Mental health has been an important topic of discussion , yet there has been a persistent social taboo around it.
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Mental health has been an important topic of discussion , yet there has been a persistent social taboo around it. But as awareness regarding the issue is increasing, things are changing. Sport has become an intense place of opinions and pressure, which gets to certain athletes. In recent times, many athletes like Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams have spoken up, with the former taking a break from the game after citing mental health issues.
Unfortunately, she was fined $15,000 after skipping a press conference due to concerns over her mental health. The duration of a season goes on throughout the year, with the finest of margins deciding wins and losses across the entire horizon of sports. We take a look at few athletes who have suffered from mental health issues, but have continued to accomplish big things in their individual sports.
The American is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals, Olympic gold medals in individual events, and Olympic medals in individual events. However, he was pictured smoking marijuana in 2009 and was arrested for a DUI incident in 2014, resulting in a six-month ban from all competitions.
Phelps revealed that he was admitted to a rehab centre, and was having suicidal thoughts after the incident. The legendary swimmer broke his first world record at age 15 and later won his first gold medal at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.
Osaka was forced to withdraw from the French Open on Monday after she was fined $15,000 for failing to attend a post-match press conference. She had been threatened to be disqualified if she did not fulfill her press duties. The Japanese has admitted to “suffering long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018,” when she beat Serena Williams in the final.
The crowd booed at the trophy ceremony, in the aftermath of the incident and Osaka announced that she would be taking “time away from the court”.
Bindra won the 10m air rifle event at Beijing to become the only Indian to win an individual gold in the Olympics, but after the success, he admitted he faced a tougher time after becoming a superstar in India. He also said he wanted to quit shooting after 2008 gold winning feat.
Bindra also reiterated that he had many ups and down in his career, but sometimes felt it hard to manage everything together. He also said that his biggest failures in life were attributed after his famous win.
Serena Williams revealed in 2011 she had suffered depression since losing Wimbledon. Williams has taken breaks to deal with depression, even suffering from what she called “postpartum emotions” following the birth of daughter Olympia in 2017.
A year after Olympia’s birth, Williams revealed she was still grappling with the highs and lows of depression, but went on to return to the court. Now, she arrives at the US Open which ends a glittering career which has seen her win 23 Grand Slam titles in her career.
Aly Raisman, an American gymnast accused former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. She also spoke about her bouts of anxiety and healing after trauma. Raisman announced her retirement from the sport in January 2020. Since then, she’s been a vocal advocate of mental health issues. The accused Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison in 2018.
