I’m at school right now…
I’m doing a report on depression with other students (3 dudes), and was wondering if you think unicycling would cure/help depression in teens/tweens. Do you know any depressed unicyclists that either post or go to conventions?
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A search of thread titles for the word “Depression” in “all open forums” shows 4 threads.
The above is I think the most recent, and many people shared their experiences and opinions on it.
Vigorous physical activity is known to reduce depression. Can’t remember the name of the chemical off the top of my head. Cathwood’ll know.
Focussing the mind on a complex and enjoyable activity is also a way of alleviating depression.
I think exercise influences both endorphins and seretonin, both which are implicated in depression.
And as well as being enjoyable and complex, the concept of activity is important. Depressed people tend to shut down their lives so any activity is good. Also in therapy we use the concepts of ‘pleasure’ and ‘mastery’ which help depression. Pleasure - well unicycling is obvious there. And mastery refers to the sense of achievement that people get from things - also obvious in the learning new tricks and so on aspect of unicycling.
Unicycling gets you out to meet people which would also help in the relief of depression.
Getting people to engage in activities, is one of the first things that we do in cognitive behaviour therapy for depression.
I hope this helps.
Cathy
Having overcome clinical depression myself (feel free to PM me if you have questions) I can stand behind Cathy’s statements. A depressed person tends to shy away from any sort of “healthy” activity, and this creates something of a downward spiral. Activities that raise the body’s heart and respiration rate also encourage the production of chemicals that make one “feel good” afterwards.
The problem faced by a depressed person is that of getting far enough out of their state / mindset of depression to walk out the door and engage in some sort of physical activity. Depression can be very distracting, to the point where one may just stay inside and do nothing.
Learning to ride a unicycle can become a test of one’s self-esteem; this may be another difficulty in getting a depressed person to unicycle. The repeated failures that one must experience in the process of learning to ride can discourage that person to the point where they give up and get more depressed.
The above points being said, if you can get someone to ride a unicycle regularly, there’s a good chance you can put a smile on their face. There isn’t always a “cure” for depression, but a smile is definitely a help!
I’m depressed that I can’t rolling hop as high as Gerblefranklin. I better get on my uni and ride, ride, ride those blues away.
Short answers: No, I do not think unicycling would help cure depression in anyone. Yes, I know at least one depressed unicyclist.
Long answers: see posts above mine.
I would say that it would definatly help depressed people because it gives them something to take their mind off being depressed, and generaly it would make their lives more enjoyable.
I have to agree that physical exercise can definately help to rid oneself of depression (depending on what sort of depression you’re dealing with). Eating a well balanced diet is also a very important factor in terms of feeling good. And the way that one perceives oneself, and the world around oneself has a huge impact on depression. Our feelings tend to come about based on what we think about. So know that you’re great, important, needed, wanted, and worth it. Cuz you are.
That is not how depression works.
i disagree…a little bit. it depends on the person in question i suppose. but doing something that you just enjoy doing, which makes you feel better about yourself, can temporarily relieve depression. running/exercising does it for me…during the time that i’m working out, i forget all the crappy stuff in my life, and its one of the rare occasions when i actually am happy. but in the long run, it probably won’t actually help anyone get over it…
I’m gonna say yes, just because of noticing changes in myself. I’ve never been actually depressed, however since I’ve started unicycling, I’ve felt generally much more confident in other areas of life that are seemingly unrelated to unicycling. And every time I nail something new, or every time someone riding past me on a bike or just walking past me is visibly impressed with my riding, or, hell, every time I step on the unicycle, I just feel so great, like nothing is wrong in the whole world, and my life revolves around the exciting, relaxing, and generally satisfying act of ridin’ it.
**Edit: If you feel the need to quote me on any of this for your report, I give you my complete permission.
i would commonly think teens who get depressed get that way from low self esteem
and get that kind of “everything sucks and nothing is going to get better” feeling
causes could be…
poor self image (may be justified if person is fat?) (genetics on the other hand = live with it)
lack of skillful hobbies (nothing to do but watch tv/go on the computer)
relationships (or lack of)
doing bad in school (though i don’t see this one causing severe depression, most kids who don’t do well don’t care)
and having gone through that phase myself about a year ago…
yeah sure learning to uni would help, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that. you could just try to make more friends, or pick up a more mainstream sport, or a musical instrument, or something to fill the void.
Please tell us you don’t mean that the way it sounds. Because the way it sounds is that people should have a poor self-image – they should think of themselves as somehow “bad” or “wrong” – if they are overweight.
That’s not what you meant, right?
Rich
Heh, I was thinking the same thing.
well, i pretty much agree with what he said…you certainly shouldn’t be proud of being fat, if you are. but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should be ashamed either. it just justifies it if you are ashamed.
Well, without fat people, the economy would be a lot different. Thank them for that…?
So you’re saying that it’s okay – not required, but okay – to feel ashamed of yourself if you’re overweight simply because of your weight?
Holy cow.
Why would that be? What aspect of a person’s weight has anything at all to do with what that person is worth? What other aspects of a person’s appearance are reasonable yardsticks to use when they or anyone else wants to measure their worth? Hair color? Arm length? The color of their teeth? Enlighten us.
Rich
Color of their teeth
Most definitely. Dark yellow teeth are just, ewwwww.
I actually didn’t choose that example at random. When I was a kid, younger than you, I was sick constantly. I took buckets of antibiotics. I’m a lot older than you, so this was before they knew that vast quantities of antibiotics turn your teeth grey. My teeth are grayish-yellow, not from coffee, not from tea, not from cigarettes, but from the inside.
So should I have low self-esteem? Should I feel ashamed of myself?
Rich
Well no…cause I was kidding. Hence the smiley.
But on a serious note, I’m in agreement with RichVoice on the subject. I’m not saying you should be proud of being past the obesity mark, or having a pockmarked face, etc., but it’s nothing to be overly ashamed of. We’re all humans, we’re just disgusting sacks of blobby stuff held together with some rocks, so we’re all equal in our unique beauty! 
their ‘worth’, it has nothing to do with. i simply mean that you should not be happy that you are unhealthy. unhealthy = bad. difference in hair color, or difference in arm length has nothing to do with your health, so its ‘normal’ and okay. yellow teeth, maybe…it depends.