The road to success can be full of obstacles. PHOTO: image of the Athleta x Simone Biles campaign.
MENTAL HEALTH
On World Mental Health Day we review why fighting to achieve success sometimes has a price that is measured, precisely, in mental health.
By María Corisco
October 10, 2024 / 07:27
In 2021, during the team final of the Tokyo Olympics, Simone Biles he was not able to complete the number of turns his exercise required. The pressure and stress had led her to experience twisties, a condition in which gymnasts temporarily lose their sense of space and orientation while in the air, something that can be extremely dangerous. This failure, inappropriate for one of the most successful gymnasts in history, not only put her safety at risk; It also led her to recognize that she was not mentally prepared to continue competing and to temporarily withdraw from what until then had been her world.
A few years before, in 2014, the singer Pastora Soler He fainted during a concert in Seville. At first, he attributed the incident to “excitement and dedication” on stage, but later, when the anxiety attacks were repeated during his performances, he recognized that stage fright was behind his collapse, and announced his retirement. temporary to regain his confidence and mental health before he can sing again.
In a completely different field, but also marked by pressure, the prince Harry and Meghan Marklethe Duke and Duchess of Sussex, made the decision to deviate from his royal duties in 2020 to focus on your mental well-being. Meghan has spoken publicly about her suicidal thoughts and lack of emotional support when she was part of the English royal family, while Harry has explained how public pressure affected his mental health.
They are added Ricky Rubio, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Naomi Osaka…There are many examples of characters who, in full success, are forced to put a stop to your activity and take time to take care of themselves. Their experiences have helped make visible the importance of prioritizing personal well-being, even in the context of highly publicized careers.
Anxiety attacks don’t just happen to celebrities
But situations like those described are reproduced every day in people who practice all types of professions or tradesand without the need to hold positions of very high responsibility. Pursuing your goals can take a toll on your mental health because, in many cases, the effort required to achieve an important goal involves high levels of stress, pressure, and personal sacrifice.
Francisco Fernandez Yustepsychologist and human resources professional, has experienced it firsthand. After a time with “a very high pace of work, to which I also had to add the time dedicated to my personal projects, I was covering more and more, I was trying harder. And I ended up without energy, I had to stop abruptly because I couldn’t do anything else. “I was exhausted.” In his case there were components of anxiety and depression; also dissatisfaction. «I had a leave of absence due to mental health, I entered therapy and decided to take a step back in my career; “I reduced my salary by half, but I was able to find an environment with more time for my personal project.”
Today, Fernández Yuste has shared his experience and learnings in the book Take care of your mental health. 7 lessons from hellin which it aims to “raise awareness about the importance of prevention. You don’t pay attention to the signs that warn you until the day comes when you explode.
From his perspective, the examples of characters like Ricky Rubio or Simone Biles are very interesting: «It is true that they have a lot of pressure, but also a lot of meanswith teams of psychologists supporting them. “If it can happen to them, despite having so many resources and a very motivating life, it is logical that this could happen to anyone else.”
Redefine goals
An important question when it comes to understanding why pursuing a goal can end up affecting mental health is to “redefine whether that goal is really yours,” he explains. Juan Martínez Menapsychoanalyst member of the Center for Studies and Application of Psychoanalysis (CEAP). “Sometimes we assume challenges that do not belong to us“We want to satisfy a demand, feel recognized, follow a model that may not apply to you.”
Along with this, you also have to stop and think about concepts such as perfectionism, failure, effort, success or aspirations. Because, when it comes to self-demand, “imposter syndrome can arise, which usually implies a lack of self-esteem,” says Martínez Mena. Also, the emotional void after achieving that goal in which so much effort has been put and which “reveals that it was not really what one wanted.”
Regarding the culture of effort, he points out that we must clarify “what effort means for each person. Maybe it’s just about doing things differently, but a certain type of effort is usually imposed on us. AND stress appears, cortisol risescauses diseases… In the end, we can end up burning ourselves.”
In terms of prevention, Fernández Yuste points out two considerations that can help avoid reaching the point of “knowing hell.” One is that, when it comes to mental health, “the most important thing is have a support network. In a society that invites us to individualism, we need the people around us.” Another, that it is “a mistake to wait until you are sick to look for a psychologist. Just as you have already identified a plumber or a lawyer for when a problem arises, it is important that you know who to turn to before you have fallen into the hole. All of this is part of a prevention strategy: in the same way that you take care of your diet or your body, you also have to take care of your mental health.”