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Great story. I kind of agree with many others here that it sounds like a mental health issue. But I also think that the story is more complicated than that. W

Great story. I kind of agree with many others here that it sounds like a mental health issue. But I also think that the story is more complicated than that. We shouldn't neglect the impact on the brain a professional sports career has. I've seen it many times. The amount of sacrifice and energy put into something like this leads to a very unbalanced lifestyle, which is usually encouraged from all sides (parents, coaches, friends). Most often, the only positive emotion athletes experience is that joy of achieving a goal, and this quickly starts becoming an addiction. Especially in sports where not a lot of money is involved, passion and perseverance play a huge role in personal motivation and these sports usually attract athletes that put everything on hold in their life for their minute in the spotlight. Unfortunately, only a minor fraction of athletes ends their career by choice. Usually, lack of success or injuries tend to force people to retire with unfinished business. This hits the "addicted" athlete very hard, and in an environment where it is generally not advisable to show weakness, can lead to severe mental health issues quickly. Speaking from personal experience, life is pretty dull after being forced to retire. I fell into a deep existential crisis, mostly because the thing that was responsible for most of the joy in my life wasn't even remotely fun anymore, even as a simple hobby. The fact that I knew I wasn't on top of my game anymore, and I am not investing 100% of my energy into improving made it a pretty dull experience. On top of that, most of my social environment was still connected to that sport, so I wasn't really able to walk away and focus entirely on something different. And even worse, everything else I tried felt meaningless, I felt like it wasn't worth it if I didn't invest 100% of my energy into something I was passionate about. For me, nothing compares to the joy of pursuing a passion and putting everything I have into it. Source: myself and plenty of my friends and competitors. And yes, I got some help and things are much better now.

rograndom 7y ago
A big part of it is not so much the joy of achieving a goal by winning, but instead it's more of relief that you didn't fail. The positive feelings from winning do not come close to offsetting the negative feelings from not winning, even if it's second place.
leroy_masochist 7y ago
> We shouldn't neglect the impact on the brain a professional sports career has. I think this is true in the abstract, but in this particular story, there's a lot more going on. She was a homeless teenager when she was discovered as a rider, and the article strongly implies that the only stable life she's ever known is racing. This isn't a Ryan Leaf-type story, where a talented athlete was pushed too hard by their parents, coaches, and teammates and ended up breaking under the pressure. I think Rebecca's circumstances are way more poignantly tragic. My heart goes out to her and I hope she gets the stability and peace she seems to be searching for.
- aladinator 7y ago
  You're right, there is a lot more going on. The point I was trying to make is that this happens even for athletes coming from a "healthy" environment, and that the way her story unfolded after her career is not all that surprising to me. Personally I wish that there was more guidance and help available for retired athletes, but on the other hand I also realize most athletes on this level are too stubborn to get that help anyway..
ordu 7y ago
I wonder could endorphins play their role. Production of endorphins are triggered by pain in the muscles when excercising, and athlete becomes accustomed to it and (as I heard) even addicted to a physical activity. When athlete stops her sports career, physical activity levels suddenly drops, so no more cheap endorphins. At the same time she face a problem of resocialization into "normal" lifestyle. Patterns in her mind know the only way to be happy, to work hard, to excercise and to win. I suppose it can be hard, very hard. Especially a first year after retirement. But Twigg's case seems more complicated for me than that. Her lifestyle suspiciously in harmony with her mother kicked her out of home when she was just 16.
Taylor_OD 7y ago
Yes. I was a competitive athlete for years and filling that void after leaving the sport was very difficult. To be honest I dumped a lot of that energy into my work but I've realized over the last few years that I need something equally satisfying at home that has some type of competitive aspect to it. Otherwise I get very bored very quickly at home and will spent way too many hours in the office.
- jl2718 7y ago
  The problem with dumping extremism into your profession is that it doesn’t work the way sports do. In career, you can’t measure yourself, and it doesn’t even matter because pedigree and politics beat hard work and skill every time.
  - Taylor_OD 7y ago
    That may be true but I'm not competing with folks that have strong pedigree's and connections every time. Sometimes I'm even the one with connections that help me beat someone else out.
  - Datenstrom 7y ago
    > pedigree and politics beat hard work and skill every time. I can't agree with this as a universal truth. Personally I only got noticed and landed a job at NASA because of hard work and skill. I was hired for my current job based on capability also. Places that are capability based have been great to work at. I don't even have a degree which is very unusual in my particular field. I do agree it is generally true though.
  - jbattle 7y ago
    for better or worse, politics IS a skill!
mcv 7y ago
Is the mental health issue the cause of the homelessness, or is the homelessness the cause of the mental health issue? There have been a number of studies that show that poverty has a very real impact on your mental abilities. It wouldn't surprise me at all if homelessness itself causes mental health problems. But there are absolutely also athletes who have a hard time functioning outside their sports bubble.
- pontifier 7y ago
  It's very hard to get enough good sleep when homeless. It's also hard to find bathrooms, food, any sort of comfortable rest, ETC... Expecting anyone to remain sane for an extended period (or even a short time) under these conditions is absurd.
Balgair 7y ago
Arguably the most accomplished athlete ever, Michael Phelps, has struggled with these same issues [0]. Today he is more upfront about his suicidal issues and what strategies he uses to help with his mental health. Such issues are incredibly personal, but there does seem to be some correlations with 'Black Swan' people (per the Natalie Portman movie) and later term mental health. [0] https://www.menshealth.com/health/a24268441/michael-phelps-depression/ https://www.menshealth.com/health/a24268441/michael-phelps-d... If you need someone to talk with please call: 1-800-273-8255. Alternatively, I'd love to talk with you (the reader of this sentence) as well, Hacker to Hacker.
- jniedrauer 7y ago
  I know that posting suicide hotline numbers seems like the right thing to do, but it's generally not helpful. People who call these numbers run the real risk of being detained against their will for extended periods of time while running up large hospital bills, when they just needed someone to talk to. Then there's the lack of statistical evidence that suicide hotline numbers actually prevent suicides in the long run.
  - e12e 7y ago
    > lack of statistical evidence that suicide hotline numbers actually prevent suicides in the long run. I'm not sure if you say what you mean; but that's not really their purpose as I understand it? Prevent a suicide today, open the door to treatment tomorrow - vs failing to prevent a suicide today, and there being no option for treatment tomorrow?
    - DanBC 7y ago
      There's not much evidence that suicide hotlines prevent a death by suicide today thus opening the door to treatment tomorrow. There's even a suggestion that suicide helplines might normalise suicide, or make it more real. https://twitter.com/ProfLAppleby/status/1110821429443026946 https://twitter.com/ProfLAppleby/status/1110821429443026946
jdietrich 7y ago
>We shouldn't neglect the impact on the brain a professional sports career has. I've seen it many times. The amount of sacrifice and energy put into something like this leads to a very unbalanced lifestyle, which is usually encouraged from all sides (parents, coaches, friends). I think you might have the causal relationship backwards, at least for a lot of athletes. Elite sport is a really good way of not dealing with your emotional problems. It's a socially legitimate form of obsession, a path in life that makes eating disorders and self-harm look like the determination to win. You can lead a lifestyle that would be obviously pathological for anyone but an elite athlete and people will applaud you for it. It's an all-consuming kind of avoidance coping that nobody scrutinises too deeply. When athletes retire, they lose their structure, they lose their support network, but they also lose their excuses. All the problems you used sport to escape from are now front-and-center, and you've got nowhere left to run. It's like sobering up after a 20-year bender.

rograndom 7y ago

A big part of it is not so much the joy of achieving a goal by winning, but instead it's more of relief that you didn't fail. The positive feelings from winning do not come close to offsetting the negative feelings from not winning, even if it's second place.

leroy_masochist 7y ago

> We shouldn't neglect the impact on the brain a professional sports career has. I think this is true in the abstract, but in this particular story, there's a lot more going on. She was a homeless teenager when she was discovered as a rider, and the article strongly implies that the only stable life she's ever known is racing. This isn't a Ryan Leaf-type story, where a talented athlete was pushed too hard by their parents, coaches, and teammates and ended up breaking under the pressure. I think Rebecca's circumstances are way more poignantly tragic. My heart goes out to her and I hope she gets the stability and peace she seems to be searching for.

aladinator 7y ago
You're right, there is a lot more going on. The point I was trying to make is that this happens even for athletes coming from a "healthy" environment, and that the way her story unfolded after her career is not all that surprising to me. Personally I wish that there was more guidance and help available for retired athletes, but on the other hand I also realize most athletes on this level are too stubborn to get that help anyway..

ordu 7y ago

I wonder could endorphins play their role. Production of endorphins are triggered by pain in the muscles when excercising, and athlete becomes accustomed to it and (as I heard) even addicted to a physical activity. When athlete stops her sports career, physical activity levels suddenly drops, so no more cheap endorphins. At the same time she face a problem of resocialization into "normal" lifestyle. Patterns in her mind know the only way to be happy, to work hard, to excercise and to win. I suppose it can be hard, very hard. Especially a first year after retirement. But Twigg's case seems more complicated for me than that. Her lifestyle suspiciously in harmony with her mother kicked her out of home when she was just 16.

Taylor_OD 7y ago

Yes. I was a competitive athlete for years and filling that void after leaving the sport was very difficult. To be honest I dumped a lot of that energy into my work but I've realized over the last few years that I need something equally satisfying at home that has some type of competitive aspect to it. Otherwise I get very bored very quickly at home and will spent way too many hours in the office.

jl2718 7y ago
The problem with dumping extremism into your profession is that it doesn’t work the way sports do. In career, you can’t measure yourself, and it doesn’t even matter because pedigree and politics beat hard work and skill every time.
- Taylor_OD 7y ago
  That may be true but I'm not competing with folks that have strong pedigree's and connections every time. Sometimes I'm even the one with connections that help me beat someone else out.
- Datenstrom 7y ago
  > pedigree and politics beat hard work and skill every time. I can't agree with this as a universal truth. Personally I only got noticed and landed a job at NASA because of hard work and skill. I was hired for my current job based on capability also. Places that are capability based have been great to work at. I don't even have a degree which is very unusual in my particular field. I do agree it is generally true though.
- jbattle 7y ago
  for better or worse, politics IS a skill!

mcv 7y ago

Is the mental health issue the cause of the homelessness, or is the homelessness the cause of the mental health issue? There have been a number of studies that show that poverty has a very real impact on your mental abilities. It wouldn't surprise me at all if homelessness itself causes mental health problems. But there are absolutely also athletes who have a hard time functioning outside their sports bubble.

pontifier 7y ago
It's very hard to get enough good sleep when homeless. It's also hard to find bathrooms, food, any sort of comfortable rest, ETC... Expecting anyone to remain sane for an extended period (or even a short time) under these conditions is absurd.

Balgair 7y ago

Arguably the most accomplished athlete ever, Michael Phelps, has struggled with these same issues [0]. Today he is more upfront about his suicidal issues and what strategies he uses to help with his mental health. Such issues are incredibly personal, but there does seem to be some correlations with 'Black Swan' people (per the Natalie Portman movie) and later term mental health. [0] https://www.menshealth.com/health/a24268441/michael-phelps-depression/ https://www.menshealth.com/health/a24268441/michael-phelps-d... If you need someone to talk with please call: 1-800-273-8255. Alternatively, I'd love to talk with you (the reader of this sentence) as well, Hacker to Hacker.

jniedrauer 7y ago
I know that posting suicide hotline numbers seems like the right thing to do, but it's generally not helpful. People who call these numbers run the real risk of being detained against their will for extended periods of time while running up large hospital bills, when they just needed someone to talk to. Then there's the lack of statistical evidence that suicide hotline numbers actually prevent suicides in the long run.
- e12e 7y ago
  > lack of statistical evidence that suicide hotline numbers actually prevent suicides in the long run. I'm not sure if you say what you mean; but that's not really their purpose as I understand it? Prevent a suicide today, open the door to treatment tomorrow - vs failing to prevent a suicide today, and there being no option for treatment tomorrow?
  - DanBC 7y ago
    There's not much evidence that suicide hotlines prevent a death by suicide today thus opening the door to treatment tomorrow. There's even a suggestion that suicide helplines might normalise suicide, or make it more real. https://twitter.com/ProfLAppleby/status/1110821429443026946 https://twitter.com/ProfLAppleby/status/1110821429443026946

jdietrich 7y ago

>We shouldn't neglect the impact on the brain a professional sports career has. I've seen it many times. The amount of sacrifice and energy put into something like this leads to a very unbalanced lifestyle, which is usually encouraged from all sides (parents, coaches, friends). I think you might have the causal relationship backwards, at least for a lot of athletes. Elite sport is a really good way of not dealing with your emotional problems. It's a socially legitimate form of obsession, a path in life that makes eating disorders and self-harm look like the determination to win. You can lead a lifestyle that would be obviously pathological for anyone but an elite athlete and people will applaud you for it. It's an all-consuming kind of avoidance coping that nobody scrutinises too deeply. When athletes retire, they lose their structure, they lose their support network, but they also lose their excuses. All the problems you used sport to escape from are now front-and-center, and you've got nowhere left to run. It's like sobering up after a 20-year bender.