Elite athletes work hard to get to the top and maintain prime position in their field. But what's becoming increasingly evident is how critical career moments can make or break them. Mental strength and wellbeing play a huge role in shaping one's career path: without them, there's a higher risk of succumbing to depression and anxiety.
The pressure to ‘man up’ is still prevalent in sport too—in particular codes like Aussie Rules and Rugby League in Australia where men rarely let down their guard to show emotion or a softer side. In the era of #metoo and #timesup movements, there’s a stigma attached to male identity and the pressure to be macho in sport far outweighs the gentile alternative.
What’s more, with the rise of social media, elite athletes are expected to maintain a presence. From the outside, it looks like these sporting gents are living the dream, getting paid the big bucks and travelling the world doing what they love, but demons do exist and it’s not so obvious to fans or family.
Former world number one doubles tennis player Todd Woodbridge is an Australian icon. He has 16 Grand Slam doubles titles and an Olympic Gold to his name—the ’90s certainly belonged to him. He rose to fame long before social media, but says athletes have always felt the wrath of fame.
The 47-year-old, who now works as a sports commentator with Seven Network, says there is pressure on athletes to achieve. He notes that while this is mostly self-inflicted, it’s hitting fever pitch in a culture that desires it too.
Depression and anxiety in Australian men is at an all-time high. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics [2016] reveal that one in eight will have depression, while one in five will experience anxiety at some stage of their lives.
“I had moments in my career where I felt I was absolutely failing, but the reality was I was still doing quite well,” says Woodbridge. “There were times people would say go and see a sport’s psychologist, but I didn’t need that—I needed a clinical psychologist to get me on balance,” he adds, referring to two key moments in his life that changed the way he played.
Woodbridge lost two great friends in the space of nine months in 1998. American golfer Payne Stewart was killed in a Lear jet crash and Renay Appleby—the late wife of Aussie golfer Stuart Appleby—also died tragically in London. “I never quite played the same again after that,” he admits.
“They were influential friends and all of a sudden I had to face reality they weren’t around. I had been living in a bubble. I sought help and became far more balanced and didn’t struggle from feeling I was failing and unworthy,” he says.
When an athlete experiences personal losses, the mental impact is huge. It all comes down to the support network from coach to management, family and friends.
“I can only speak from experience now, but I think young sporting men need to be able to step away and congratulate themselves on what they are achieving,” says Woodbridge. “I didn’t give that compliment to myself enough. I was relentless as a young guy. It was a catch-22 because it was exactly that mindset that made me achieve.”
Depression and anxiety in Australian men is at an all-time high. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics [2016] reveal that one in eight will have depression, while one in five will experience anxiety at some stage of their lives.
There is no statistic to show how mental health impacts elite athletes, but there’s a need for it. Some athletes get to the top and crack, others have to walk away due to injury after years of commitment and hard work. What we do know is that high achievers are at a greater risk of low mood when the outcomes aren’t going their way and when they step away from the limelight.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for men under the age of 54, significantly exceeding the national road toll in Australia. Men are less likely to seek help than women.
Beyond Blue’s lead clinical adviser Dr Grant Blashki says while the stigma surrounding men’s health has seen more blokes speak up about how they’re feeling over the past few decades, a lot more needs to be done to find out why the figures are so high.
What we do know is that when a high-profile sportsperson speaks up about mental health it encourages others to seek help. Sydney Swans football player Buddy Franklin took time off from playing AFL a few years ago due to a mental health condition—it got the conversation started about how a high achiever at the top could fall this low.
“Elite athletes are in the public eye and have a lot of pressure on them, which can put them at risk of depression and anxiety,” says Dr Blashki, who is also an associate professor at Melbourne University.
“There is a lot of more being done with sporting associations to help athletes have a balanced life so that when they finish their career they have other options,” he says of one way to combat the problem.
Woodbridge, who landed on his feet when he retired by taking on commentating and guest speaker roles, says it’s important to have a vision.
“It’s not about the dollars or trophies,” he says.
“It’s about reminding yourself why you started playing and why you love the sport you chose. I think a lot more needs to be done to encourage young stars to think beyond the here and now. You have to have a plan and it’s beyond winning today, it’s for peace of mind later.”
“I remember sitting in my room for four or five days not wanting to be alive, not talking to anybody. That was a struggle for me… I reached that point where I finally realised I couldn’t do it alone,”—Michael Phelps
Australian Olympic swimming champion James Roberts was diagnosed with depression around the time he required surgery on both shoulders and his back between 2014 and 2015. The 27-year-old, who grew up on the Gold Coast, trained and lived in Canberra and put his entire life into being a swimming star, was a high achiever. He was the world’s second fastest swimmer and eager to be number one.
The two-time medallist at World Championships was in a lot of pain when his sport doctors told him he needed surgery if he wanted to continue in his chosen profession.
“Swimming is a selfish and lonely sport,” says Roberts, who was a guest at Longines Men in Sport luncheon held at this year’s Commonwealth Games.
“We do train in a team environment and race relays, which I love being a part of, but at the end of the day you’re swimming up and down a lane by yourself. Nobody really knows what it takes to go through that other than yourself,” he explains.
When Roberts was diagnosed with depression, he didn’t want to believe it either.
“It’s nothing I am ashamed of, but it was one of those things that got me thinking: are they telling me the truth? I’m in a time sport which is very black and white. On a deeper level, I thought there are people a lot worse off than me and how could I be depressed. I was on anti-depressants for a little while. I had to move back home to be with family and friends and change my lifestyle. I reset and rebooted, that’s what worked for me,” he says.
US swimmer Michael Phelps has also spoken of his battles with depression over three occasions after coming home from the Olympics. The competitive swimmer is one of the Olympics’ most decorated, with 28 medals in total, and 23 of them gold.
“I remember sitting in my room for four or five days not wanting to be alive, not talking to anybody. That was a struggle for me… I reached that point where I finally realised I couldn’t do it alone,” he told USA Today.
Having the Y chromosome puts men exceedingly at risk, says Dr Blashki. “Three out of four suicides are by men, and men have a higher rate of intentional self-harm.”
Woodridge says management plays a role in pushing athletes to the limit.
“Management in particular never seem to say no,” he says.
“In sport, you’re constantly surrounded by people who try to make you feel good and keep you in a positive frame of mind, but once you step away from that you have to find that on your own,” Woodbridge says.
At 1.94m and 90kg, Roberts became known as one of the fastest sprinters in the pool. It’s a sport that thrives on the alpha male stereotype—all that chest beating as swimmers stand on blocks ready to leap into the water.
“Alpha males like to have a dominant presence when they race,” says Roberts.
“There’s plenty of big guys with big egos when you go to the Olympics,” he says speaking from experience.
“It comes down to a confidence thing—sometimes it can backfire for these guys too. It only takes one bad race to shatter them. I’ve never related to that stereotype but it certainly exists.”
Rising South Korean tennis player Hyeon Chung is at the beginning of an exciting career in the sport. He grew up watching Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and credits Asian tennis star Kei Nishikori for putting the sport on the map for emerging guys like himself.
“Nishikori has paved the way for guys like me,” says Chung.
The 22-year-old, who is preparing for Wimbledon, says he works with mental health coaches to stay focused.
“I work with a sports psychologist in Seoul and much of my recent success can be attributed to his work,” says Chung.
“Being strong mentally in tennis is as important as forehands and backhands. We practice our strokes every day so it makes sense to mentally train as well,” he says.
Alex De Minaur, an emerging Aussie-born tennis player who lives in Spain, works with a psychologist and keeps his mentors close. The 19-year-old counts friend Lleyton Hewitt as a positive force—in fact, the former world number one Aussie will come out of retirement to play doubles with De Minaur in Portugal.
“I am fortunate to have Lleyton Hewitt to take advice from,” says De Minaur.
He has trained with coach Adolfo Guitierrez since the age of eight and surrounded himself with people he can trust. De Minaur, who made his Davis Cup debut for Australia in February this year, is working hard to become a name in the game.
Australian snowboarder Scotty James, who was recently engaged in a Van Heusen Mentors Workshop in Sydney and Melbourne, says sound mental health all comes down to having perspective.
“One way to stay mentally fit is to understand that it is just a sport,” says James, who came third in the recent Winter Olympics. “There is a wide range of things that matter to me outside of my sport like family, friends and my desire to be a positive role
model for young people,” he adds.
“Young athletes can lose this perspective which can make it
more difficult to deal with setbacks or disappointments,” says James, who works with his coach and high-performance adviser to figure out the work-life balance.
He is grateful snowboarding doesn’t thrive on a macho culture and hopes to see the day it will stop in other fields.
“Football has a strong history and perhaps ethos around being very tough and masculine,” he says.
“The snowboarders I compete with are a really close-knit bunch of athletes. We look out for each other and, while we are pushing for our own results, we have great respect and care for one another.”
Woodbridge says young athletes not only face battles like sport-related stress and injury that can add to their depressive load, but they often want the easy way out of a tough decision.
“It’s too easy to say I’ll sack my coach and find someone else who will tell me what I want to hear as opposed to what I need to hear,” says Woodbridge.
“Athletes these days find it hard to take constructive criticism and if they can, they’re far better for it,” Woodbridge says.
He believes the key to mental success is about being well- rounded in life. That comes with experience, but can be taught from a younger age.
“Young people need to look closer at those greats in their sport and what they do to get there. You need to be taught how to work a room, give the sponsors what they want, socialise and interact with your fans. It’s about teaching the younger generation how to do this naturally and not through technology. It’s a skillset we are losing, and yet, it could be the key to better mental capacity in the long run.”
This article was originally published in the June/July issue of Esquire Singapore.
