Moto Rx: Motorcycles and Mental Health

By: Tiah Terranova, Psy.D., LP

Anxiety is omnipresent in life. There is no escaping this fact, except when there are well lubricated (shout out to Red Line…let the arguments commence) pistons pumping between your legs and wind at your back, or in your face, or if you find yourself in WY at your back, in your face and solidified with an unexpected crosswind left hook.  Most of life is outside of our control, but we do have control over our thoughts, feelings, behaviors and reactions to the impact of it. If you are still with me and not arguing the benefits of Amsoil, HD Synth, Royal Purple or dino, etc., my position is, riding is therapy.

The changes rolled in when I found “Pearl” …my girl, my cherished first motorcycle a 2011 Heritage Classic. Given my personal experiences on Pearl and the notable improvements I experience in decreasing my own Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms when riding, I am compelled to keep the wheels turning and examine if others have found the same. I have spent many decades stuck in a world contaminated by toxic and abusive dynamics, death, betrayal, manipulation, and lies. For the past six years I have been sorting through the hardships of my life and making necessary changes to shift out of surviving to thriving.

As a clinical psychologist who specializes in trauma I strongly believe in the benefits of evidenced based treatments and have witnessed the transformative outcomes of such interventions. Therefore, I am embarking on a research venture to see if motorcycle riding may be an evidenced based treatment for PTSD. Or, at a minimum, be an intervention for decreasing symptom severity for PTSD or other mental health conditions.

So, what do I actually mean when I say riding is therapy. When riding, we get to choose the calculated risks consciously made. Hypervigilance, always scanning for a potential threat, necessary when riding, keeps us in the present; whereas in day-to-day life perceived threats often take away the ability to be in the now. Riding demands attention, less space for intrusive thoughts and memories, the noise stops. For me it is just Pearl, the road, nature, and attempts to use my learned riding skills to keep me as safe as possible.

Pearl helps me deal with my own pain and suffering that we all encounter and navigate day-to-day. Pearl is my therapy and I hope this research dream will reveal that I am not alone on this road. If the hypothesis pans out, then there is more access to an intervention that decreases symptom severity, improves overall functioning, is had without the need for an appointment time or a single word spoken. If you struggle with mental health symptoms, the team on this project, a trifecta of practicing academia, clinical practice, and “street” minds, would love to hear your story.  

Two fingers down!