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MLCM
FALL/WINTER2016
The good news is dopamine increases are
positive. They provide the rush we feel when
outrunning the slough on a big line or executing
a perfect trick at the finish line. Dopamine is
what keeps us coming back for more.
“Action sports are about being as high and
intense as we can get and that is often very
euphoric,” Jon Rocker says. “But once you can’t
get that high anymore, there is a massive void.”
Dr. Renshaw’s findings heavily emphasize that
“but” and attribute it to the dip in serotonin.
Dropping levels of serotonin can decrease our
desire to engage in the sport or social activities
that bring us those dopamine highs. A decrease
in serotonin is commonly associated with
depression. And in the mountains, depression is
a dirty word.
“I think depression is common and avoiding
talking about it happens everywhere, not just
mountain towns,” saysMcDonnell. “But I do think
wehavea cultureof revulsion towardsdepression
and this perpetuates the stigma. Perhaps it could
be argued that mountain towns have residents
(for example young males) who feel compelled
to exude a tough guy image and show a shield
of armour by not acknowledging feelings.”
THEPARTYTRAIN
First chair to last call. Mountain culture is known
for its pedal-to-the-metal attitude both on and
off the hill. The thrill-seeking, dopamine-hungry
attitudes that lead action sports enthusiasts to
push their limits out in the mountains don’t just
turn off when the lifts stop turning. There’s après
and then there’s après-après, and closing the bar
in your snowboard gear once in a while is not
only accepted, it’s applauded.
“Partying was the norm,” Jon Rocker recalls.
“Even if I didn’t want to, it was just too easy and
everywhere . . . Everywhere.”
The old saying, ‘everything in moderation,’ is a
much harder sell in a town full of young, Type-A
go-getters hell-bent on doing things their own
way. And excessive late nights with a bottle of
Jack Daniels can be part of the elixir that helps
avoid whatever hardships do occur. From losing
friends in avalanches to welcoming someone
back from a surf trip, there’s always a reason to
gather the tribe and crack a bottle, or whatever
else is available.
“Mentalhealth isoftenconcurrentwithaddiction,”
explains McDonnell. “Whistler also has a culture
of acceptance of drug and alcohol use, so when
the two collide there is often a ripe playing field
for drug/alcohol addiction toblossomhere. Often
times, this drug/alcohol abuse can kick-start
someone into a deeper mental health state as
the nervous system struggles over time.”
ITONLYHURTSWHENIMOVE
Statistically speaking, if you spend as much of
your life as possible pushing your limits at high
speed, it’s only a matter of time until an injury
occurs. And when it does, the withdrawal from
those dopamine highs can be tricky to come
to grips with. So can mustering the patience
needed to allow a physical ailment to heal in a
town that never stops moving. It can all nudge
people towards depression.
“Six times, I broke my wrist skateboarding,”
Rocker says. “Sometimes I didn’t even know
if it was broken and would be at work in the
restaurant using the knives and wincing in pain.
Another time, I messed up my knee so bad it
would completely collapse when I tried to bend
it. I’d be at work.”
You can’t afford to miss work in a town with
some of the highest cost of living numbers in the
country. And no one wants to miss out on the
fun either. “I think many people’s personas are
definedby their sports,” saysMcDonnell. “I think
it would be the same with careers in a larger
city, but for many up here their worthiness as a
person is attached to their successes on snow/
dirt and that is something that can contribute to
mental health.”
A head injury only compounds the problem. As
more people ‘go big or go home,’ head injuries
are becoming more prevalent, in a number of
sports. Whistler local Jessy Braidwood suffered
a severe concussion while skiing and says the
crash, and long recovery, had a huge impact on
her mental state.
“I THINKMOSTPEOPLEDON’T
TALKABOUT ITBECAUSE IT’S
DIFFERENTANDDEEMED ‘NOT
NORMAL,’ BUTTHEMOREYOU
ACTUALLYTALKABOUT IT,THE
MOREOTHERSOPENUPAND
YOUREALIZE IT ISNORMAL!”
–MERCEDESNICOLL
