Depression and racing

[on3m@n@rmy]

Well I turned a solid 3 week cycle in December felt good about that accept the fat chick at work decided to come in and give everyone the living hell cold. I was sick for 3 weeks. Jan was shot and I'm struggling again to put the miles in and it's already Feb. No motivation at all just hate the cold and all the rain, trainer is even worse. I feel like such a winer and weakling. I'm really sorry for wasting everyone's time here but it looks like I dropped the ball again.

You're not wasting anyone's time. And from this and your last post it sounds like you are on a good track. That's great news! Sorry I can't be any help on the physiology or performance side of things, but I'll bet someone in this forum can.

 

[Roland Rat]

Theres no doubt in my mind that there is something about cyclists be it their nature, or disposition that has a common link with mental health problems. There have and continue to be too many instances for it to be co-incidence.

I'd completely agree with this. For me, it started as an escape and then something I could do as a distraction. I had a.. difficult childhood and threw myself at cycling and studies to avoid what was happening elsewhere. All this time I was depressed, but as I was fairly successful it masked the problems for a while. But even when I was winning I would still tell myself it was because of someone else f***ing up, or I was just more developed, or I was more dedicated than everyone else and it wasn't a level playing field and as soon as everyone else caught up then it would show how s**t I really was. (After I won the GB youth champs you know what my stepfather said? "Huh. How many were in it, 2?") Then when it got more serious and people started looking at me (sponsored team, GB squad etc), I couldn't understand why - why couldn't they see I was just lucky and what would happen when they found out? For this reason I quit cycling to follow education before I lost that route through an unrealistic dream - I would never be good enough to be a pro, my ankles were too weak, my knees would give up, I don't have any ability I'm just lucky etc, and besides what's the point when they're all on drugs anyway. Didn't even look at a bike for 15 years. Looking back now, seeing what I did at 15/16, and seeing where some contemporaries are now... it hurts. But I'm back cycling and loving every minute of it.

Anyway, point is, don't let cycling mask the real problems in your life and by all means use it as a distraction, but don't ignore the underlying problem and don't place all of your self-esteem in your cycling ability. It will only last so long, and even if you do well the depression will tell you it's not really your success.

FWIW, I didn't like using meds. My depression came to a head when I was about 19 and had a bit of a breakdown. The meds were great for a while, but they only mask the problem and as soon as you come off them you're back to square 1

 

[Elegant Degenerate]

Taking tabs for depression is a waste of time. I mean come on, using pharmacuticals to increase our serotonin levels when all we have to do is get sufficient carbs each day and things will be ok? YES! its that simple! Go out on a long ride and ride until you bonk. Do you feel happy and wanting to tackle life in the big ring? Of course not. You want to quit, you hate it, you think this is how you will feel forever and many quit cycling all together.

Ive been racing since 97 and seen lots of crew come and go. A common theme is crew trying to cut carb calories to cut weight and then they get depressed 100% of the time and reach for drugs to treat the symptom when they are ignoring the cause. OR they ignorantly undereat carbs and become undercarbed longterm and the body sends signals of depression to let it know it aint happy with the situation.

Ive NEVER met a depressed person that was eating over 10g of carbs per kg of bodyweight per day. EVER. Once we start doing that for a few weeks then we notice profound shifts in mental state. Then we start to hydrate and sleep proper as a result. (cant hydrate/sleep proper when your undercarbed).

Sometimes the solution is so simple people are shocked at the answer and the fact that big pharma is bigger than oil now lets us know we are missing the obvious and need to pay attention to addressing the causes vs treating the symptom.

G When our body is carbed up, hydrated and well slept as a result of sufficient DAILY carb intake then life takes on a whole new level.

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2004/carbs.html

You really are an idiot.

 

[Rainbike]

Motivation is returning

Things are getting a bit better I'm starting to think it's the Northwest weather....but now I have been diagnosed with another bulging disc at t6 I think. Doc said it happened a while ago and I know it was when I had a run of crashes. Now I'm focused on rehab and no more pain. I can't push through it anymore so hopefully I can at least get in 20 races in the late season.

Thanks again,
Cheers

 

[JayKosta]

Regarding Carbs & diet...
Some people do have unnoticed trouble with wheat products (due to having trouble digesting gluten).

You might consider doing a few week 'test' of eliminating wheat products (google 'gluten intolerance' to find basic info - and how to read the food labels.
Most grocery stores have a 'gluten free' section, and a microwave oven works great for cooking rice (once you get the water:rice amount correct for a particular bag of rice).

Going gluten-free can be a lot of work and aggravtion, but it might help...

Jay Kosta
(not a doc, etc.)
Endwell NY USA

 

[Boeing]

Tell us about your mother....

 

[Granville57]

<snip>a waste of time<snip>

Ive NEVER met a depressed person that was eating over 10g of carbs per kg of bodyweight per day. EVER. Once we start doing that for a few weeks then we notice profound shifts in mental state. Then we start to hydrate and sleep proper as a result. (cant hydrate/sleep proper when your undercarbed).

<snip>pay attention<snip>

I guess this is what it took for me to finally acknowledge your ridiculousness. There can certainly be no doubt that you are an expert on all things you. But don't be so irresponsible as to suggest that you somehow have insight into everyone else.

Speaking for myself, which is all I would ever attempt to do on this topic: Everything you state above is 100% wrong.

By following a program that is pretty much the antithesis to everything your carry on about, I found myself in the best shape of my life after decades of struggling with erratic sleep, dramatic mood swings, and dark holes of depression.

Without rehashing too much of a very old and tired debate, it was in the hopes of overcoming years of fatigue and depression that I became a vegetarian for several years and a fairly strict vegan for three of those years. But not once did I ever preach about it to anyone else because I would have no way of knowing what works for other people.

A series of events led me to explore the Atkins "diet." It changed my life. By switching to a high protein, very low carb regimen, I noticed many changes, all of which were beneficial.

I became leaner and more fit than at any time in my life.
For the first time ever, I was able to go to bed early in the evening and wake up very early in the morning after a night of undisturbed sleep.
I was more mentally alert and my energy levels were more consistent than they had ever been.
All my signs of depression disappeared.

I was cycling, running and hitting the gym more consistently than at any time previous in my life.
In my early forties I was easily in the best overall shape of my life.
It was during this period that I sacrificed time on my bike to focus on running, and to successfully train for my first marathon and compete in duathlons. I never once ate a high-carb diet prior to a race.

Eating this way proved to be extremely effective for me and I learned, in time, just when and how much carb consumption I could get away with (I never said they didn't taste good, and they are neccesary, for me, during long rides and intense racing). And when I did consume carbs, my body processed them much more efficiently.

I also learned that the darkness of depression can easily return if my carb intake (and no, I'm not just talking about refined sugars and the like here) goes beyond a certain level. What you recommend would be nothing short of disastrous for me.

Everyone needs to find their own path.
To suggest otherwise, with self-absorbed blanket statements, is pure idiocy.
And in this case, quite possibly hugely irresponsible.

 

[Boeing]

I get depressed when I suck

 

[Barracuda]

You first need to figure out why you are depressed. Depression is caused by your instincts telling you you are doing something wrong in life.

Cycling will help you get over depression, but it won't fix the underlying problem.

Disagree with this .... I have suffered from depression for over 20 years and no amout of cognative therapy or alternatives helped my daily battle with depression and social phobia..... in the end it came down to simple chemistry...... my body lacked enough ceratonin ... got prescribed medication that i take once a day and i am lving a happy healthy life, on and off the bike.....I will however agree that a life event can trigger a depressive state but the "fix" is wide a varied depending on the individual, no-one should be made feel guilty about having depression... its real and it effects more people than we realize

 

[Marva32]

Taking tabs for depression is a waste of time. I mean come on, using pharmacuticals to increase our serotonin levels when all we have to do is get sufficient carbs each day and things will be ok? YES! its that simple! Go out on a long ride and ride until you bonk. Do you feel happy and wanting to tackle life in the big ring? Of course not. You want to quit, you hate it, you think this is how you will feel forever and many quit cycling all together.

Ive been racing since 97 and seen lots of crew come and go. A common theme is crew trying to cut carb calories to cut weight and then they get depressed 100% of the time and reach for drugs to treat the symptom when they are ignoring the cause. OR they ignorantly undereat carbs and become undercarbed longterm and the body sends signals of depression to let it know it aint happy with the situation.

Ive NEVER met a depressed person that was eating over 10g of carbs per kg of bodyweight per day. EVER. Once we start doing that for a few weeks then we notice profound shifts in mental state. Then we start to hydrate and sleep proper as a result. (cant hydrate/sleep proper when your undercarbed).

Sometimes the solution is so simple people are shocked at the answer and the fact that big pharma is bigger than oil now lets us know we are missing the obvious and need to pay attention to addressing the causes vs treating the symptom.

G When our body is carbed up, hydrated and well slept as a result of sufficient DAILY carb intake then life takes on a whole new level.

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2004/carbs.html

There is more than an issue of seratonin levels when dealing with depression. Not everybody who is clinically depressed uses SSRIs.

Eating carbs is not the answer, and can lead to additional complications. I wound up gaining a lot of weight despite eating what you are recommending, and it did not do a thing about the depression.

As for your racing since 1997, BIG DEAL. I was originally diagnosed with depression more than 10 years before that. Without living through the experience, or having training in the field, your observations are just that, observations, but not something based in fact.

A poster earlier said that therapy is a good alternative. I'm not sure that it is necessarily an alternative to medication, but if a person is on medication, they should also be in some form of therapy.

Somebody else stated that no therapy worked for them. I can understand that, I had to take courses in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy three times before I started to really understand it and be able to use it. If the therapist you are with isn't working for you, find somebody else that does. Most of it is about trust, and the ability to be honest with yourself.