For These Olympic Athletes, Depression Is The Major Hurdle

4,990. That’s roughly how many hours any given Olympic hopeful spent training between the London Games and now, hurdling, sprinting or vaulting toward her goals, flicking beads of sweat out of her line of vision. Practice can mean maintaining a strong, sculpted physique, like polishing a stone. It can mean perfecting a technique that must be judged favorably to secure victory, or using that technique as a foundation for speed and efficiency...

...Post-career strife and post-career depression are common among athletes, who experience a higher level of psychopathology overall than the general population, due to physical strain and public and media pressures. British track star Dame Kelly Holmes, who won gold twice in the Athens Olympics, has spoken out about her own struggles nearly 10 years later. Successful Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe ? nicknamed the Thorpedo ? retired from his sport in 2006, citing the difficulties of training and maintaining a lifestyle of fame as reasons for his exhaustion. He later wrote that he’d been struggling with depression as well.

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Notes: The exit of personal sports be it HS, College, or professional sports is very challenging. Sports is what these individuals know best. If you are struggling and need help please reach out. Help is available and it`s okay to ask for it.