{"id":19689,"date":"2021-07-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.siroko.com\/blog\/c\/cycling-and-mental-health-problems\/"},"modified":"2021-09-15T13:06:28","modified_gmt":"2021-09-15T11:06:28","slug":"cycling-and-mental-health-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siroko.com\/blog\/c\/cycling-and-mental-health-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Cycling and mental health problems"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>We have already told you about <\/span>the health benefits of cycling in a previous post<\/span><\/a>. While this correlation appears in <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> after <\/span>study<\/span><\/a>, let\u2019s not forget that <\/span>correlation does not imply causation<\/span><\/a>. In other words: you can go out cycling, feel good while pedaling, as well as for a while before and after training, but some problems are still there, and sometimes, no matter how much we pedal, they end up taking their toll on us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s why we are going to talk about the relationship between cycling and mental health in this post, using some examples of professional cyclists whose stories, although some of them had tragic endings, help us talk about anxiety, depression, eating disorders and drug abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

But first, we would like to stress that we are not experts in the field and we are only sharing information to reflect on a huge health problem worth paying attention to. Two facts to help us realize that without mental health there is no health: the WHO considers that <\/span>in 2030 depression will be the leading cause of morbidity worldwide<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>use of medications to treat mental health problems has been on the rise for a decade.\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Ren\u00e9 Pottier<\/b><\/h3>\n

The case of the 1906 Tour de France winner illustrates something that keeps happening: <\/span>The lack of understanding of mental health problems and suffering alone and in silence. <\/b>Nobody was able to comprehend the Frenchman’s suicide 6 months after winning the Tour with overwhelming superiority. The press at the time said that Ren\u00e9 was “unlucky in love”. Allegedly, his wife had had an affair while he was racing the Tour, but it is clear that Ren\u00e9 Pottier was suffering from a <\/span>“deep malaise that nothing, not even glory, could overcome”.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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What was tormenting Ren\u00e9 Pottier? Mental health problems do not usually have one single cause but rather a combination of factors: genetics, social environment, traumatic experiences, stress, drug use, alcohol, unfulfilled expectations… Therefore, anyone can suffer from a mental health problem. That is why it is necessary to seek or ask for help at the first signs. Do not suffer silently in solitude. Seek specialized medical assistance, as well as support groups. There are specialized sports psychologists to help athletes in life and in competition. Even so, we keep witnessing tragic cases such as the story of the <\/span>young American cyclist Kelly Catlin.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Tom Dumoulin<\/b><\/h3>\n