Losing it all.
It's a perfectly normal neurological reaction to the reduced levels of certain neurotransmitters but so many try to ignore the condition.
I have it permanently now as (being unusual), riding puts me at risk of brain damage so I had to switched from 15,000km per annum to nothing almost over night.
There's not enough discussion (particularly with our other halves) about the mental health needs that are satisfied by even that Sunday morning club run in the middle of Winter.
So how do others feel if they are forced to go a fair while without getting a few rides in?
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I can't say I've found taking time off cycling affects me like that - though I've never had an extended period (more than a couple of months) where I couldn't ride if I wanted to.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
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Not sure it would be depression, but if forced off the bike for a while I certainly feel that I'm missing out on something important.
Hope you find some way round your enforced abstention, or something else to take its place.1 -
Sorry to hear that airwise. What condition do you have? Can you take another form of exercise?airwise said:Let's see who opens up. Who here finds themselves suffering from depression when denied the pleasure of riding for long periods?
It's a perfectly normal neurological reaction to the reduced levels of certain neurotransmitters but so many try to ignore the condition.
I have it permanently now as (being unusual), riding puts me at risk of brain damage so I had to switched from 15,000km per annum to nothing almost over night.
There's not enough discussion (particularly with our other halves) about the mental health needs that are satisfied by even that Sunday morning club run in the middle of Winter.
So how do others feel if they are forced to go a fair while without getting a few rides in?
I’ve been fortunate enough not to suffer depression but have been slightly depressed when injury kept me off the bike for a couple of months and also when work or family commitments prevent me from cycling as much as I’d like, particularly when stuck in traffic which adds annoyance and frustration into the mix.Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי0 -
Well, I kind of got into aerobic sports to combat depression so, yes in answer to the op's question. When I had a year off through injury it was hard but I was working towards something.0
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It's hard. Really, really, REALLY f^^king hard to adjust, and pretty much impossible to explain to anyone who's not been through similar.
Open One+ BMC TE29 Seven 622SL On One Scandal Cervelo RS0 -
Yup, agree completely with OP re sport/depression linkage and agree 200% that MH isn't dicussed enough and openly enough.
.The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
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So OP, is the issue with cycling a potential head injury issue, or an elevated heart rate/blood pressure issue?0
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If I couldn’t ride a bicycle I would be straight back to a motorbike. A lot of the getting out there pleasure and stress relief without the exertion.1
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I don't suffer from depression but cycling is a large factor in my mental health and wellbeing.
It is a fine line for me with regards overdoing it. I do struggle to keep off the bike at times and have to force myself to take breaks so as not to become reliant on it. I do find extended breaks either through injury or holidays tricky, but I have learned to be more relaxed about it with age.
Fortunately, I have other interests and making sure I focus on those helps keep a rounded approach to things. It can be as simple as sitting down for an afternoon and listening to a few records, taking myself off to the cinema etc., just a different activity to take the attention off the bike.
I think one important thing is knowing my mental health and state of wellbeing pretty well, being able to discuss it openly without any stigma attached.1 -
As I get older I fet a lot more from just being outside doing something and seeing the world go by. If I could still do it, I'd probably enjoy hiking more now. Being on water is also a pretty good substitute, pretty much whatever you are on or in.
I hope the OP can find a substitute.
Kayaking, sup, rowing, hiking, even gardening fills that gap for a lot of people.1 -
I don't ride nearly as much as the OP, but I can certainly sympathise. As others have asked above, is there anything you can do in the place of cycling? When I couldn't ride I tried running, hated it. But found I enjoyed walking. I walked at quite a high speed so enough to raise the heart rate and be exercise. Just getting out and doing something helped me.
As the MFs say, MH is not discussed enough. Even talking things through with a bunch of randoms on a cycling forum has helped when I'm down.0 -
exctly as V has ssid - we, as men, do not talk about MH enough - we need to be far, far more open.veronese68 said:I don't ride nearly as much as the OP, but I can certainly sympathise. As others have asked above, is there anything you can do in the place of cycling? When I couldn't ride I tried running, hated it. But found I enjoyed walking. I walked at quite a high speed so enough to raise the heart rate and be exercise. Just getting out and doing something helped me.
As the MFs say, MH is not discussed enough. Even talking things through with a bunch of randoms on a cycling forum has helped when I'm down.
people have moaned in the past that some people treat this place as a pub and not a serious bicycle forum, but, tbh, if it helps one perdon to come on here, chat tripe, help their MH its worth the pages and pages of clubbie dross..The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
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The problem is that only you go on about clubbie stuff which always clouds what people are posting.
Maybe if you accepted that that you have some issues about cycling clubs your mental health might be a little better.
Never mind Shimano and Hunt wheels.2 -
My job makes it hard to be motivated to ride on Sunday mornings. So I don't for big chunks of the school year. Getting back into it has gotten harder every year. This year, due to Covid and the after effects of getting it, along with a job that has been increasingly stressful and various personal things going on, I've only been out a few times. So I've put some weight back on and have lost a lot of fitness. So I'd characterise myself as being somewhat down. And that makes me feel like a fraud because, in the grand scheme of things, I have it easy, especially seeing what some people I know are going through. And I also know that my tendency to be the way I am means that I'm a difficult person to be friends with so I generally don't keep them for long. Lots of acquaintances, mind, but anyone I do get closer to moves away in the end and that's invariably that. I wish I were different - currently trying to make myself come to terms with my character flaws and finding peace in my own company. Not sure how that is going tbh. Should be good at it by now given that I'm into my 50s.
Anyway, the point is that in the times where I was riding much more regularly, I wasn't as bad. Sorry for the rambling post but I understand where the OP is coming from.0 -
As most of you suggest finding something is important. It may be that you always miss cycling - I miss playing football - but if I still played football I'd never have taken up cycling - one door shuts but you can open another and maybe find something you love. Similarly spending hours on a bike the last 20 years must have meant I've missed out on doing other things.
These days I no longer feel I have to go out on the bike just to keep that fitness - I have no competitive goals so I do slightly less - which means I spent more time walking over the Winter, I've restarted taking my dog to training classes and I've just bought a season ticket for Derby County mainly to hook up with old friends. There is a lot out there to do and it's probably healthier to have a more diverse set of interests - plus with some of it my wife or kids can join in which is probably a good thing especially now the kids are all grown up.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]1 -
Training dogs and a season ticket for Derby? Should get back in the bike more.DeVlaeminck said:As most of you suggest finding something is important. It may be that you always miss cycling - I miss playing football - but if I still played football I'd never have taken up cycling - one door shuts but you can open another and maybe find something you love. Similarly spending hours on a bike the last 20 years must have meant I've missed out on doing other things.
These days I no longer feel I have to go out on the bike just to keep that fitness - I have no competitive goals so I do slightly less - which means I spent more time walking over the Winter, I've restarted taking my dog to training classes and I've just bought a season ticket for Derby County mainly to hook up with old friends. There is a lot out there to do and it's probably healthier to have a more diverse set of interests - plus with some of it my wife or kids can join in which is probably a good thing especially now the kids are all grown up.Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי1 -
@ johngti
"So I'd characterise myself as being somewhat down. And that makes me feel like a fraud because, in the grand scheme of things, I have it easy, especially seeing what some people I know are going through"
That's a common misconception. That you can only be depressed if your life is really crappy, that you need to have something to be depressed about. It's patently not true, so you should not feel at all fraudulent.
I've had bouts of profound depression at times when life has been ostensibly pretty good. No job, money, health or relationship worries, but BAM, suddenly don't want to get out of bed, and can't bear to be around other people and pretending everything's fine. But in my head it's a whirlwind of self-loathing and negative thoughts I can't silence.1 -
seanoconn said:
Training dogs and a season ticket for Derby? Should get back in the bike more.DeVlaeminck said:As most of you suggest finding something is important. It may be that you always miss cycling - I miss playing football - but if I still played football I'd never have taken up cycling - one door shuts but you can open another and maybe find something you love. Similarly spending hours on a bike the last 20 years must have meant I've missed out on doing other things.
These days I no longer feel I have to go out on the bike just to keep that fitness - I have no competitive goals so I do slightly less - which means I spent more time walking over the Winter, I've restarted taking my dog to training classes and I've just bought a season ticket for Derby County mainly to hook up with old friends. There is a lot out there to do and it's probably healthier to have a more diverse set of interests - plus with some of it my wife or kids can join in which is probably a good thing especially now the kids are all grown up.
I've got it all worked out. I'll probably cycle to the ground - gets some miles in, saves on parking and allows me to drink heavily pre match.
[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
A Derby County season ticket isn't going to help anyone's depression.1
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We've had years of practice building up emotional resilience. It's also a duty to oppose the team down the A52 who sell these in their club shop.
[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
Sorry to hear that airwise. What condition do you have? Can you take another form of exercise?
I’ve been fortunate enough not to suffer depression but have been slightly depressed when injury kept me off the bike for a couple of months and also when work or family commitments prevent me from cycling as much as I’d like, particularly when stuck in traffic which adds annoyance and frustration into the mix.
Thanks. Oh I rode like crazy as I said and I started getting seizures. One did not stop for 18 hours on a turbo and removed with it a chunck of the brain. So sadly I won't be riding again and I have a device implanted similar to a pacemaker for the brain so most exercise would trigger it relentlessly
Those rides release endorphins and either allow peaceful solitude or a weekly chat with mates. For many, particularly of the older club members, they are vital. For me it was the endorphins. I was used to releasing so many over such a long period of time that now I effectively do not produce enough and that causes depression.
Once we get past the stigma of thinking of mental illness as a thought process as opposed to a chemical/neurological one, then we can start to see how a healthy "addiction" to Strava or endurance riding over decades can lead to genuine neurological issues when we get older!
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I can see the attraction - even in hiking as you say. Sadly I now have no real sense of direction so rely on others when out. Bizarre when you have lived in the same place for decades and suddenly have no idea whether to turn left or rightFirst.Aspect said:As I get older I fet a lot more from just being outside doing something and seeing the world go by. If I could still do it, I'd probably enjoy hiking more now. Being on water is also a pretty good substitute, pretty much whatever you are on or in.
I hope the OP can find a substitute. There are natural plants that cause us to release endorphins but those are illegal.
Part of you thinks it's better to risk the lot and at least enjoy the riding (although I'd need an "assist" now The the part thinks that might not be so smart if you had a seizure in front of a family care and put them at risk.
I was more interested by the reactions from riders to losing that input. We hear about elite athletes. Turning to drink or drugs. Struggling with their life and we look for the causes like the loss of adulation or no longer walking out to 3,000 Derby County Supporters... We don't talk about the chemicals involved in all this.
Once a hardened roadie, always a hardened roadie.
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I wonder if technology can help you with the direction issues, you know. Should be possible to plan walking routes just like anything else and just follow it. And it is, just like cycling, a social endeavour if you want it to be as well.
Touring kayaking is pretty good for low hr but still some endorphins. And if you find a sluggish river to go on, it's pretty hard to get lost.
There are lots of kayaking clubs anyway.1 -
Yes I have used a walking GPS - certainly the newer ones with a fairly cheap subscription to a mapping site will give you detailed turn by turn instructions - mine is fairly ancient but I've used it to do some long distance walks downloaded from the internet.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]1
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Some riders at the higher echelons of cycling performance would argue the exact opposite - that taking a break from cycling is exactly what they need...airwise said:Let's see who opens up. Who here finds themselves suffering from depression when denied the pleasure of riding for long periods?
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That's because it's their job. As opposed to a hobby to cope with your job.imposter2.0 said:
Some riders at the higher echelons of cycling performance would argue the exact opposite - that taking a break from cycling is exactly what they need...airwise said:Let's see who opens up. Who here finds themselves suffering from depression when denied the pleasure of riding for long periods?
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Interesting subject.
In ‘21 I had a really good year cycling.
I lost two stone in weight, clocked over 5200 miles which was my most ever, I was fitter, faster, stronger than I’d ever been.
‘22 started great. Averaging 150 miles a week for Jan & Feb, then I caught covid!
Six weeks later I was feeling able to start riding again, albeit not with the kind of form I wanted.
Then Mid-May I had a motorcycle accident and suffered a ruptured ACL, torn median meniscus and a fracture in my knee… :-(
I had four weeks barely weight-bearing, and have slowly been able to get back to where I can cycle. I haven’t clocked a 100+ mile week since W/E 6th February.
I’m on a waiting list for surgery on the knee now, but as it’s not life-threatening, it won’t happen quickly.
I’ve never suffered depression, but this, this episode has really got me down. I think it’s because I don’t know when it will end. I feel fragile, I feel weak.
Weight is piling back on. Every time I ride I feel pathetic. It’s honestly the worst I’ve ever felt in my life. Everything I worked so hard for is gone.
This has even effected other aspects of my life, such as work.
My drama will end, eventually, and I really feel for you if you cannot ride at all any more.
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I can only echo this. In fact, I've had the same fraudulent feelings, which have stopped me looking for a formal diagnosis despite showing/feeling many of the symptoms of depression.Munsford0 said:@ johngti
"So I'd characterise myself as being somewhat down. And that makes me feel like a fraud because, in the grand scheme of things, I have it easy, especially seeing what some people I know are going through"
That's a common misconception. That you can only be depressed if your life is really crappy, that you need to have something to be depressed about. It's patently not true, so you should not feel at all fraudulent.
I've had bouts of profound depression at times when life has been ostensibly pretty good. No job, money, health or relationship worries, but BAM, suddenly don't want to get out of bed, and can't bear to be around other people and pretending everything's fine. But in my head it's a whirlwind of self-loathing and negative thoughts I can't silence.
I use exercise as medicine to combat this, usually running, and have been most consistent with running when I've been struggling with my mental health. It gives me the headspace to manage what ever I'm struggling with. My lowest point came in late 2020 - I wasn't really coping with lockdown, I was unhappy with my job, and I thought my marriage was failing. I'd also badly twisted my ankle so couldn't do any exercise. I truly believe I would have handled things much better if I'd been able to get out and run. To be honest, I'm not sure how I managed to get through that period. Things did improve as the year progressed but took a dramatic turn for the worse at the start of 202, but I was running again by then and it was my saviour.
I wouldn't say I have sucidal tendencies, but at my lowest points I have wondered if the world would be better of without me, and how and where I might take my life. If I find myself having those thoughts then I'm self aware enough to know that I need to exercise more. I'm not convinced I would act on the thoughts when I have them, but knowing how to address them helps, as does not having certain items in the house.
I also agree with the comments about people in general, but men in particular, needing to open more about these sorts of things. As part of my "recovery" in 2020 I qualified as a Mental Health First Aider. That did two things for me. Firstly it helped me understand my situation better, and secondly, perhaps most importantly, it's given the skills and confidence to support others who may be facing similar struggles.1 -
At some point the lack of endorphins will kick in. Even after a month or two, most will start feeling sluggish which is a symptom of depression.imposter2.0 said:
Some riders at the higher echelons of cycling performance would argue the exact opposite - that taking a break from cycling is exactly what they need...
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