The impact of mental illness in professional sport

Former rugby star Jonny Wilkinson opens up about his struggles with depression

Athlete leaning against fence
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Injury may be an accepted risk of being a professional athlete, but while we constantly read about broken bones, tendons and ligaments causing havoc in athletes' careers, there's one type of condition that is still kept in the shadows. Our greatest athletes are often revered as 'superhuman', but when it comes to mental illness, no one is immune.

2003 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Jonny Wilkinson knows all too well the physical and mental difficulties that come with being one of Britain's top sportsmen.

Jonny Wilkinson at the 2011 Rugby World Cup Quarter Final
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Since retiring from rugby in 2014, Jonny has been incredibly open about his battle with depression and obsessive thoughts. We sat down with Jonny in Paris, who was promoting Puressentiel's Muscles & Joints range, to find out what he's learnt since seeking help for his condition.

NetDoctor: Do you think mental anguish affected your performance on the pitch?

Jonny Wilkinson: "If you want someone who can push themselves to the last second and do whatever it takes to get an outcome, then I was a perfect machine for that. But if you want someone to enjoy life and be healthy, I was the least well-built machine for it.

"I had rugby over here, and life over there. I saw my life as 'on hold' while I did my job, and if I survived that then everything would be okay and I'd have the right to go and live."

"And because of my obsessive nature, I had repetitive thoughts; thousands and thousands a day. So I was trying to live and play rugby when all I had was panic because my belief system was 'things had to be this way or that way'. I had no flexibility."

"Even though I knew the team was important, I believed everything I did was right. So, when I ended up falling foul of that, I then judged the hell out of myself and ended up feeling I was nothing, and told myself that. Then you end up thinking, well if I'm the one that's hurt myself, I can't escape."

ND: How did you reach out for help?

JW: "I met a friend who I didn't realise was struggling the same way and had been for many years. I spoke to him and it changed my life because I just let it out – I don't know why – but I just starting saying "I'm struggling". And he said "yeah, I've had that for years".

"He said: "look, I've got someone I can put you in touch with". I'd already tried two or three people but I just hadn't connected, so he gave me this guy's number. He was someone who had suffered himself and that gave us a point of sharing. He started to work with me and I found my ladder, and instead of getting out to dry land, I've just kept climbing that ladder."


ND:What have you learned about mental health since you embarked on recovery?

JW: "It always felt like for me, I was going to get out of a hole just so I could walk into another one. Whereas when you find your way out by creating a change, you then don't have another hole to fall into.

"Taking care of yourself is physical and it's mental. It's taking care of your internal environment as well as external because the two are perfect reflections of each other. At some point you realise it, and I realised it late. If you put winning above everything else then you're gone. You need to understand that the very best of you is here, and winning will just happen.

The size of the problem

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Jonny isn't alone in finding the pressures of professional sport overwhelming. This constant stress doesn't just come from fans, managers, and coaches, but as Jonny explains, from within.

Hayley Jarvis, community programmes manager from mental health charity Mind says:

"Following the increasing number of ex-sportspeople who have spoken out about struggles with their own mental health and some high profile suicides Mind commissioned research to explore how sports' governing bodies and players' organisations currently respond to, manage and prevent mental health problems amongst athletes, and identify best practice which can be shared with other sports."

According to Hayley, Mind's research has identified three particular mental health 'pressure points' for professional sports people:

1. Leaving sport

The exit route of young athletes was a key area of concern across team and individual sports alike. Of the players connected to football academies aged 16, the majority will no longer be playing as a professional aged 21. A bad performance by an individual athlete may mean suddenly being dropped altogether and a withdrawal of funding. Coming to terms with life outside of sport can be particularly challenging, as can moving forward to compete as an adult professional with the increased profile and pressure this brings.

2. Retirement

Approaching retirement is a particularly challenging time for most sportspeople, who have spent their entire lives being defined as athletes.

3. Struggling in silence

Sportspeople who have revealed their own battles with mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and self-harm, have encouraged others to go public with their own experiences; however, the number who struggle in silence is unknown. Athletes who are still playing and competing have expressed concern about the impact revealing or asking for support for a mental health problem can have on their career, showing there is clearly still a stigma attached to mental health.

"Mind also found that individuals and players associations, such as the PFA, PCA and RPA, are taking the lead in looking after athletes' mental health, rather than clubs as employers. To help create an environment where all sports professionals can fulfill their potential, we need to see managers, coaches, clubs, governing bodies and players' unions all support sports professionals to manage their mental wellbeing."

One of the biggest influencing factors when it comes to mental illness is the people around you that you're able to lean on. Jonny hasn't been shy in thanking his family for the unwavering support they provided him and the role they played in his recovery. One of his latest projects is The Jonny Wilkinson Foundation, where he hopes to help others who might be suffering AND their friends and family.

"It doesn't just work with people who are struggling but with people who are surrounding people that are struggling. It's so important just to be there and realise that the key is accepting mental illness is knowing it shall pass. Not to try and say it shall pass soon, but just to be there to say: 'we know this will pass and we're going to be with you until it does, and afterwards."

For more about Mind's work in mental health and sport see

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