Cycing, evidence of mental illness?

[Anonymous]

could very well be low aminos...

im on a general batch of vitamins and aminos now just to try and cure the anxiety... but the more i read on benefits of amino acids with anxiety, depression etc the more i wonder..

it stands to reason that a cyclists reserves are up and down, essential minerals etc..

as far as amino acids go, they seem a big factor in depression and anxiety, now you should get these aminos from food, but food is becoming more and more processed, even fresh veg is mass force grown, etc, we cook it to long, and also physical exercise will naturally burn some of these acids...

we get the high from the adrenalin, but many people get the low as well..

its certainly something that i think needs future research...

 

[tifosa]

Being a cyclist is not evidence of mental illness. However, many a cyclist does have a preternaturally high AQ (*** quotient). I believe the formula is:

(Campagnolo everything + obsessive personal knowledge of professional cyclists VO2 Max) / (personal lactate threshold x the sum of public venue admissions to having friendships with any current or former professional cyclist) = preternaturally high AQ

Anything above 9 is off the charts. At least my ex's was. He's why I took up golf and went on a self-imposed 10 year bike moratorium.

Of course, now I have a high golf AQ. Shame, really.

What's a sporty girl to do?

 

[Anonymous]

What's a sporty girl to do?

why did i think you where a guy?

i really am having a very bad day

 

[CentralCaliBike]

Being a cyclist is not evidence of mental illness. However, many a cyclist does have a preternaturally high AQ (*** quotient). I believe the formula is:

(Campagnolo everything + obsessive personal knowledge of professional cyclists VO2 Max) / (personal lactate threshold x the sum of public venue admissions to having friendships with any current or former professional cyclist) = preternaturally high AQ

Anything above 9 is off the charts. At least my ex's was. He's why I took up golf and went on a self-imposed 10 year bike moratorium.

Of course, now I have a high golf AQ. Shame, really.

What's a sporty girl to do?

Excellent observations - although I bet the fact that I ride Shimano does not protect me from the above equation.

 

[Hugh Januss]

why did i think you where a guy?

Wouldn't that be "tifoso" then?

 

[usedtobefast]

Excellent observations - although I bet the fact that I ride Shimano does not protect me from the above equation.

i think it does actually, mostly,...maybe...not

 

[tifosa]

Wouldn't that be "tifoso" then?

Yes. Still doesn't change my high AQ. I'm quite sure when I was in utero I made mention of high IQ. Oh well.

Cali, alas, no protection.

I yam what I yam.

 

[CentralCaliBike]

Cali, alas, no protection.

Even if it is Ultegra?

 

[tifosa]

Even if it is Ultegra?

Yes. Even if it's Ultegra with sprinkles on top.

Still, what are you going to do? Deny who you are? Just embrace the AQ, but remember your humble beginnings.

 

[Anonymous]

well, this was sensible for a while..

 

[CentralCaliBike]

well, this was sensible for a while..

I take it you ride Campag - seriously, the answer to the question is somewhat obvious since everyone has some degree of personality disorder. Serious riding means that you are out in the elements (good weather or bad) for hours every week, that is compulsive by definition

 

[Anonymous]

I take it you ride Campag - seriously, the answer to the question is somewhat obvious since everyone has some degree of personality disorder. Serious riding means that you are out in the elements (good weather or bad) for hours every week, that is compulsive by definition

yeh i know.. think im more sensitive on this one because i have some small problems, but also know a fair few people who ride who have either depression or anxiety issues.. there for me is definately a link... and i really do think there is a chemical imbalance link somewhere along the line..

im gonna do some more reading on this amino malarky i think...

as far as bike goes.. no campag.. i survive day to day on a crappy £150 touring bike.. the old road bike is in the shed, but is unlikely to be rebuilt, its 20 years old and finding parts is a headache, but also with me now sick full time money is a wee bit tight.. the touring bike is a heap of junk (the pedals probably are worth more than the bike).. but managed 1000k on it this summer, end of july and august which wasnt bad.. itll do.. buts its probably why my anxiety is a bit worse the last two weeks, motivating yourself to go out in the cold and rain on a pile of junk is hard work.. but, exercise is an amazing benefit to mental illness.. (im not nuts, i just scare easily ).. roll on march when i will finally get my redundancy money.. boardman hybrid unless i can find something better..

which again is why as earlier poster mentioned, do some hard riding and then take a break and during the break your body can get very down... so imagine riding for ten years, and then stopping.. no wonder ex cyclists suffer with depression, their body simply is no longer producing the hormones etc it needs to be happy, certain minerals arent there, certain minerals are their in abundance and it all goes tits up..

 

[Laszlo]

but that would not apply exclusively to cycling; there are many many other outdoor activities that others partipate in to the same level of dedication; it could be jogging, hiking, mountain climbing, sailing etc.Mental illness suggests an abnormality- but it can't be considered abnormal if there are a large number of participants; like left handedness vs right; and that is not considered being mentally abnormal. Mental illness means there is something wrong with ones brain- and the question is is cycling an outward manefestation of that illness, perhaps a precursor to later suicide attempts- and I think while there are many examples of suicide victims who were pro cyclists, I think there are many more examples of those who continued to live rich fullfilling lives- so cycling could be just a coincidental detail and not any kind of indication of mental illness.

 

[Anonymous]

so cycling could be just a coincidental detail and not any kind of indication of mental illness.

well there are two seperate issues i guess.. mental illness, and mental health...

some people are born naturally with mental illnesses that may lie dormant for some time, some people become mentally unhealthy... is there a link between mental illness and people with illness choosing to cycle, and is there a link between certain sports, or maybe stopping doing those sports that may effect peoples mental health...

for instance in my case, anxeity is not a mental illness, it is a mental health issue that is overcomable.. for some people, depression is a mental illness that they have always had..

 

[Anonymous]

i see it something like this...

a rider competes for 20 years, and in that time, he is training, taking nutrients, minerals, vitamins, looking after, as far as he is concerned, his body.. nothing else occurs to him, he is keeping his body in peak condition.. but he is also keeping his mind in peak condition.. he just doesnt think about that, nobody told him about keeping his brain healthy, he just focuses on his body...

he retires, trains less, his eating habits go, he doesnt take the minerals and vitamins so much any more because he thinks "well my body isnt racing anymore, it doesnt need to so much..." When he wakes up one day and goes out for a ride, his body tells him that it isnt as strong anymore, but he knows that, he puts it down to lack of exersice, or diet being poorer, not taking the supplements any more.. but he recognises the signs of a weaker body, he understands them, so its not an issue...

but he doesnt know, he wasnt just keeping his body fit, he was also keeping his brain fit.. so without those extra nutrients, the minerals, etc its not just his body that isnt as good..

so he wakes up one morning, and feels a bit down.... but unlike his body which he understands, he doesnt understand his mind, he just thinks hes down... he doesn't know how to fix what is wrong with it like he does his body... and if your body hurts, or isnt strong enough you rest it.. when your brain isnt strong enough, when it gets down, you dont rest it, you worry, you worry about being down, anxiety sets in, and you become mentally unhealthy...

weve all felt the come down a few days after the high of a long ride... what causes that.. mental, chemical, hormonal.... or all just in the head...?

do mental people become cyclists.. maybe, but no more so than those who become track athletes or sailors...
can cyclists become mental... definately

i have no doubt at all in my mind that had i NOT stopped cycling ten-fifteen years ago i would certainly be healthier in body now, so why not healthier in mind...?

then again, was the fact that i use to run in from work, run up the stairs, get changed, get straight out and do 30-50miles and not be happy unless i did that.. a sign that i was nuts..

 

[CentralCaliBike]

yeh i know.. think im more sensitive on this one because i have some small problems, but also know a fair few people who ride who have either depression or anxiety issues.. there for me is definately a link... and i really do think there is a chemical imbalance link somewhere along the line..

im gonna do some more reading on this amino malarky i think...

as far as bike goes.. no campag.. i survive day to day on a crappy £150 touring bike.. the old road bike is in the shed, but is unlikely to be rebuilt, its 20 years old and finding parts is a headache, but also with me now sick full time money is a wee bit tight.. the touring bike is a heap of junk (the pedals probably are worth more than the bike).. but managed 1000k on it this summer, end of july and august which wasnt bad.. itll do.. buts its probably why my anxiety is a bit worse the last two weeks, motivating yourself to go out in the cold and rain on a pile of junk is hard work.. but, exercise is an amazing benefit to mental illness.. (im not nuts, i just scare easily ).. roll on march when i will finally get my redundancy money.. boardman hybrid unless i can find something better..

which again is why as earlier poster mentioned, do some hard riding and then take a break and during the break your body can get very down... so imagine riding for ten years, and then stopping.. no wonder ex cyclists suffer with depression, their body simply is no longer producing the hormones etc it needs to be happy, certain minerals arent there, certain minerals are their in abundance and it all goes tits up..

I started riding myself way back because a friend was getting into racing and I thought it would be fun (besides I had been watching the TdF for a few years at that time). It came in handy having a new bike when I started law school since I did not have a car. I also found a number of fellow students with bikes and we would ride three to four times a week (perhaps 20 miles for social Fridays and 30-50 the rest of the week).

When I got out of school I continued to ride until the work schedule (and marriage along with a couple of great kids) removed any and all spare time. It is interesting to me, since I have been accused of being a LA fanboy, that I did not have time to ride during his TdF wins and only got back on the bike in 2006. While off the bike I started realizing a lot of stress (a failing marriage did not help). When my personal life crashed I got back on the bike mostly to spend time with my kids, then found that it was a great form of stress relief - I am feeling better than I have since I stopped riding about 10 years ago.

I know I have spent way to much getting back to riding on equipment (but that includes bikes for growing kids) and I was even able to resurrect my old law school bike with semi-modern equipment thanks to eBay and Serrota classifieds.

Personally, I believe that serious riding is both a sign of various personality traits (disorders) but also a means of coping, with healthy side effects. A few years ago a psychologist commented to me that it was her belief that anyone with an advanced educational degree had some level of an obsessive compulsive disorder - that without the disorder it would be nearly impossible to study at the level necessary to achieve the degree. I believe this same dedication translates to cycling (or any other activity that requires intense efforts three to four times a week - often in solitude).

 

[Laszlo]

but he doesnt know, he wasnt just keeping his body fit, he was also keeping his brain fit.. so without those extra nutrients, the minerals, etc its not just his body that isnt as good..

I found it much harder to concentrate on math problems while or just after cycling- I am sure that my IQ dropped during or right after a ride; I know that it might sound humorous, but I think the experience is not unique.

( long rides, something to pass the time or distract mental focus from pain or discomfort )

 

[Laszlo]

Personally, I believe that serious riding is both a sign of various personality traits (disorders) but also a means of coping, with healthy side effects. A few years ago a psychologist commented to me that it was her belief that anyone with an advanced educational degree had some level of an obsessive compulsive disorder - that without the disorder it would be nearly impossible to study at the level necessary to achieve the degree. I believe this same dedication translates to cycling (or any other activity that requires intense efforts three to four times a week - often in solitude).

that takes out fo context a natural ability or any other motive; studying hard for the sake of a rich rewarding career; an interest in the subject- it seems the psychologist might have passed her exams but did not have such a natural insight in her field concerning psychological motivations in others...

 

[Anonymous]

When my personal life crashed I got back on the bike mostly to spend time with my kids, then found that it was a great form of stress relief - I am feeling better than I have since I stopped riding about 10 years ago.

sorry about the story, but it is becoming a familiar one..
do people who ride have underlying issues, maybe
is exercise a stress relief.. definitely
can stopping exercise and the change in the bodies chemical balance contribute to creating stress, thats what im trying to work out..

 

[zealot66]

Im fairly new to cycling, just three years actually riding, more watching. I also have other compulsive traits. I have an advanced degree in History. When I pick a subject that interests me. Ill find every scrap of information I can down to reading the farming statistics of the former rhodesia during their insurgency and finding links between productivity and the war. Studying German rail systems in ww2. All kinds of stuff, people look at me sometimes like Im nuts when I start talking about some small war in africa that happened 40 years ago. As simple as cycling seems to the public, I have found it melds all of the mechanical, technical, mental, psychological components to devote years to study with the idea of mastery over oneself. Im a bit obsessive.

I know right now the weather went to crap and I havent been riding for two weeks. I will have my trainer in another two weeks and Im afraid of losing fitness. I spend a quarter of the day lamenting that I cant ride and checking my clothes to see if they fit tighter. I was the same way with my former sports. Weight used to be a big deal. Like 2 or 3 times a day weighing myself. I never ever step on a scale unless at the doc's now because I find scales evil and lying sacks of uncalibrated metal.

 

[CentralCaliBike]

Im fairly new to cycling, just three years actually riding, more watching. I also have other compulsive traits. I have an advanced degree in History. When I pick a subject that interests me. Ill find every scrap of information I can down to reading the farming statistics of the former rhodesia during their insurgency and finding links between productivity and the war. Studying German rail systems in ww2. All kinds of stuff, people look at me sometimes like Im nuts when I start talking about some small war in africa that happened 40 years ago. As simple as cycling seems to the public, I have found it melds all of the mechanical, technical, mental, psychological components to devote years to study with the idea of mastery over oneself. Im a bit obsessive.

I know right now the weather went to crap and I havent been riding for two weeks. I will have my trainer in another two weeks and Im afraid of losing fitness. I spend a quarter of the day lamenting that I cant ride and checking my clothes to see if they fit tighter. I was the same way with my former sports. Weight used to be a big deal. Like 2 or 3 times a day weighing myself. I never ever step on a scale unless at the doc's now because I find scales evil and lying sacks of uncalibrated metal.

It seems that you fit right in.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Im fairly new to cycling, just three years actually riding, more watching. I also have other compulsive traits. I have an advanced degree in History. When I pick a subject that interests me. Ill find every scrap of information I can down to reading the farming statistics of the former rhodesia during their insurgency and finding links between productivity and the war. Studying German rail systems in ww2. All kinds of stuff, people look at me sometimes like Im nuts when I start talking about some small war in africa that happened 40 years ago. As simple as cycling seems to the public, I have found it melds all of the mechanical, technical, mental, psychological components to devote years to study with the idea of mastery over oneself. Im a bit obsessive.

I know right now the weather went to crap and I havent been riding for two weeks. I will have my trainer in another two weeks and Im afraid of losing fitness. I spend a quarter of the day lamenting that I cant ride and checking my clothes to see if they fit tighter. I was the same way with my former sports. Weight used to be a big deal. Like 2 or 3 times a day weighing myself. I never ever step on a scale unless at the doc's now because I find scales evil and lying sacks of uncalibrated metal.

Not quite sure what you are saying.
Is that 1 vote in favor of the hypothesis that cycling attracts .....erm more unstable individuals?

 

[COLIN LAING]

Mental Illness

All my active life, I have been told I was nuts and strangely didn't agree with those stating this,,,I am now 72 years old and have been riding and competing since 1948.
Last Christmas time I was told by a series of Doctors that I had Muscular Dystrophy ( which I suppose is a trait of mental illness) all I knew was that I was becoming hopeless on the climbs and my muscles were gradually disappearing .Each week, I would go on the ride and each week would be a complete "let-down".
I have found now that I can't grip the handlebars, apply the ergo brakelevers or change gear....but, since I'm a nut I still turn up for the ride, dressed up all spiffy and grind away ( sometimes attacking) and end up at the end a basket case.
The Doctors are in two minds,,,firstly they have banned me from riding, but then they say my illness is hereditory and would of come on with a wheel-chair promise 40 years ago,,,the very act of me being so active.kept it in limbo.I ran 47 full marathons ( finishing 3rd in the Masters Worlds twice)...won the Masters Worlds duathlon 3 times etc..etcc...all this because I am a looney-toon.
I can't now run 200 yards without collapsing on the side-walk so the bike is my main exercise,,Can't think of the let-down which is rapidly approaching.

So, I am totally a nut case but if I wasn't, I would be a cabbage in a wheel=chair...something I wouldn't enjoy unless I could competein that division.

Looking forward to being smashed again next week...Colin Laing

 

[Anonymous]

All my active life, I have been told I was nuts.....

Looking forward to being smashed again next week...Colin Laing

wow.... respect Hats off to you..


on a seperate note, and ive been thinking about this a bit.. there is something with anxiety called Derealization, basically you feel slightly out of your body, or somewhere else and have to be kinda snapped back into your own body again.. casting my mind back, there where probably a hundred times where id experienced that one the bike, suddenly realising i had been riding without looking, or i had become the white line on the road...

I always put it down to adrenalin, or just being tired..

 

[zealot66]

I think this is sort of a hypnosis that comes with repetitive motion. The mind wanders and leaves the present. Happens on long drives to me because my internal dialogue starts going crazy. No, no other voices, Im just discussing things with myself.