Gold Medal Darkness

To kick start 2018, we all witnessed the great Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang that ended not too long ago. As a huge Olympics fan, I was watching how all the athletes made their sport look so easy and effortless, and thought to myself that their lives must be awesome. From multi-million-dollar endorsement deals with huge brands like Nike, big houses and cars, and a huge social media following, you would think these athletes have it all. We tend to only see the fame and success of athletes, but what we don’t see is that behind those gold medals, there are so many athletes who are suffering from mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and even suicidal tendencies. Throughout history, society has portrayed athletes as these “perfect individuals” who are full of strength and power. They are constantly under immense pressure to perform well, which places them at higher risks for mental illness. What we have also seen in the past, in not only sports but in society, was the horrendous stigma that if you suffer from mental illness you are weak. Thankfully, now our society and the sports community are starting to realize that this is not true and are breaking that stigma. Many athletes have started to come forward to show the world who they really are, without the fear of others thinking they are weak. Below I have made a list of a few famous athletes who have recently spoken up about their struggles with mental illness to help get more athletes to join the conversation on mental health.

Michael Phelps

Just about a few months ago, I started seeing news headlines with the words “Michael Phelps” and “depression”. For those of you who may not know much about Phelps, he is the most successful decorated Olympian of all time with his twenty-eight Olympic medals. So growing up a huge Phelps fan, seeing him in all his glory, I was quite shocked to see articles emerging on the internet about this. In January, Michael Phelps gave an interview to CNN where he opened up about his struggle with depression. After each Olympic Games from 2004 onwards, he experienced depression which led to alcohol and substance abuse causing him to receive two DUIs. After the London 2012 Olympics, Phelps admitted to even contemplating suicide. While although very stubborn to it at first, he finally decided to seek help, and it changed his perspective on life. Now a father of two, the retired Olympian is now promoting more mental health initiatives through the Michael Phelps Foundation, and encourages other athletes to speak up about their battles with mental illness.

Yulia Lipnitskaya

At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the Russians were proud to see that the Russian figure skater Yulia Lipnitskaya won the gold medal on home soil, making her the youngest Olympic gold medallist at the age of 15. However, despite winning the gold medal, the pressure had only increased for the young skater. Lipnitskaya was a popular interest in the Russian media, and the Russians had expected her to continue getting gold medals for their country as she did at the 2014 Olympics, which led her to a downward spiral of constantly being stressed about not living up to Russia’s expectations. During this time period, Lipnitskaya also had low self-esteem after she was attacked by the media for gaining weight, which led her to her battle with anorexia. While dealing with anorexia, she developed multiple injuries due to her body being consistently malnourished and even had difficulty doing major jumps in her program which even led to her last place finish at the Grand Prix finals in 2016 – her last ever skating competition. After the Grand Prix finals, she sought out medical help and went through anorexia treatment for three months. During this period, with the help of Psychologists and her mother, she decided to focus on her overall physical and mental health first, by officially deciding to retire from the sport. The unfortunate reality about figure skating is that eating disorders are very common, but Lipnitskaya is encouraging skaters to seek help and speak out about their struggles to raise awareness to this issue.

Nick Goepper

The freestyle skier who took home a silver medal at Pyeongchang opened up about his battle with depression, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse after he won the bronze medal at the Sochi Olympics in 2014. After winning the bronze medal, Goepper was showered with endorsement deals from companies like Red Bull, attended exclusive parties, and media appearances. After a few months of being in the spotlight, he had to start going back to his normal life of training, which he had a hard time adjusting to. This adjustment period began his cycle of depression and slowly marked the start of his alcohol addiction. During this depressive cycle, the Olympian started to throw rocks at cars which led him to be charged with criminal mischief. He also admitted that during that time period he had contemplated giving up the sport, and even killing himself. With the advice and support of his parents, he had decided to seek help and in 2015 admitted himself into a rehabilitation centre in Texas for two months. These two months were life changing for the skier and now is an avid fan of journaling, constantly surrounds himself with his family for support, and even spends time doing hobbies he is interested in outside of skiing to give his life balance. Just the simple act of seeking help not only changed his overall mental health, but made him a better skier by helping him secure a gold medal at the 2015 X Games and even the silver medal at the 2018 Olympics.

Athletes are human beings just like us. Sure, their fitness regimes and life goals may be different than ours, but at the end of the day they are just like you and I. It doesn’t matter if you have medals hanging on your chest, mental health can affect ANYONE and EVERYONE. You aren’t the only person feeling those dark thoughts in your head, being unable to get out of bed, or having sleepless nights. Just know that there are others struggling too, and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel – it is just up to us to help others get there.

If you are dealing with a mental health issue or are feeling suicidal please call 1-866-531-2600.