Happy mental health awareness week, I am very aware of my mental health.
I do this downright terrible dad joke every year this week (May 9-15, 2022, UK), where we’re told to think about ourselves and the mental health of our peers. A perfect time to think about doing something that can help, like riding a bike.
It doesn’t have to be long, it doesn’t have to be particularly arduous, it doesn’t even have to be outdoors; a short inside pedal can unleash the benefits of cycling. It can be alone, with a friend or with a cycling club. Just stretch your legs and try to get out of your own head a bit.
Since the start of the pandemic, I have certainly been well aware of how much riding a bike (and in a hurry, I admit it) can help my mind, can help relieve my anxiety and depression. Just an hour or so of exercise can change the shape of a day, trust me.
I also take antidepressants, but sometimes it’s just a quick turn of the pedals that really helps.
To tie in with Mental Health Awareness Week, weekly cycling spoke with sports and exercise psychologist Josephine Perry to find out how and why cycling can help your head.
The dopamine rush of exercise
(Image credit: Future)
It should be clear to everyone who exercises that you can get a positive burst of energy from just a little bit of exercise. The legendary ‘runner’s high’ really does exist, and it’s not far off for anyone; it could be just a ten minute cycle that lifts your mood.
“We know that exercise can be as effective as antidepressants in helping to deal with depressive symptoms,” says Perry. “So that’s clearly one of the most important things, for me, to deal with a mental health issue as you have it. One of the nice things about something like riding a bike is that you get the dopamine when you’re done. But also You feel like you’ve accomplished something.”
I know that getting on my bike, breathing in some fresh air, seeing a bit of countryside, can help change my whole way of thinking. Obviously, a bike ride is not a substitute for therapy or antidepressants/SSRIs, but it can really help. Its implementation is controversial and could be clumsy, but the idea of GPs prescribing exercise isn’t as ridiculous as it sounds.
Yes, a ‘stupid little walk for my mental health’ has become a cliché, but the lockdowns of the last few years have shown how important it is to spend some time outdoors. Obviously this can be difficult for some, so don’t forget how helpful spending time on a turbo trainer can be as well.
“It can be really hard when you have things like depression or anxiety, where it feels like you’re stuck and you’re not moving on,” Perry explains. “You might be looking at other people and feeling like you’re not doing what you should be doing. Something like riding a bike is really cool, because you can physically see that you’ve transported yourself from one place to another. So you feel that accomplishment.”
It is one of the many things that I love live in south bristol; the fact that in 10 minutes I can be in the field proper, it really blows my mind. If you live within walking distance of this, a little time out of town can be the difference between feeling stuck and cooling your head a bit.
connecting with others
(Image credit: Andy Jones 2014)
Cycling offers the opportunity to connect with others on multiple levels. Even if you’re not the most outgoing person, have a sense of belonging to a tribe. Maybe a nod or a chat while riding your bike is all you need to improve your mental health.
Obviously, there are also things like bike clubs and social rides that can offer a lot more in terms of meaningful connection. Riding alongside someone new or old and chatting about what’s going on in your head can sometimes seem so much easier than intense one-on-one time on the phone or at a table.
“It’s a good way to connect with other people,” says Perry. “Mental Health Awareness Week Theme [this year is] loneliness. I had a book that came out last year called the 10 pillars of success. You are looking at the 10 characteristics of life that we need if we are going to be truly successful. The first chapter belonged, and it was the first for a reason.”
I find both running and cycling clubs to be a great opportunity to meet new people, which can often be difficult as an adult. This is especially true during the pandemic, which has increased isolation, but on a more positive note, many more people have got into sport since covid started. This means that the clubs are often packed with people to meet.
I moved to a new city when I was 25 in 2020, which was not the ideal time to meet people and make new friends, but cycling has been a central part of how I have finally felt more at home.
“If we don’t feel like we belong, we have that feeling of loneliness, of being on the outside, of being unloved, of not being attached to others,” says Perry. “Cycling can be a really lovely way to belong.”
More than that, riding a bike can be a great identity, so it can be a good thing to be a part of. Social media platforms like Strava can allow people to see what others are doing and check in.
Perry explains: “Although I have a lot of problems with Strava, the fact that you’re there, and you’re seeing other people and you may not have traveled with them, but you’ve traveled the same roads and you’re connecting with people. You can see people enjoying the same things that you enjoy, building that sense of belonging.”
You can achieve and enjoy something through cycling.
(Image credit: Future)
When you’re deep in depression or spiraling into anxiety, it can be very difficult to feel like you’ve accomplished anything. A simple bike ride is a fantastic way to mark something off for the day, even if you’ve punished yourself by sitting inside most of the day or not getting out of bed.
Perry uses something called the ACE list when talking to people with depression, which can be worked on by something like riding a bike.
Here is his explanation of the system:
“A stands for achievement. So we’ll put 10 things in there, that on a bad day, we feel like an achievement, and that could be going out or taking a shower. Sometimes it’ll be like 20 minutes in the turbo trainer or take a short walk outside the store. They feel like little things, but they still help us move further than we would without those little goals.
“The C stands for communication. We try to pick people in that person’s life to try to connect with one person every day as they go through a depressive episode. It doesn’t have to be a phone call or anything scary.” It’s literally your short WhatsApp message or commenting on someone’s posts, but a way to reach out and touch other people in the world.
“So the E is enjoyment. So if you enjoy something, make sure you do it a little every day. Most of us know that we usually feel better after a trip. Not always, but most of the time we do.” . do, and we know this is an easy way to get some of that rewarding feeling. Feeling that we have accomplished something, and actually taking the time to go and do something else. And then we’ll go back to check how we feel more about ourselves.”
Make sure it’s part of your life, and not your whole life, though
(Image credit: Future)
I really notice when I spend a period of time away from cycling or running. Not just in terms of fitness, which might be more immediately obvious (that belly coming back), but in terms of my mental health.
Recently, thanks to some trips to weekly cyclingcontracting Covid and a running injury, I didn’t exercise at my normal pace for a few weeks, which really affected my mood and how I felt about myself.
This goes to show how important biking and running are to my mind, but Perry cautions that it shouldn’t become too important, as exercise addiction is very real. Also, anyone could get stuck on the couch for any number of reasons, so you really shouldn’t make it everything in your life.
“Cycling is great for mental health,” Perry tells me. “However, you can take it too seriously. When it becomes a core part of your identity, there are risks: things like overtrainingexercise addiction, impact on other areas of your life.
“[As long as you maintain perspective, cycling] It must be a brilliant addition to your life. If it becomes everything, even if you’re professional, there are some mental health risks.”
Especially in the world of cycling, where weight is often seen as important, exercise addiction can often be linked to eating disorders and the idea of control. This can be dangerous when thinking about mental health.
“A lot of exercise addiction stems from people trying to purge calories,” explains Perry. “We often find eating disorders in someone’s background, I often find that with elite cyclists, that eating is a kind of control mechanism.
“If they can’t control their food, they will control how much they exercise. If you have a coach, it’s about having very good communication and listening to their advice that they can tell when you’re doing too much.” We certainly have people who exercise far beyond anything that’s useful for performance.”
The important thing is to watch out for this sign and make sure that exercise is part of a balanced mental health regimen, in the same way that a balanced diet is better than just eating salad all the time.
“The biggest thing to keep in mind when we see that someone might have exercise addiction is when it’s causing problems for the rest of their life,” says Perry. “So it can be fights with your partner, because you’re not doing your part at home, because you’re always on your bike, or because other people are starting to worry about you. Or because you don’t meet deadlines at school or at work because cycling is prevailing”.
Happy mental health awareness week
While I hope this has inspired at least someone to get their bike out of the garage and take a spin through their mind, it should have at least made you think in your head.
This Mental Health Awareness Week, reach out to your friends and ask how they’re doing. These can be tough questions, so you could ask them to rate their mental health out of ten, or just chat. You never know how much you could be helping someone just by saying hello.
