Athlete Mental Health And The Olympics: Breaking The Stigma

In the last several years, more and more athletes—including Olympians—have been speaking up about the importance of mental health. Reading what some high-profile Olympic athletes have to say about their own mental health journeys may inspire athletes and non-athletes alike to take care of their well-being. Reaching out for help from an in-person or online therapist when needed can be a key part of mental self-care.

Mental health at the 2024 Paris Games

The 2024 summer Olympics were held in Paris, France, and the topic of mental health received more coverage than in many previous years. The topic is highly relevant, according to the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s (USOPC) Senior Director of Psychological Services Jessica Bartley. She reports that approximately 50% of US athletes at the previous two Olympiads “were flagged for at least one of the following: anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, eating disorders, substance use.” 

The committee implemented programs ahead of the 2024 games to help support athletes’ mental health. In 2023, 1,300 Team USA athletes participated in more than 6,000 therapy sessions set up by the USOPC.

Why mental health matters in elite sports

Since mental health can also affect physical health and, in turn, sports performance, it can be an important component of an athlete’s well-being. Despite how common mental health challenges are among elite athletes, some stigma around seeking help persists, which may make individuals too afraid of potential backlash to speak up or ask for help.

Risk factors for mental health challenges in Olympians

Olympic athletes representing their team, coach, family, and country are often under immense pressure to show top levels of human performance. High media visibility and online harassment can add to the pressure. In addition, rigorous training schedules and long-haul travel can result in trouble sleeping, separation from support systems, disruption of self-care routines, and higher risk of injury, which could make it harder to be mentally and emotionally resilient. 

A 2025 study published in the Psychology of Sport and Exercise proposes another possible contributing factor to mental health challenges in Olympians. It reports that elite athletes are “often viewed as paragons of strength, both physically and mentally” and are “sometimes mythologized as 'superhumans,'” creating the belief that they should be immune to mental health challenges. This misconception may lead to coaches, the public, and even health professionals to not take an athlete’s mental health concerns seriously. 

Plus, stigma around mental health persists, including in sports. Research suggests that mental health stigma in athletes can lead to maladaptive coping mechanisms, potentially worsening symptoms and delaying treatment. High-level athletes in particular might fear negative impacts to their status on the team and their social relationships if they speak up about their mental health or decide to seek care.

Common mental health concerns among Olympic athletes

Olympic athletes may be at risk of a spectrum of mental health challenges. Illnesses like anxiety and depression are common in this population, as are eating disorders. Other mental health challenges that an elite athlete may be at risk for include:

• High stress levels
• Perfectionism
• A strong inner critic
• Loneliness
• Burnout
• Substance misuse
• The mental health effects of physical injuries

Concerns like these can affect athletes and non-athletes alike. If you’re in need of mental health support, you can connect with a therapist online.

High-profile athletes who are changing the conversation

In recent years, several Olympic athletes have spoken publicly about their own mental health challenges and care routines. Below are some of these athletes and their experiences navigating mental health challenges while training and competing. 

Rayssa Leal 

Rayssa Leal, an Olympic skateboarder from Brazil, has spoken up about her first competition in the Olympics and how skating has helped her cope with mental health challenges. Rayssa explained how worry and anxiety led her to struggle with competitions. She started seeing a sports psychologist to cope with these challenges. Since seeing her therapist for over a year, Rayssa says she has become more confident in her ability to succeed and show people from her country and worldwide that you can still compete while valuing your mental wellness. 

Simone Biles

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles may be one of the US athletes most well-known for speaking up about mental health. In the 2020 Olympic gymnastics competition, Simone Biles dropped out to care for her mental health. This decision sparked a global discussion about the importance of self-care in competition. 

Simone faced significant backlash after she decided to leave the 2020 Olympics, but her career has only grown since then. In 2024, she won gold and posted a photo of the USA gymnastics team on her Instagram, captioning it, “lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions,” to show that despite the people who label her lazy, she continues to succeed in her career by prioritizing her mental health. She reports seeing a therapist before competitions to explore whether she feels well enough to compete, making her an example of how an athlete can be highly committed to both their sport and their own health.

Noah Lyles

Noah Lyles is a gold-winning Olympic sprinter.  In his running career, Lyles has spoken about his struggles with various mental health disorders, for which he sees a therapist. After his win in the 100-meter race in Paris, Lyles posted, “I have asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. But I will tell you that what you have does not define who you can become. Why not you?” 

Gabby Thomas

Gabby Thomas is a track and field athlete who won silver and bronze medals in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Although she does not live with a mental health condition, Gabby still prioritizes her mental wellness. She has been open about striving to see herself as a person first, not letting athletics determine her personality and goals. She also tries to avoid using social media too often or letting people have too many insights into her personal life, so she can focus on her own well-being.

Mary Tucker

Mary Tucker competed in the shooting competition in 2020, receiving silver. She talks about the importance of sports psychology and how shooting can be a highly mental sport. In some cases, she scales back her training routine to ensure she has time to focus on self-care, also reporting that she sometimes gets burned out by her training. Talking to a therapist is one way she copes with these challenges. If you’re looking for convenient mental health support for yourself, you can connect with a therapist online. 

Tara Davis-Woodhall

Tara Davis-Woodhall is a track and field athlete who has talked about struggling with her mental health due to high levels of pressure combined with bullying and harassment directed at her online. Her experiences with depression and panic attacks led her to begin seeing a therapist. Her advice for young athletes is to be yourself and have fun with sports, rather than allowing them to take over your life.

How Olympic organizations are addressing mental health

Ahead of the 2024 Paris games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) moved to create a mental health action plan aimed at supporting athletes’ mental health. This global initiative is meant to “improve mental health literacy, reduce stigma, build mental resilience, and reduce sport-specific stressors that impact mental health and well-being,” and to improve availability of mental health services for athletes as well. 

In addition, many country-specific committees and individual teams have started implementing supportive measures. For example, the US Olympic And Paralympic Committee now offers various mental health resources to athletes on Team USA—including 15 psychologists, therapists, social workers, and counselors who are available to support athletes on the team. While there is always progress to be made on the topic of mental health in elite sports, recent developments have been significant.

What’s the future of athlete mental health?

The 2024 Paris Games represented a step forward in terms of awareness and support for athlete mental health. Standards continue to evolve, with Olympic organizations around the world implementing measures and forming committees to monitor and improve policies and available resources as needed.

Also, the conversation about athlete mental health at the highest level has sparked conversation about athlete mental health at all levels—including youth, high school, college, and beyond. Regardless of the level a person plays at, they may face mental health challenges that can impact their performance, their enjoyment of the sport, and their overall well-being. Continuing to expand the conversation may help reduce stigma and improve resource availability for players of all ages.

The importance of resilience for athletes

Mental resilience can be key to mental performance, allowing an athlete to recover from setbacks and stressors. Or, as one study puts it, resilience in sports can be defined as “a person's ability to evaluate what they think, feel, and do when faced with an adversity which allows them to operate at their previous level and successfully adapt to persist.” It doesn’t mean never facing challenges or never struggling. Instead, resilience is about having protective factors in place to support recovery and rebalancing so athletes can achieve consistent performance.

For an athlete, mental resilience could look like:

• Recovering emotionally after losing a game or match or not performing as well as they’d hoped
• Having a supportive self-care routine in place, even when traveling and competing
• Turning to healthy rather than unhealthy coping mechanisms when stressed
• Managing expectations about performance outcomes in a realistic way

Resilience can support an athlete’s physical performance and overall well-being. An athlete may be able to cultivate resilience over time by practicing self-care, leaning on social support, and working with a mental health professional.

What non-athletes can learn from Olympians about mental wellness

While Olympic athletes face unique stressors, the general public may learn relevant lessons from them about mental wellness. First, Olympic and elite athletes speaking out about their own mental health may inspire other individuals to do the same, helping break the stigma in all types of spaces. 

Also, the types of self-care habits high-level athletes practice can be useful for most people. For example, consider these components of Olympic gymnast Suni Lee’s self-care routine:

• Journal
• Make a consistent effort to spend time with family and friends
• Attend therapy regularly
• Listen to music you enjoy
• Be committed to listening to your body in terms of when to rest
• Eat nutritious meals

Finally, as many high-level athletes have spoken about, reaching out for help when you need it can be the biggest thing when it comes to maintaining good mental health in the present moment and into the future.

Getting mental health support through BetterHelp

Athlete or not, a busy schedule can sometimes make it hard to connect with a therapist regularly. That’s why many people turn to online therapy for convenient care that you can access from anywhere.

With a platform like BetterHelp, you can get matched and then meet with a licensed therapist virtually, via phone, video, or live chat. Depending on therapist availability, you may be able to book sessions outside of standard business hours to suit your schedule, such as evenings during the week or on the weekend. You can also access resources like group sessions, journaling prompts, goal-tracking, webinars, and worksheets through BetterHelp, which may all help you approach self-care with dedication and support.

Does research support the effectiveness of online therapy?

Research suggests that, in many cases, online therapy may offer “comparable outcomes" to traditional in-person therapy for many mental health symptoms. The study’s authors also report other common advantages of online therapy compared to in-office care, such as “lower cost, no travel time, easy access, no waitlists, and trackable progress.”