as very much heroes, - and recognising they have a very similar condition to one - they are expanding at the moment. and for these incredible i athletes, as helen said, the stress they are under has been particularly significant. i but in individual ways, - people in our society are also facing a similar kind of level of stress as we come - out of the pandemic. i m fascinated by the fact that several of you have talked about what might ve been different ten or so years ago. looking back to 1998, there s one particular example the brazilian footballer ronaldo, you might remember before the world cup final, would suffer convulsions before the match, a team mate said the pressure got to him and he couldn t stop crying yet he still went out onto the pitch and didn t perform that well. you ve had been in that situation before. a team final for the most important event. would that situation with ronaldo in 1998 be different now? i do remember that, i remember everyone watching
of ways it s deliberate. we are put under stress in our daily training environment because when it comes to olympic games, there will be stress. so we need to be put under that stress to learn how to cope with it and practice, and develop the necessary mental skills in order to cope with that pressure. and so, yeah, you know, it s something that we accept is necessary. however, i think there is a balance that needs to be struck or not necessarily a balance, but the mental health of us as human beings is the most important thing. and, yeah, i think that what is coming out of this olympic games right now, along with the amazing successes of these athletes and the medals that everyone is winning this is massive, and i think this will have a really good effect on mental health discussions not
also i m joined by professor steve peters, sports psychiatrist to elite athletes and author of the chimp paradox and finally, paul farmer chief executive of mental health charity, mind is also with us. thank you to all three of you forjoining us. helen, i d like to start with you. tell us about your experiences as a player were there some days where you thought you might be physically fit, but mentally you just could not go on? yes, i was an athlete who has experienced struggles with my own mental health. i ve also been quite vocal about those experiences only, i must say, after the event, not during like some of these athletes are doing, which i think it s very commendable. as athletes, we live in a world that is just a constant stress in some ways, and lots
just in sport, but in society which i think is fantastic. professor, i m interested by something helen said there, there will be stress. historically, as you ll know better than me, managing extreme stress has been a highlight, a bedrock of sport i can think of cathy freeman in the 2000 olympics having the weight of a nation on her shoulders as she ran the 400 metres, pele opening up in a documentary about the pressures on him in the 1970 world cup. if we took all that away, wouldn t we also take away most of the sporting events of the past? i think it s very important, as helen was alluding to there, that we distinguish between what s mental illness and psychological distress or performance issues. because i think the performance issues are what s being highlighted at the moment, and they can lead to mental illness. that s the danger, trying to model the two things together instead