Cycling and depression: some good news

Thanks to all those people who responded with personal experiences of how cycling has helped them cope with depression, following a recent post. (I'm writing up an article on the subject for a cycling magazine.)

Simply put, the article will make the following points, among others:
* Exercise is always good, because you can self-medicate, it's effective, and you can't overdose in a dangerous way
* Cycling (by yourself or in a group) is especially good because it enables you to control the social interactions to suit you: lots, none, or any stage in between
* Cycling also re-establishes a control zone: you can set targets and tick-lists to suit you, and feel you've achieved something with the day
* There should be no stigma: in practice, depression affects everyone in the western world at some point, either directly 'on' oneself, or through someone close to you

I have a feeling there's a book in this. (Probably with more potential than a follow-up to 50QBR, anyway.)

But finally... it annoys me how every popular article I've read on depression seems keen to list famous sufferers (Einstein, Churchill, Adam Ant etc. Don't they realise - and I'm being quite serious here - that this news actually makes you feel worse if you're depressed? Because you think, dammit, if only I could bat like Marcus Trescothick, or bluster my way up like Alistair Campbell, or write symphonies like Malcolm Arnold, at least I've have some talent to call on, instead of being stuck here trying to work out if it's worth getting up. I'm not saying that's right, or wrong, and it isn't meant to be funny: it's how it is.

So in my article I desisted. Anyway, if I'd found any famous cyclists that had suffered from depression, that would rather have defeated the object.

Cycling and mental health article: Can you contribute?

I've been commissioned to write a magazine article on the mental health benefits of cycling. We all know that cycling makes you feel better (when you're not being cut up by a minicab, like last night) - but this will attempt to explain why. I'll be talking to various medical experts.

As part of the article, it would be good to have some personal experiences of how cycling has helped people. We all know about straightforward mood-lifting, for example - we all get down sometimes, especially if you're a Hull City supporter like me.

But I'd also like to hear from anyone with experiences of how cycling might have helped them cope with genuine depression - or not.

You can email me at




or, if you want to remain anonymous, simply leave a comment after this blog post. You don't have to register or give any details.

Obviously I won't give real names or any other identifying details in the article (unless you want me to).