an even deeper darker place. Ultimately if one is struggling with clinical depression, the way out is to seek qualified help, seek connection with people who will understand and support you, and seek to build a new way of being in the world that fits your unique needs.

This is undeniably true. The flip side: mild (not clinical) depression is an inevitable - and perhaps instructive - part of life. The striving for perpetual happiness is silly. Most great art comes from a place of darkness and introspection.

[colker]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

Cycling is an escape for me. For pro riders, it's their job. If I had to do it professionally, I'm sure it would be a lot less enjoyable.

I didn´t express myself really well here. It may be that cycling attracts those of us who are inclined to melancholy and depression. It may trigger anti depressant chemistries but it can also push the sadness into overdrive. Pantani...

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

The striving for perpetual happiness is silly. Most great art comes from a place of darkness and introspection.

Disagree. The lobster can be considered, and the water found, without the tragic ending. We are raised to take our selves entirely too seriously. There are alternatives.

[tv_vt]

Low-grade depression has a name: dysthymia. You can have it your whole life. Or just temporarily. Either way, it can affect your life in harmful ways.

Don't ignore it. And don't think just because you ride a bike, you can beat it. Talk to your doctor about it. A good therapist can be helpful, too, but bottom line is that your body has a chemical issue. It's not your fault.

[MarinRider]

Andrew Solomon’s book, “The Noonday Demon”, remains the seminal work on depression. One of the chapter examines the role of exercise on the treatment of depression, emphasizing on consistency and its long term modulating effect on the mind. The book won the National Book award and was short listed for the Putlizer in the early 2000s.

In some ways the entire healthcare field is finally coming around to this integrated approach. After all, one cannot achieve “health” just by treating “the body” while disregarding “the mind.” Now we talk about the medicine that is “important for you” (the pharmacological) and the medicine that is “important to you” (the personal). It’s the attention to both the pharmacological and the personal medicine that will enable you the best outcome. I guess a good physician has always known this but had been deemphasized in our increasingly specialized world.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

Disagree. The lobster can be considered, and the water found, without the tragic ending. We are raised to take our selves entirely too seriously. There are alternatives.

Well done. Took me a minute and change. I prefer “The Girl With the Curious Hair.” His take on Alex Trebek is hysterical.

Clinical depression is an entirely different animal. For mild depression, cycling is fantastic therapy. There’s nothing like it.

[Fixed]

I'm hearing the rhythmic cadence of my breath and the smooth murmur of the chainring as I head up into the hills to seek my solace.[/QUOTE]

Some call that Yoga
Nicely put
Cheers

[ultraman6970]

Cycling... the way i can disconnect from anything going on.

Antidepressant? maybe...

Meditation therapy? maybe...

Looks like im not the only one with up and downs here. Sucks... my bio rhythm chart is going down lately

[BlueFly]

Originally Posted by joosttx

https://youtu.be/oUGy1-C7ahc

this gets the blues out of me and onto the dance floor.

Thanks for that!