Even though Simone Biles competed in the balance beam event at the Tokyo Olympics this morning, earning a bronze medal, many people have criticized her for stepping down from previous events due to her mental health.
We spoke with local psychologist Dr. Stacy Soeldner, who said that the position Biles was put in, as the face of the entire Olympic team, is one that can cause lots of anxiety, both good and bad.
“Getting a little nervous before an event…gets you to stay focused,” she explained. “But with everybody’s eyes on you, and we know how picky the media can be. Not only newscasters but the public. They are looking at what you are wearing, and how you look, and did you frown. It goes beyond what your body can do.”
Dr. Soeldner said that with athletes, especially gymnasts who perform Herculean feats in their competition, if your mind and body are not in sync, severe injuries could occur, including some that the athlete may not be able to recover from.
She also voiced her support of Biles, saying “I think it took a huge amount of bravery for the top gymnast in the world, probably even in our time…to say ‘This isn’t right,’ and ‘I need to follow my gut,’…[it took] tremendous courage to do that.”
Many people have the opposite opinion, with a right-wing radio host even calling Biles a “selfish sociopath”, and a “shame to the Country”. Dr. Soeldner called that kind of talk dangerous, and “Even a Psychologist making a statement about someone’s mental health, I mean you use the word sociopath in a statement, and you A) don’t have the qualifications to make that, and you haven’t seen the person face to face…I can’t even do that.”
Seehafer News also asked Dr. Soeldner about how this situation is going to affect the stigma surrounding mental health, to which she responded, “I think her courage is going to show to other people, that she could have done it, but the fact that she was strong…is really going to take off with people.”
While the Simone Biles case was not suicide-related, it just goes to show that you never really know what is going on in someone’s mind.
For her, it was stress about representing the entire country, and being the face of the Olympic team. For others, it is feeling worthless, or not good enough.
Asking for help, or taking time for yourself is not showing weakness, it is showing strength of character, body, and mind.
