As a gold medalist, I know: The focus on mental health in sports has improved

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Simone Biles looks to build upon her legacy as the 2024 Olympics begin. The four-time Olympic gold medal winner is arguably the greatest American gymnast in history. Yet, what Biles did outside the gym during the 2020 Olympic Games might be the most influential part of her journey. When she withdrew for mental health reasons, she sent a loud message: It’s OK not to be OK.

For Olympians, the burden of expectations can be debilitating. They not only bear their personal ambitions, but also the weight of the nation’s hopes and dreams. Olympians are not born great; they become great by relentlessly pursuing excellence. However, that intense focus can also lead to struggles, including post-Olympic depression, otherwise known as “the crash,” when athletes can feel negative self-worth, emptiness, confusion and a lack of purpose.

I know too well from firsthand experience the mental health challenges athletes face. In 1984, I won three gold medals in swimming at the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. I was 16 at the time. In 1988, I failed to make the Olympic team. Nothing prepared me for the transition from the heights of 1984 to the depths four years later. There was no mental health support; it wasn’t even a topic of discussion back then. My mental health struggles over the next few decades included unhealthy coping mechanisms that led to substance use disorders.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) deserves credit for addressing mental health through the creation of its comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan. Unveiled last year, the plan targets five key areas: culture and leadership; measurement and research; reducing prevalence and improving well-being; improving care; and improving access to sport.

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has also done a commendable job focusing more on mental health. The USOPC now provides its athletes with psychological services, including a mental health registry, counseling through eHome counseling group, and meditation and sleep exercises through the Headspace Plus app. At the recent Olympic gymnastics trials in Minneapolis, the team included Beacon, its first-ever therapy dog, to assist athletes struggling with various mental health conditions.

Athletes and their families at all levels can learn from the steps the IOC and USOPC have taken. Mental health challenges associated with athletes are not limited to the Olympics. Too often, youth and high school athletes are so focused on their sports that they lose perspective. Athletes need to remember that participating in sports is something they do; it is not who they are.

As I watch the Olympics, I will encounter many of the same feelings I experienced in 1984 and 1988, both the highs and the lows. Initially, I didn’t have the support I needed to deal with my challenges, but eventually, with the help of clinicians, family and friends, I found recovery. Whether participating in individual or team sports, athletes of all types benefit from having a strong support system around them — from fellow teammates and friends and family, to therapists and other specialists.

We must reduce stigmas and prioritize open discussions about mental health and substance-use disorders, ensuring every athlete has the support they need to thrive. Olympic medals represent a moment in time. But supporting athletes’ mental health lasts a lifetime.

Carrie Bates is an outreach manager with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the nation’s largest nonprofit addiction treatment and mental health provider.