Often it is thought that people who suffer from bad mental health are usually those whose lives have been unsuccessful, are under stress through financial issues or have a chronic illness. But often it is highly successful people who can succumb.
In recent weeks this has been brought to the fore by people like singer Lewis Capaldi, who took a break from performing to give himself breathing space before his return to the stage at Glastonbury. But the latest revelations from a sports star represent a particularly dramatic tale of struggle and recovery.
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has revealed that he contemplated suicide in 2021 after he was knocked out of Wimbledon by Rafa Nadal, a match in which he wore a white sleeve on his arm and later had a tattoo to conceal evidence of self-harm. At the time, he admitted he was drinking and taking drugs.
Speaking in Break Point, a documentary about his run to the Wimbledon final last year, he remarked: “I lost at Wimbledon. I woke up and my dad was sitting on the bed, full-blown crying. That was the big wake-up call for me.”
He added. “I was like, OK, I can’t keep doing this. I ended up in a psych ward in London to figure out my problems.”
It was not the first time he had felt suicidal, admitting to such thoughts in 2019 in an Instagram post in February last year. But in the documentary, he was more frank, confessing: “I was genuinely contemplating if I wanted to commit suicide” and acknowledging that he had “pushed away” friends and family amid his self-loathing and struggles to deal with pressure and fame.
However, after treatment and help, he was able to bounce back, recovering in his personal life and enjoying his biggest tennis achievement to date as he reached his first Grand Slam final last year.
People seeking counselling in west London may take considerable inspiration from the example of a person who had been at rock bottom and in a mental hospital, only to bounce back to perform on the biggest stage in his profession.
Of course, not everyone’s life involves performing on the big stage like a sports star or musician. But pressure, stress and depression can come from many sources and having an expert on hand to help talk through this can make a huge difference and help you start to recover.
For many people, dealing with high expectations from family and peers can be a major contributor to their struggle, while often it can be self-imposed by people who are perfectionists in a particular field.
Kyrgios is far from the only tennis player to have such issues. Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka cited mental health issues related to questions about her country’s role in supporting Russia in its war with Ukraine as a reason for skipping a press conference in the French Open, while Japanese player Naomi Osaka previously skipped similar events for similar reasons.
Osaka, who is currently taking a break with her first child on the way, has spoken frequently about her struggles.