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Cycing, evidence of mental illness?

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Jul 25, 2009
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dimspace said:
...but i also look at a lot of cylists, and their mental state and wonder if i had been anywhere near half decent if i would have coped with it, or more importantly, would i have coped without it...

i think there is definately something in the pysche that makes a man want to punish himself physically, rider hundreds of miles a week, thousands of miles a year, often by themselves..

there is also definately, something in cycling for those suffering from anxiety, or depression, or other non physical illnesses...

Great post dim.
 
Jun 18, 2009
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dimspace said:
at the moment cycling is one thing i really do enjoy, im virtually back to my old self, but it is constantly there, but cycling is the one time i can actually feel completely myself (although strenous cycling brings its own problems, breathing associated with breathlessness, leaves your brain thinking, am i just knackered, or is this a panic attack...)

.. but also that the bicyle at the moment is my saviour..

If I may be so bold as to re-phrase. For some of us, "It IS about the bike."
 
Jun 18, 2009
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BikeCentric said:
The people I ride with are definitely guilty of being ruthless Type A personality Sociopaths with a side helping of extreme masochism, but aside from that are quite normal.

Those are the people I work with. That's why I ride alone.
 
RTMcFadden said:
Those are the people I work with. That's why I ride alone.

In that case I sympathize with you as I have to work with some people like that too. And this is why I also ride alone most of the time (group ride or race once a week at most).
 
Jul 23, 2009
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RTMcFadden said:
Those are the people I work with. That's why I ride alone.

I keep trying to get the competitive types in my office (which excludes no one) out on the road. Maybe that is because they are very nice sociopaths or perhaps it is because I do not want to drink... I mean ride alone. I mean, if others are doing it then I do not really have a problem.

Seriously, I end up riding alone at least a couple of nights a week because that is the time I have and no one else wants to ride in the dark. I enjoy company on rides but find that my rides cover the same distances in shorter amounts of time when I am riding by myself. In the end I suspect that I have addictive tendencies (one reason I never experimented with alcohol or drugs) and know there is some level of obsessive compulsive behavior that allows me to continue to ride when it is dark and cold during the winter months.
 
Jul 22, 2009
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Mark Rendell author of the Life and death of Marco Pantani hypothesized that there may be metal issues at the heart of some of great climbers we have seen, Pantani, José Jiménez; then there's the track champion Obree and I'm sure there are many others as this is just off the top of my head.
 
May 6, 2009
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Rene Pottier (winner of the 1906 TdF) found out in 1907 that whilst he was out winning the Tour, he went out and hung himself in his work basement.
 
Oct 27, 2009
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craig1985 said:
Rene Pottier (winner of the 1906 TdF) found out in 1907 that whilst he was out winning the Tour, he went out and hung himself in his work basement.
But he did have big problems with his wife, right? Of course problems with wife might have something to do with guy riding bike all the time?
 
Oct 29, 2009
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I think this happens becasue they are in a deep stress when they race most of the time. They work along and too tired.

Most of my friend including my self have been riding bikes for over 15 years, all i have leard is fun :D
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Interesting thread and interesting posting

I've always thought cyclists are a little on the different side of things, but I wouldn't call it a 'mental illness' as it implies something is 'wrong' with this. I'm not being politically correct here (becoz I hate political correctness) but I think cyclists just have different personalities, rather than illness

As for addiction, I personally think everyone is addicted to something, and most of the time it is a healthy addiction, but when you enjoy something it is perfectly rational to continue to do that act over and over whilst other people look at you and think you are weird, we probably look at people who read books all day and think they are weird, but you gotta do the things you enjoy
 
Oct 9, 2009
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sports have always been my coping mechanism. And individual sports allow me to captain my own ship. I love to delve into my self and gain alot of self esteem from accomplishing goals that can be credited to no one but myself. Being able to do a century or a marathon or drive yourself to utter exhaustion day after day is against most peoples nature. Infliction of pain on oneself is useful if it produces good results.

I also think that endurance athletes have a drive to do what others cannot and seperate themselves from others. I love the solitude of training and watching others suffer when I drop them. You can be a jerk without really being one.:cool:
 
Aug 3, 2009
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Yes it is an obsession,masochistic to a degree(climbing 14 1/2mile 35 degree hills is not everyones idea of a Sunday stroll:eek:)habit forming,but at the end of the day when I check my pulse rate and its at 39 bpm this 57 year old body says thanks;)
 
Jul 23, 2009
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broken chain said:
Yes it is an obsession,masochistic to a degree(climbing 14 1/2mile 35 degree hills is not everyones idea of a Sunday stroll:eek:)habit forming,but at the end of the day when I check my pulse rate and its at 39 bpm this 57 year old body says thanks;)

35 degrees is 70%, no wonder you have such a low BPM!

Funny thing is, I can't think of more relaxed, less obsessive people than the guys I ride MTB with. The rides are hard, but not ridden at race pace. The guys are relaxed, easy, and never dwell on problems at work or at home. None of them mess with the bike unless something breaks, then they just find a way to work around the problem.

Now the guys I ride the roads with on Saturdays, many of them are pretty obsessive. Obsessed with competition, obsessed with image, obsessed with the problems of the previous week, obsessed with tinkering with the bike and how it fits them. Always trying to find perfection, and always punishing themselves physically.

Both have their advantages and I enjoy riding with all of them. I have no idea why the difference or if it is just characteristics of these two particular groups. But it is interesting to observe.
 
Jul 23, 2009
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pedaling squares said:
35 degrees is 70%, no wonder you have such a low BPM!

Funny thing is, I can't think of more relaxed, less obsessive people than the guys I ride MTB with. The rides are hard, but not ridden at race pace. The guys are relaxed, easy, and never dwell on problems at work or at home. None of them mess with the bike unless something breaks, then they just find a way to work around the problem.

Now the guys I ride the roads with on Saturdays, many of them are pretty obsessive. Obsessed with competition, obsessed with image, obsessed with the problems of the previous week, obsessed with tinkering with the bike and how it fits them. Always trying to find perfection, and always punishing themselves physically.

Both have their advantages and I enjoy riding with all of them. I have no idea why the difference or if it is just characteristics of these two particular groups. But it is interesting to observe.

Interesting observation - I would like to hear others who are involved heavily in both road and MTB to see if there is some consistency here. I ride MTB myself but not often and not with a group of like minded riders so do not have a decent grasp on the MTB mentality.
 
Jul 7, 2009
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broken chain said:
Yes it is an obsession,masochistic to a degree(climbing 14 1/2mile 35 degree hills is not everyones idea of a Sunday stroll:eek:)habit forming,but at the end of the day when I check my pulse rate and its at 39 bpm this 57 year old body says thanks;)

Daggone! You go boy!

One of the main reasons I like cycling is that how good I feel afterwards.
It sure gets the endorphins going for me.
I'm only a couple of years younger than yourself.
 
Oct 27, 2009
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Certainly agree with the endorphins! Sometimes feeling like crap or underprepared for a ride most times I go anyway. When finished I feel 5 years younger, thinner, etc. Anyone have heightened interest in numbers because of cycling? PEs, watts, KMs, etc...
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
???

You're just jealous because the Rice Crispies only talk to me.
 
Jul 23, 2009
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I personally do not think it is a sign of mental illness that I road with a social group this morning, had a break with them and then went out hard this afternoon after they left. It can all be explained from a weather standpoint - the sun was shining, there was almost no wind, and my legs felt good.
 
Sep 12, 2009
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Mental illness,

Would you really call it a mental illness or a manifestation of being more than ordinary.
 
I think one needs to make the distinction of whether riding 20 hours a week is normal (no it is not) with whether it is a mental disorder (unlikely).

Also do cyclists have a higher propensity for mental disorders than the general population (I haven't heard of any studies)? And if they do, is it because cycling causes mental disorders or cycling attracts people who have mental disorders?
 
Jul 22, 2009
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hulkgogan said:
I think one needs to make the distinction of whether riding 20 hours a week is normal (no it is not) with whether it is a mental disorder (unlikely).

Also do cyclists have a higher propensity for mental disorders than the general population (I haven't heard of any studies)? And if they do, is it because cycling causes mental disorders or cycling attracts people who have mental disorders?

you have very good questions that would need to be properly researched before an answer; and even then the answer could be subject to philosophical debate as to why we do what we do and the nature or meaning of free will
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
this is actually fairly interesting..

im just starting on a recommended course of vitamins, minerals etc to try and combat my anxiety as i dont want to go down the drug route (theyve been prescribed but ive not taken them)..

pile of pills daily, but include vitamin D, cod liver oil (with A and D in it).. but more interestingly, there are a number of links with mental health issues and Amino Acids, Magnesium and also Vitamin B

Magnesium is obviously gained through diet, green vegetables etc, and is very much a dietary issue, although many people have low magnesium and it can cause mental health issues, but also is caused by mental health issues..

but the amino acids is much more interesting.. Lack of amino acids has many many links to mental health, especially anxiety, depression etc, there are many reports of people with anxiety taking amino fluid and seeing a massive improvement...

but of course, many intensive sportsman, and lets face it cycling is one of the most intensive sports, do burn through their essential aminos.. and can be defficient...

there is an awful lot of information out there (google mental health and amino acids), and it does make me wonder.. obviously a pro cyclist is having his diet constantly monitored, but i do wonder, after they quit, they still ride heavily, but maybe the diet changes, maybe they are missing out on some of these essentials..

is it possible, that some cyclists are burning up their resources of these amino acids, or perhaps not having a diet that gives them what they need (post retirement especiallY) and as a result are suffering more from mental health issues...
 
May 6, 2009
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5 months ago I rode 130km+ on a Monday (as it was a bank holiday), and the next day at work I felt as though I was on top of the world, and in a very good mood, but comethe day after and I was in a very grumpy mood. Always wondered how that would happen.

Did a good ride on Tuesday, but since then I have felt in a ****ty mood for some reason and feel a bit down for reasons I don't know.