This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
You are correct. Her responses seem reasonable. She was stressed and mentally off her game and felt that her scores could hold the team back. It seems the media sources were the ones trying to bring mental health into the issue and also made the comparison between her and Osaka, which Simone may have felt pressured to go along with.
I could get on board with this POV in some ways....that it was more media than her driving the "mental health issue" bus....and the media amped it up to Osaka level of "addressing mental health issues".....NBC even had Phelps on there discussing it and I don't think anyone is arguing that these athletes are under a ton of pressure, etc..... but that is what they all sign up for.....I think Biles would probably even tell you that using the words " mental health issues" was really different then what she actually said or meant which was probably more along the lines of "I need to refocus mentally" or something....but bottom line for me is that the timing (after some bad routines) and coming anywhere close to saying it was because of mental health issues, could be looked at as trying to make an excuse, and a sympathetic one that nobody can really say anything about without sounding insensitive.....for as great as she is, she had a couple bad days at the office, she sucked for her standards, lost confidence, regrouped mentally, and returned....she didn't go through some OMG mental health situation that is being spun by some....she is not a hero or deserving of being applauded for any mental health angle....IMO...she could be applauded for admitting she was struggling with confidence and putting the team first....just leave the mental health part out of it because IMO that wasn't what was really going on here....
Having the twisties is not a case of having a lack of confidence. It is where the body and brain have a disconnect. It is dangerous and debilitating to gymnasts when the brain gets confused with where the body is while performing. When your body knows what to do, but your brain doesn't know what your body is doing, you are in trouble. You don't have to understand this mental phenomenon for it not to be real. How long it last varies according to doctors and gymnasts.
I understand what you are saying, but I see it more as a mental block vs lack of confidence. They want to perform, but their brain won't cooperate with the body. The brain is mysterious and fragile.
Of course there is such a thing as struggling with confidence while having a bad day in gymnastics, but that is not the same thing as having a mental block while in mid-air. Mental stress likely plays a part in the malfunction of the brain disconnecting with the body. I do not chalk up her decision not to perform as as a simple lack of confidence.
i agree, this has nothing to do with Simone Biles though who is the most dominant (by far) gymnast ever. to date she is the goat and has no reason to pull that card.
man....athletes in all sports have family that pass away all the time.....it feels like we are bending over backwards here (no pun intended) to try and explain her bad performances......other athletes probably taking notice here and "bad head space" is going to be the new go to....
Worst take ever? Has to be a finalist.
which of the three times...?...but the answer is the same...no thats not the reason....reports and even Jordan himself revealed that he was leaning towards retiring before his father's passing....he said there were a lot of reasons,....lack of motivation/nothing more to prove......not wanting to play for other coaches cause Phil was in his last year and Scottie and others were leaving, etc.....
My wife struggles greatly with bipolar/depression issues, and has to make this call sometimes. Unfortunately for her, the people who run her clinic take it about as seriously as some of you in here. it ####### sucks.
The problem is the people who take advantage of it and use it as an excuse, when there are people like your wife who are actually struggling with a real issue. It just makes it harder on the people who have a genuine problem.
For sure, but the tip toe is that it's really hard to determine who is struggling vs. who might not be. IMO we go too quickly to shrugging it off or thinking the person isn't struggling. It's something that we really need to improve as a society, as I only see it ramping up and getting worse.
When you say "improve as a society," do you mean tolerance, improved mental help availability, reducing thins like workplace/school stress, etc? I'm open for suggestions.
@glvsav37great post. My older son (18) has been dealing with anxiety and depression for a couple years and they now think he is bi-polar. Much like your MIL it is very taxing on us as a family but mostly because he refuses to try and help himself and instead has learned to use it as a crutch. There are a million examples but here is just one, last year we switched his school in April from our public school to one run by a local university as a special education teacher development school. They are small and specialize in kids with IEP's and emotional/mental support needs. Last spring it was great because basically the 2 months he was there they were doing a lot of testing and figuring out where he was at in different classes. He really enjoyed school and it was looking forward to going back. Well now this fall he has more expectations and is expected to do more work. Suddenly he doesn't like school and he is behind and they won't let him bring his laptop home to catch up and it is causing him too much anxiety. His reaction to that is not wanting to get out of bed and get up and go to school. Here is the thing the reason he can't bring his laptop home is they don't want the kids having the stress of homework so they keep all work in school but he has been putting his head down in class or just not finishing his work and he is sleeping in his study hall. So rather then trying to help himself and ask for help in his study hall he does the exact opposite. There are so many examples of this with him on various things from school, to sports, to friends where as soon as he needs to put anything extra into it it "overwhelms" him and he just shuts down. I do believe it is real and I don't think he is faking it but his counselors will come up with something to help him and he'll try it for a day and then go right back to his old ways. It gets really hard to help someone when they don't seem to want help, as my wife has said it is almost like he wants to own this because it is something that is his and until he determines he wants to use the tools offered to him it is going to be a struggle.glvsav37 said:
Well, that doesn’t appear to be Time Magazine’s criteria for the award, and it’s their award to give.
Right. Athlete of the Year doesn't necessarily mean "best athlete". For reference, the criteria for "Person of the Year" is (per wiki):
If Time Magazine uses a similar criteria for Athlete of the Year, then we're talking about the athlete who has done the most to influence events in sport this year. I think it's a fair argument to say that bringing attention to athlete's mental health would quality for Athlete of the Year under that criteria.
I totally get both sides. Lots of athletes out there who did more than just athletics, but who also excelled within their sport in ways Biles didn't this year. But she made her difficult decision (as the highly hyped GOAT) on the biggest global stage... which highlights the issue (mental health) even more than a normal Joe doing it (eg: Ridley) during more normal circumstances- it was a huge move on her part. If this were Sports Illustrated's award, I'd be much more likely to feel like it wasn't deserved- but Time isn't a sports related magazine, so whatever... ambivalence, more than the clear hatred and anger I'm seeing in here.
I am still in the camp that this isn't a mental health issue. It's a mental issue (lack of confidence) associated with performing at a high level that hindered her ability to perform at that high level...loss of confidence the yips, twistites, etc. It is a real situation and I am not downplaying that. I just don't think it's a mental health issue. It's an issue that all high level athletes have to go through at some point in their careers.
Not everyone is supposed to make it.