The champions and (of) mental health

THE Covid-19 pandemic has been with us for a year and half, and continuing. Apart from the challenge to lives and livelihoods, the pandemic has also brought into sharp focus the issue of mental health on individuals in the community.

An online survey of 1,000 individuals in Singapore conducted by international market research company Ipsos, over the period April 24 to May 4, 2020, revealed that one in four respondents are not in good mental health. In a separate study by the insurers AIA in April 2021, nine in 10 Singaporeans indicated that their mental health has declined in the last year.

Likewise, a poll by SG Mental Health Matters conducted between March and April 2021 showed that 51.2 per cent of respondents indicated that restrictions on social activities and interactions have negatively impacted their mental health, with 44 per cent reporting a similar negative impact on their mental health, resulting from changes to work and school arrangements, as a result of the pandemic.

One thing is clear: The pandemic has made (and is making) a significant adverse impact on the mental health of the community. It is no longer the proverbial elephant in the room that can be ignored.

Mental health has recently taken centrestage in the international sporting arena.

First, with top-seeded tennis champion Naomi Osaka withdrawing from Roland Garros in May this year after she was fined US$15,000 for skipping the post-game media conference after her first-round victory. She was also threatened by the organisers of all four Grand Slam tournaments with the possibility of disqualification or suspension if she continued to avoid the media.

BT in your inbox

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign Up

Sign Up

In her defence, Osaka shared that she experienced anxiety before speaking to the media and revealed she had suffered bouts of depression. She followed up with a statement that she would not be playing at Wimbledon and would be "taking some personal time with friends and family".

But perhaps the boldest statement that Osaka made on mental health is to appear on the cover of Time magazine with the statement "It's OK to not be OK".

Then came the delayed Tokyo Olympics 2020 this past week, which saw the announcement by the US' most decorated gymnast Simone Biles pulling out of the women's gymnastics team final followed by the individual all-around competition, noting that she is experiencing 'the twisties', a psychological phenomenon where a gymnast loses air awareness while performing twisting elements. Speaking at a press conference following this latest withdrawal, Biles said: "I say put mental health first because if you don't, then you're not going to enjoy your sport and you're not going to succeed as much as you want to."

The bold stand that these two women international sporting stars have taken on mental health and its importance, can only be met with one singular response: Praise and applause for raising awareness and prioritising one's mental health.

The Olympics has always been a masterclass where the Olympic motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius" (Faster, Higher, Stronger) is played out on the world stage. Achievements have only been seen from the mono perspective of what the human body can perform, endure and attain.

The mental resilience to achieve these physical pinnacles is always assumed as a necessary 'given' if one is to attain Olympic glory. There has been little, if any, attention paid in the limelight to an athlete's mental health. These are treated as issues that should have been addressed in the run-up to the Olympics.

In focusing on the mental health issues and challenges as top performing sports champions, Biles and Osaka are helping raise the equal status that mental health is justified to enjoy - just as physical health.

The Olympics is, after all, about celebrating human achievement - not just the physical feats but also the mental aspects. Biles' statement that "we have to protect our mind and our body, rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do", is so deep and full of insight for such a youthful athlete.

In sports as in life, it is important to recognise the importance of self-care.

In this regard, it is encouraging for Biles to reiterate some basic truths. Her statement that "we also have to focus on ourselves, because at the end of the day, we're human, too" is a powerful reminder of who we fundamentally are - humans first, with a need to prioritise our self-care, much like the pre-flight takeoff drills travellers were well accustomed to hearing in the pre-Covid world: If the aircraft cabin decompresses and the oxygen masks fall, we should practise self-care and first put the masks on ourselves before helping others.

The fact that a past Olympics champion has come out to support the likes of Biles, is most encouraging.

Michael Phelps - the most decorated athlete in Olympic history - was candid about the need for mental health resources for Olympic athletes. The American swimming legend, who is in Tokyo as a sports analyst for a major US TV network, shared that Biles' mental health struggles are "an eye-opening experience" for the prioritisation of mental health in sports. Phelps is also quoted as saying: "I hope this is an opportunity for us to jump on board and to even blow this mental health thing even more wide open".

Mental health challenges are not new to Phelps, who has 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them gold. In 2018, he revealed his struggles with depression and that he had contemplated suicide after the 2012 Olympics.

Most of us will never be able to attain the achievements of Olympic sporting stars like Biles, Osaka and Phelps. But they remain an inspiration to spur us on to become better athletes and human beings.

Now they have shown us that their achievements spell not just physical prowess. It includes mental strength as well.

Their Olympic achievements are many: Their courage to feature and bring awareness to mental health challenges at international premier sporting events; the reminder of the need for self-care; providing us encouragement in creating greater mental health awareness and a sense of assurance that we exhibit strength when we say we need help with our mental health.

The words of Phelps on his past struggle with mental health issues provide both a sense of comfort and encouragement: "We're human beings."

"Nobody is perfect. It's OK to not be OK. It's OK to go through ups and down and emotional rollercoasters. The biggest thing is, we all need to ask for help when we go through those times... It was hard for me to ask for help."

For their voice and focus on mental health, that encourages those of us who are non-Olympians struggling with the impact of the pandemic, these world-class champions certainly deserve a medal!

• The writer is a non-Olympian. He is group general counsel and chief sustainability officer of Jardine Cycle & Carriage, a member of the Jardine Matheson Group. He is also CEO of mental health charity Jardine MINDSET and serves on the board of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce and the City Mental Health Alliance Singapore.