SlimRider

Cycling assists with so many negative events in one's life. Cycling helped me through a divorce, through family deaths, also through smoking and drinking cessations...

Cycling combined with meditation can work wonders for those of us who are sometimes faced with occasionally mild forms of infrequent depression.

Otherwise, I would completely agree with Billy D's comment concerning counseling.

ThinLine

Louise has it right. Thanks

Elduderino2412

being active in almost anyway helps with depression. Especially exercise. Most really bad bouts of depression are when someone is just shut in the house not doing anything.

Bo-Ridley

You might have a look at this. https://www.moodcure.com/ I can't claim it is exactly what you are looking for but I've been reading the book and doing some of the supplements. Can't say it's changed my life but I'm going to try it for a while.

cinemattic

absolutely agree with everything that's been said. my job doesn't allow for a lot of free time (at least 14 hour days, not including travel), and when i have days off cycling helps clear the head. esp being a 20-something with all the money woes, relationship snafus, and forced family meetings. cycling has always been there, always will be there, and something i can enjoy by myself. nothing like being completely exhausted and winded when trying to deal with other problems. makes those hill repeats look like nothing.

Beaker

I assumed that a combination of endorphin release and upregulated endocannabinoids seem very consistent with having profound mood and brain chemistry altering effects.

ugaphinizy

One other comment on depression: one thing that makes me feel a lot better is just knowing it is depression. What kills me is when I can't pinpoint what is going on, and I forget that I am just having chemical issues in my brain. If I can take a step back and recognize that I am having chemical issues, it honestly makes me feel better. It also makes me feel better to know how many other people have these same issues. Our ancestors evolved millions of years to cope with lives very different from the ones we live today. We are surrounded by unnatural stresses, and they can be difficult for me to handle mentally. The rigidity of the five-day work week is a great example of an unnatural aspect of life that drives me slightly insane. I also teach, which can be stressful and emotionally challenging. We evolved to be much more physically active than most of us... Recognizing that this is the situation makes me feel much better.

jdon

Just the person I am looking for (see signature..)

While I am not a depressive, my wife and one daughter are and I have a pretty good understanding of what you are all going through. Find the right medication or combination of medications, see a therapist of some sort, ride your bikes and find something else that keeps your mind occupied. My girls find a lot of solace in various crafts. Lose the people in your life that can't understand this is an ilness and not something you can "snap out of". If your MD has trouble with writing a prescription, you need a new MD.

Best wishes and good health to all.

banerjek

Be sure to send your bikes to me first since you can't take them with you...

But seriously, do what it takes to feel right. I go nuts if I don't get my fix. I have no idea why it works, but I suspect the combination of rhythm, endorphins, and focus effectively works like meditation. Nonintuitively, there are few better ways to relax than to put yourself in pain for extended periods of time.

Mayday.JP

I was depressed earlier this year and when i started cycling again, It really helped me focus on something and get my mind off of all my problems. I've been unemployed for almost a year and sitting at home looking for jobs 3-4 hours a day was making things worse. My wife encouraged me to ride as much as i wanted and it helped so much to have something to look forward to, a goal and a physical activity that makes me break a sweat and gets me some sunshine.

Good luck, God bless and I hope you find some comfort and relief.

EmilRosenberg

I've been like this for as long as I can remember. Somedays everything feels so pointless. But I learned that I can be more cheerful if I only try to surround myself with things that don't bring me down. Training hard every day, eating healthy, setting up goals for myself and just living continuously good.

cplager

I think it is quite true that bicycling in particular and exercise in general can be very beneficial for people's mental health.

That being said, there are people who are clinically depressed and for many of these people bicycling alone is not enough. There is a lot of stigma about mental illness that unfortunately can get in the way of people getting the treatment (be it pharmaceutical or other) they need.

But, yes, bicycling makes everything better.

Cheers,
Charles

Dudelsack 

I started antidepressants in 2002 after crashing and burning from workaholism. In retrospect I wish I had started 20 years earlier but I couldn't man up to accepting the diagnosis.

Now one of my grown children has inherited the disease and, besides being miserable, manages to make everyone else miserable as well. I hope she sees the light before she loses her husband.

Cycling really helps. Regulating my work schedule helps a lot. Spiritual meditation helps when I bother to do it.

Thanks for starting the thread!

petalpower

What are some of the side effects of these prescription meds some of you are taking?

That is my biggest hangup - worried about side effects. I feel I can deal with the misery of depression easier than the host of side effects I've heard about.

Just wish I could be "happier" more often. Perhaps lose the short fuse I have.

banerjek

That's because they know that nononprofessionals sometimes confuse mental illness with garden variety idiocy. Especially here, I can see why that would be a concern.

Dudelsack 

Why the preemptive strike? No one here has been flippant...except for...

ThinLine

I'm glad I helped, I'm glad I was helped.
One of the biggest reasons for not having children is the fear of passing on this insidious mental state to someone not deserving of it. No one is.

Prayers help

baiskeli

You're not the only one. I'm prone to depression, and especially prone to S.A.D (Seasonal Affective Depression). I have a number of strategies, but cycling is the big one (Even in winter, I ride indoors for this very reason). Long term solution to deal with the S.A.D is to move someplace warmer (in the works), but the cycling definitely helps.

surgeonstone

Most commonly described for the majority of anti-depressents is loss of libido, both for men and women. Many are associated with some degree of sleep disruption, either more sleep or less. Many can cause weight gain, some weight loss. Most importantly, especially for the teenager/young adult, is the possibility of increased suicideality .

SlimRider

banerjek

No strike. Just because the overall tone of the conversations is serious doesn't mean that everything has to be heavy. If the contrast of tone weren't so high with the normal banter, others might find it easier to introduce similar topics.

ticktockpedal

someone mentioned having children and mental illness. my wife and are going forward with kids because while mental illness can be difficult, treatments are now more readily available, especially for younger kids. intervention when its needed is more common now. having experienced the lows of depression you really do wonder why you would want to pass that down to someone else. so i've thought about that too but fwiw that's not stopping us.

cycling is definately something that helps. scenic, racing, trails, whatever. makes you sleep great and gets you out there loving life.

Beachgrad05

Yes...good advice. Stopping this type of medication can be dangerous if done suddenly and w/o a doctor's assistance to titrate the dosage down.

I use to be treated for a mild form of depression and I was able to discontinue my medication in March of this year. Yes, there is still as stigma sadly with mental health issues. Many do not realize they have a biological basis in most instances.

qcpmsame 

+1 for not just stopping the prescribed medication(s). Let your doctor know what you are thinking about doing first, as said, you need to slowly titrate the dosage down before it can be safely stopped without doing you harm.

As to children, we have two, now grown and out in the world. One had S.A.D. and clinical depression that therapy helped tremendously, short term medication that the doc DX'ed when it was safe. Other has none so far, is an epileptic that uses medication for control. My family was my strength and they knew fully what was going on and were there for me, unconditionally. Getting safely off of the Rx pain medications was the biggest help in lifting the depression and that is a running gun battle with life lone chronic pain from all the surgeries and the C.R.F. I have (Stage 3B)

I wish everyone all the best in controlling this debilitating disease, bicycling/exercise has aided me greatly and I plan to ride for the rest of my days, hopefully for many, many years.

Bill

jan230

I haven't seen Cognitive Behavioral Therapy mentioned yet.
It finally helped me manage my alcoholism and depression after many years.
I was introduced to it while hospitalized after a suicide attempt 6 years ago.
My daughter has also had great success with it.
CBT,along with lots of exercise and a minimalist lifestyle have allowed me to stay off of medication and any drugs and alcohol.
Good luck,
Jan S