Mental health in athletes has been one of the main topics of discussion in recent months in the world of sport. This week, Carey Price’s name was added to the list of top athletes who sought psychological help.
“In the Quebec imagination, in our society, we talk about the winner, the warrior” when it comes to sports heroes, notes sports psychologist Bruno Ouellette, member of the Order of Psychologists of Quebec.
But this image is gradually changing. And athletes who shed light on their mental health issues in recent years will inspire others to do so, says Dr.re Amélie Soulard, psychologist and mental performance consultant.
Jonathan drouin
Archive photo, Martin Chevalier
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“Throughout the year, I had anxiety problems, insomnia problems,” said Jonathan Drouin a few days ago, in an interview with the TVA Sports channel.
The Canadiens striker returned to the team’s locker room for the first time in five months. On April 23, the Quebecer left the warm-up period before a game against the Flames in Calgary.
He then missed the rest of the season and the playoffs.
“It’s been several years that I deale with that, ”revealed the 26-year-old.
Drouin said the pandemic – including the many days spent confined to a hotel – had arguably exacerbated his mental health issues.
“When I got out of the warm-up, I had no strength, both physical and mental. It was there that I made the decision to retire from hockey, take care of myself and seek help with anxiety and insomnia, ”said Drouin.
Drouin said he was able to count on the support of the organization from day 1 and said he was happy to return to the game for the new season.
Simone Biles
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“We’re human, too,” said the American Olympian after her withdrawal from the team gymnastics competition at the Tokyo Olympics in July.
The most decorated gymnast in history, face of the US Olympic team, Biles said “felt the weight of the whole world” on her shoulders when she presented to Japan.
While feeling good physically, the 24-year-old admitted to having bad days from an emotional standpoint. Her decision to withdraw from this competition was inspired by Naomi Osaka’s media release at Roland Garros, she added.
From that moment on, the mental health of athletes became one of the main topics of interest in the Olympics.
“Put your sanity first, because if you don’t you are not going to have fun playing your sport and you are not going to be successful,” said Biles, who eventually won bronze at the beam, the seventh Olympic medal of his career.
Biles’ courage made headlines again a few weeks later, when she testified about the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of former US team doctor Larry Nassar.
Michael Phelps
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“We are human and no one is perfect,” said the former American swimmer, who revealed three years ago that he suffered from depression and had thoughts of suicide following the London Olympics in 2012.
The most decorated athlete in Olympic history, with his 28 medals, including 23 gold, Phelps admitted having experienced episodes of depression after each Games.
He always wanted to “win, win, win” and “bring back medals”.
But intensity comes at a price, he analyzed. And he paid for it after the 2012 Olympics, the last of his career.
“I didn’t want to be in the sport anymore… I didn’t want to be alive anymore,” said the athlete.
Phelps said he spent “between three and five days” in his room, without eating and almost without sleeping.
That’s when he realized he needed help. “When I started talking about how I was feeling, everything just got easier,” he said.
Robin Lehner
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“I’m not ashamed to say I have mental health issues, but that doesn’t mean I’m mentally weak,” the goalkeeper said in a speech at the League awards ceremony National Hockey League, in 2019.
The current Las Vegas Golden Knights color-bearer had just won the Bill-Masterton Trophy, awarded by the league to the player who showed more perseverance.
Prior to the start of the previous season, Lehner had revealed in an article by The Players Tribune suffer from bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
He also admitted to having addiction issues.
“I had never been sober for a whole season,” admitted the goalkeeper, who says he is “focused on his career” now that he has received help.
Naomi Osaka
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“It’s OK not to feel OK,” the tennis champion wrote in an editorial in the magazine. Time, in July, a few weeks after his mediated package at Roland-Garros. In Paris, the 23-year-old Japanese preferred not to participate in traditional press conferences in order to preserve her mental health. A decision that earned him a fine of $ 15,000 and threats of heavy penalties. Faced with this outcry, the former world number 1 of the WTA withdrew from the tournament, announcing at the same time to take a break from tennis.
“I would never bring up mental problems lightly. I suffered from depression for a long time after the 2018 US Open and had a hard time getting out of it. Everyone knows that I am very introverted and that I often wear headphones to tournaments to help me deal with my anxiety in society, ”she said after her package.
Osaka spoke of her mental health issues again after her loss to Quebecer Leylah Fernandez at the U.S. Open in September.
“I don’t feel happy when I win, I feel relieved,” she said, in tears.
Mardy Fish
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“I didn’t know where to go. Nobody understood what I was going through, ”revealed the former glory of American tennis in the documentary The other side of sport: game, round and anxiety attack, from Netflix, which recounts his mental health problems.
Seen as the greatest hope of an American tennis player desperately seeking to carry on its winning tradition, Fish broke down ahead of his 2012 US Open fourth round match.
He was to face Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer. But he never went to the field, victim of an anxiety attack.
Fish’s career was never the same again. Ex-top 10, he was content to play a few tournaments here and there, before hanging up his racket in 2015.
“I was at the peak of my career and I lost everything,” Fish commented on L.A. Times. Now, when I look at this, I say to myself: What if I hadn’t had to reconcile with everything? If I had only been a top 10 player and continued to play my best tennis, where would that have taken me? For a Grand Slam title? ”
