Depression, a Google Search and a Bike Ride: Raising 10K for ADAA

08.07.2024

Depression, a Google Search and a Bike Ride: Raising 10K for ADAA

by Collin Williams

I knew I wanted to participate in the Triple Bypass bike ride and I knew I wanted to raise money for mental health. I’m one of those people that if you knew me six or seven years ago you would never have thought I was suffering - or could ever suffer - from depression. I played football in college. I was a successful lawyer in the big city (Chicago) and a family man. A real guys’ guy. Even my depression didn’t follow the typical course I thought was associated with the disorder. I wasn’t sad or full of dread. I didn’t sit in the corner of a dark room and cry. Instead I was angry. I was irritable. I had severe bouts of rage. I lashed out and couldn’t understand why.

My wife said I had to do something about it. I went to see a therapist for the first time in my life. I was diagnosed with depression. Eventually I went on medication and I was amazed at how much it equalized me. But if you had said to me before all that that I had a mental health condition, I wouldn’t have believed it. But more so, I wouldn’t have talked about it. And I didn’t for a while. I just buried it deeper and deeper and like so many people who suffer from depression and anxiety, I felt alone. Like I was the only one feeling that way. I kept quiet.

But now I am shouting from the mountain tops that depression and anxiety are treatable. Last month (July 2024), as part of the Triple Bypass bike ride, I rode to the top of Loveland Pass in Colorado, where I now live with my wife and son. At almost 12,000 feet up, I knew this was part of my journey. To reach new heights in my struggle with depression and spread the word that we can overcome depression, anxiety and related disorders.

Of course to do that, a single fundraiser bike ride of almost 120 miles over three Rocky Mountain bypasses in one day may seem like just a drop in the ocean. But it’s my drop and the ability to contribute in whatever way I can to achieve better care, support, access to treatment and hope for depression and anxiety is worth every mile. It was my chance to challenge myself, have fun with some friends, and work together towards a goal of giving to an organization that gives back.

In selecting an organization for the fundraiser, I knew I wanted to do something that benefited the mental health world, given my experience with depression. Picking ADAA didn’t require a lot of thought and analysis. A simple Google search on depression and anxiety and I came across the ADAA website. I instantly felt a connection with ADAA and I liked that the focus was on depression and anxiety. I also liked that while small, it was an organization with a big impact and they would put the funds to good use, however small or large the donation. At the end of the day - and at the end of that particular day of the bike ride we raised 10,000 dollars for mental health - every little bit helps.

I wasn’t even sure I would be much help. I went into the race not convinced I’d finish it. And that’s not just depression talking but knowing it’s a challenging ride and I am not an intense biker. But it felt like there was a lot riding on it (pun intended), that friends, colleagues, and family had come together to donate and cheer us on and that our community had stepped up to support us.

In supporting ADAA, I am investing in a world where I am part of the conversation. ADAA stresses evidence-based research, information, and treatment while being inclusive, empathetic, and genuine. It’s an organization for which I’m willing to climb mountains, and I have, and hope to again.