Athletes are human

Athletes are looked at as strong and unbreakable people. We only see a part of their lives, though. Athletes are human beings and have normal lives outside of their sport and training. We have this vision in our heads of them being physically strong, but we often forget that they deal with the same mental challenges we do. Athletes speaking out on their mental state has been a very rare occurrence until the 2021 Olympics when Simone Biles pulled herself from events due to her mental health. Athletes are strong, elite, and athletic but they are allowed to have mental health issues that cause them to need time to rest or sit out. Mental health issues are real and should be acknowledged no matter how looked upon a person is. When an athlete is not mentally enjoying their sport, there are not able to perform to their best abilities which causes them to let themselves down. This pressure of needing to be okay or at least act okay causes a toll on their mental health along with the other issues they are dealing with, and we see none of it. You may wonder why athletes don’t ask for help when they are battling these issues. Often times when athletes speak out about needing help, they are told they are strong enough to get over it on their own, or they are benched or even let go from a team. An athlete should be able to reach out for help just like anyone else in the world. Mental health issues do not mean you’re weak nor define you.