This quote belongs to Olympic swimming champion Stephanie Rice. In an Instagram post, she talks about the depression she has been feeling since retiring as an athlete.
Rice is a swimming legend in Australia and became the great Olympic champion in 2008 when she won three Olympic golds. In 2014, she had to retire after three shoulder surgeries.
Now she tells how difficult the sudden transition from an Olympic athlete to a “normal” life was.
Many athletes talk about challenges they face with mental health in the time following their registration. For me, that transition has been very difficult, and sometimes it still is, writes Rice.
– I felt depressed
She says she felt depressed after being forced to quit smoking in 2014.
After swimming, I felt so lost, depressed, and useless as if I had reached the pinnacle of my life when I was 24. And that everything in the future will be less exciting and special.
In the video she posted, you can see that she is crying and says the video is about a month old. Tears came from her watching this year’s Summer Olympics.
Watching the Olympics is probably emotionally difficult, because it brings back a lot of strong emotions, both good and bad.
In many ways, Rice says, she overcame the worst of depression by completely changing as a person. She writes that she had to put away the person she was as an athlete.
– After doing a lot of work with myself, I feel happy in my life and the people around me, she writes and continues:
– But watching the Olympics reminded me of the person I was then, and it’s still hard for me not to feel sad because that part of me is gone and will never come back. Rice explains that this is the reason for these tears
Alone among men: – Suffered
He gets tremendous support
In the comments section, several former Australian athletes support her.
– Thank you for opening up. Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden sends you good energy and good love so you can continue to lead the rest of us in mental health.
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You have many great skills and they can propel you forward in life and they are incredibly valuable. I Love You, Lydia La Silla wrote The Previous Winter Olympics.
Among those who showed their support for Rice were Olympic champion Sally Pearson, former Australia Test captain Michael Clarke, soccer player Tim Cahill and diving star Melissa Wu.
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