{"id":40810,"date":"2021-07-30T16:10:22","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T22:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=40810"},"modified":"2023-06-23T10:28:57","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T16:28:57","slug":"simone-biles-places-spotlight-on-mental-health-for-athletes-of-all-ages-and-abilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/simone-biles-places-spotlight-on-mental-health-for-athletes-of-all-ages-and-abilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Simone Biles places spotlight on mental health for athletes of all ages and abilities"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Simone
A decision by Olympic gymnast Simone Biles to drop out of team gymnastic finals at the Tokyo Olympics sent shockwaves through the sports world. Her story puts a spotlight on mental health for athletes of all ages. In this photo, she competes on the balance beam in the Rio 2016 Olympics. Photo by Mark Reis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Rick Ansorge, for UCHealth<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gymnast Simone Biles is one of the world\u2019s shortest superstars, standing just four-feet eight-inches tall.<\/p>\n

But she made a giant statement when she withdrew from one of the world\u2019s biggest competitions: the women\u2019s gymnastics team finals at the Tokyo Olympics.<\/p>\n

She could have taken the easy way out and claimed she injured herself during her disastrous vault performance.<\/p>\n

But that would have been a lie. Instead, she explained that she dropped out of the team finals and wouldn\u2019t participate in another signature event \u2013 the individual all-around competition \u2013 because she had to take care of her own well-being.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the performance I did, I just didn\u2019t want to go on,\u201d Biles told reporters. \u201cI have to focus on my mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biles\u2019 decision sent a shockwave through a sports world that has crowned her the GOAT, the greatest of all time, and for good reason. She\u2019s the winner of an unprecedented 30 combined medals in the Olympics and World Championships, including four Olympic gold medals.<\/p>\n

To her millions of fans, she was invincible.<\/p>\n

Instantly, Biles \u2013 the bright, shining face of this year\u2019s Olympics \u2013 became the <\/em>story of the COVID-cursed Summer Games.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s actually a blessing in disguise, according to Dr. Justin Ross, PsyD, a UCHealth clinical psychologist.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Psychologist Justin Ross said the big takeaway from the Simone Biles story is that ‘there is no health without mental health. Photo courtesy of Justin Ross.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cEverybody is covering this story and talking about it, which I think is a great thing,\u201d Ross said. \u201cThis puts the spotlight on mental health for athletes of all ages and performance levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

As director of the Workplace Well-Being Program for UCHealth, Ross specializes in health, wellness and human performance. He works with elite athletes and coaches from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs<\/a>, is vetted as a provider for both the NFL and NBA, and works with amateur athletes looking to up their game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big takeaway from this story is that there is no health without mental health,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd performing on the world stage requires both. What we\u2019re seeing today is that Simone Biles recognizes she is struggling mentally with something. We can only speculate what that something is. But she had enough self-awareness to see it and enough courage to step aside and ask for help in a critical moment with the world watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ross allows that it must have been difficult for Biles to assume the role of de facto coach at the team finals, cheering on her teammates from the sidelines, and to sit in the stands during the all-around competition. On Monday, news broke that Biles would compete in the individual balance beam competition.<\/p>\n

Ross believes her her choice not to compete in the team competition and three individual finals was best for herself as well as her teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t want to go into any of the other events not believing in myself,\u201d Biles told reporters. \u201cSo I thought it was better to take a step back and let these other girls do the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although teammates Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum were unable to overtake the Russian Olympic Team and win a gold medal, they went on win a silver medal.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a human being first and an athlete second,\u201d Ross said of Biles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think sometimes the public loses sight that athletes are not superhuman,\u201d he added. \u201cThey\u2019re not automatically able to brush aside pressure and stress, and it impacts them in very deep ways as it does all of us. Her decision to step aside for the benefit of her team to focus on her mental well-being humanizes the fact that each and every one of us struggles from time to time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experts agree that mental and physical health are equally important for peak performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would never ask an athlete to go out and perform on a broken leg,\u201d Ross said. \u201cThat\u2019s a no brainer. You just accept that they\u2019re injured and need to heal. Unfortunately, mental health has historically not been given the same level of permission. That conversation is changing, however, with athletes such as Michael Phelps and Simone Biles bringing attention to this concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Simone
Simone Biles competes in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Photo by Mark Reis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a sub-par performance at the prelims before the team finals, Biles hinted that her mental health might be shaky.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly do feel like I have the weight of the world upon my shoulders at times,\u201d she posted on Instagram. \u201cI know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn\u2019t affect me but sometimes it\u2019s hard, hahaha! The Olympics is no joke.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the team finals, Biles told reporters that she wanted the Tokyo Olympics to be for her and her teammates. She explained that the extra year of training and the pressure of being the GOAT were not for the benefit of her sponsors, USA Gymnastics, the U.S. Olympic Committee, or even her adoring public.<\/p>\n

But that dream evaporated during her vault performance, which left her feeling lost in space as she attempted to complete a double-and-a-half twist and ended with an awkward, forceful landing that easily could have caused a serious injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018I am not in the right headspace,\u2019\u201d Biles told reporters. \u201cI am not going to lose a medal for this country and these girls because they\u2019ve worked way too hard to have me go out there and lose a medal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cheadspace\u201d comment quickly became an Internet meme, a positive one in Ross\u2019s view.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows great self-awareness,\u201d he said. \u201cAny high performance requires being in the right state of mind, especially in a sport like hers where making a mistake can result in a calamitous injury. It took great courage to admit that she was not in the right position to execute her moves.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called that an inspiring message for everyone from top elite athletes to weekend warriors and everyday folks.<\/p>\n

\u201cPressure is pressure, regardless of the stage,\u201d he said. \u201cThis happened to be the world stage in an Olympic event that only happens once every four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re repeatedly touted as the greatest gymnast of all time, and you\u2019re put on that stage and the world is watching, the expectation is that you not only are going to win but you are going to demolish the competition and dazzle the audience. That pressure builds and it takes a toll on mental well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exposed to sportscasters who breathlessly describe elite performances as \u201cunbelievable\u201d and even \u201csuperhuman,\u201d many fans come to believe that top-tier athletes tower above most mere mortals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t have superhuman powers in regards to their psychological well-being,\u201d Ross said. \u201cThey\u2019re just as vulnerable as we are. They have emotions, life history, traumatic experiences, stresses, and anxieties just like every other human being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biles has certainly experienced more than her fair share of trauma. Her mother was addicted to drugs and alcohol and was in and out of jail, leaving Biles and her three siblings shuttling back and forth between foster homes.<\/p>\n

Biles was finally adopted by her loving maternal grandfather and his wife, but she was mercilessly bullied in school because of her bulky muscles, treated by a sports psychologist at age 16, and diagnosed with ADHD, a condition that was publicly revealed by hackers who broke into her health records.<\/p>\n

In 2018, her older brother was charged in the fatal shooting of three people at a New Year\u2019s Eve party. He was acquitted this spring after a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to convict him.<\/p>\n

Also in 2018, Biles revealed that she was among the more than 100 female gymnasts who were sexually molested for months and years by disgraced team doctor Larry Nassar at the USA Gymnastics training facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is impossibly difficult to relive these experiences and it breaks my heart even more to think that as I work towards my dream of competing in Tokyo 2020, I will have to continually return to the same training facility where I was abused,\u201d Biles said on Twitter at the time.<\/p>\n

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In September 2019,UCHealth announced a commitment of $100 million to help meet behavioral health needs in Colorado. Here are highlights of the program:<\/p>\n