Simone Biles put her mental health first — and it paid off. 5 habits we can all adopt.
Simone Biles is leaving the Paris Olympics with four new medals: three golds and one silver. The gymnastics legend posted a photo of herself wearing her new achievements on Instagram Monday, writing that the experience was “more than my wildest dreams.”
But while the 27-year-old had a successful Olympic Games by athletic standards, she also repeatedly said during interviews, on social media and in her docuseries, Simone Biles: Rising, that she’s doing great on the mental health front too. That’s a huge change from the last Olympics in Tokyo, when she struggled with a case of the “twisties” and needed to bow out of much of the competition that she had been expected to dominate.
Biles shared in her docuseries that she started going to therapy after the 2020 Games to help process struggles she’s had in her life, including living in foster care as a child, her “traumatizing” experience at the hands of disgraced former U.S. women’s gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar and dealing with life in the spotlight. She was also open about continuing therapy while she was at the Paris Olympics, even having a session with her therapist before helping Team USA win gold at the women’s team event.
“I started off with therapy this morning. That was super exciting,” she told Olympics.com after the win. “I told my therapist I was feeling calm and ready.”
But fans have also noticed how happy Biles seemed during these Olympics. She could regularly be seen high-fiving and hugging her teammates — and even her competitors — on the sidelines of the competitions. When Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade narrowly beat Biles to win gold in the floor exercise, Biles and her teammate Jordan Chiles bowed to Andrade on the podium. “She deserved it. She had the best floor routine of the day and in the Olympics,” Biles later told Today.
Overall, it seems that Biles put in the work on the mental health front — and psychologists say there are lessons everyone can learn from that. Here's what to know.
Meditation can help calm a busy mind
After winning gold in the individual all-around, Biles didn’t immediately post on social media about her massive achievement. Instead, she shared a photo on Instagram of herself sitting calmly in a chair on the sidelines, with her eyes closed. “Mental health matters,” she wrote in the caption. Fans and mental health experts flooded the comments with messages of support.
“Mindfulness practices are a great way to ground yourself and reduce your anxiety,” Dr. Joshua Norman, a physician specializing in sports psychiatry at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. While these exercises can be helpful for athletes in the lead-up to competition, Norman says that anyone can benefit from meditation.
Jaime Zuckerman, a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of adults with anxiety and mood disorders, agrees. “Anything that has to do with meditation or mindfulness strategy is really important to do, and not just when you’re depressed or anxious,” she tells Yahoo Life. “It helps you to get out of your head and stay within your body.”
Lily Brown, director of research at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania, adds that this can be especially helpful to do before a stressful event, like a meeting with your boss. “If you find yourself getting worked up beforehand, the best thing might be to take a moment to meditate to focus on what you need to do,” she says.
Therapy can be done nearly anywhere
Biles also casually slipped into a TikTok that she had therapy before the individual all-around final. “I’m really nervous — that’s to be expected. I did have therapy this morning, so I feel a little bit better,” she said. “I’ve just worked so hard, mentally, to get to this moment.”
“I grinned with joy when I saw Simone’s quote sharing that she had a therapy session in the morning prior to the team event last week,” Hillary Ammon, a clinical psychologist at the Center for Anxiety and Women’s Emotional Wellness, tells Yahoo Life. “This incredible athlete, who so many admire, is comfortable sharing that even she needs therapy before a competition.”
Brown notes that research has found that virtual and in-person therapy are equally beneficial. “The added benefit is [that virtual therapy is] accessible to more people,” whether you’re away competing at the Olympic Games or a busy working parent who can’t find the time to get to a doctor’s office, she says.
“Simone talking about this shows how normal virtual therapy is,” Zuckerman says. “It’s not horrible to do online therapy. It’s accessible, no matter where you are.”
Setting boundaries is crucial
Given that Biles is such a beloved public figure, many people have opinions about not just her, but her marriage too. Her husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, has gotten a lot of heat over the past year for saying on the Pivot podcast that he felt he was “the catch” in their relationship. But Biles has made it clear that her marriage is off-limits, recently calling out “miserable” commenters criticizing Owens — who missed part of the Chicago Bears training camp to cheer his wife on in Paris — for wearing her gold medal in a photo. “Leave us alone,” she wrote in the comments of one TikTok.
Ammon says that Biles’s response is “a refreshing reminder that you can set your own boundaries.” She continues, “With those boundaries, Simone seems more confident in herself and what she stands for.”
This practice is “huge for everybody,” Brown adds. “We’ve become a society where our boundaries have been lowered in terms of how accessible we are for people,” she says. “But it’s OK to give yourself permission to just focus on the relationships that matter, regardless of what others think.”
It’s OK to put yourself first
Biles revealed in a TikTok that she needed to avoid dining in the Olympic Village with other athletes because it was raising her anxiety.
“The first day we got here, and I got to the cafeteria, and a lot of people were asking me for photos, like, nonstop,” she said. “And whenever I sat down to eat, my anxiety was so bad, I was shaking.” Biles also said she decided to stock up on food and eat in her room instead.
“I just go to the store, stock up on food and just, like, stay here because it gets me so anxious,” she said, noting that she felt “overwhelmed” by the attention.
Norman says that it takes “courage” to put yourself first, which “helps encourage a healthy environment” around you. Zuckerman agrees that not being a people pleaser can be “very difficult for people,” but it’s also important for overall mental health. “If you say yes to everything, you end up with a watered-down version of yourself,” she says.
Brown points out that people can be labeled “selfish” when they learn to prioritize their needs, but stresses its importance. “If you continue to suppress your needs above others’, you’ll get to a point where you can’t take it anymore,” she says.
Do social media on your own terms
Before heading to the 2024 Paris Olympics, Biles told Today that “limiting social media and stuff like that is going to be [important].” At the time, she said she planned to completely stay off X but still use Instagram and TikTok.
“Insta is good. It’s a good way to connect,” she said. “It’s a way to share what we’re going through. And TikTok. I’ve tried to make a little more TikToks.”
Being mindful about your social media consumption can make a big difference in how you end up feeling mentally, Brown says. “The research on social media is only in its early days and we probably don’t even understand how pervasive it is,” she says. Brown says it’s “not realistic” for most people to completely get off social media, but she stresses the importance of considering how it can best serve you. “Ask yourself how much time you want to spend on it and what is healthy for [you],” she says.
Overall, experts say it’s invaluable that Biles has been so open about her mental health journey. “Not only did Simone do what was best for her overall well-being in the Tokyo Olympics, but she continued to talk about her mental health — her journey in therapy and her ability to enjoy life and make the decision to return to the gymnastics mat, when she felt ready,” Ammon says.
Zuckerman praises Biles for continuing to talk about her mental health, and not just when she’s struggling. “It shows that taking care of mental health is normal and that mental health doesn’t escape anybody,” she says. “It’s something you have to learn to live alongside.”
Brown calls Biles “an incredible role model for so many reasons.” She continues, “She highlights that mental health is health. To be in your best physical condition, you also need to be on top of your mental health — and she’s thriving because of it.”
In other Olympics news:
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You don’t have to be an Olympian to exercise like one. Check out these simple moves inspired by rowing, high jump, gymnastics and more.
Mental strength matters. Here's how three members of Team USA get in the zone — from journaling to juggling.
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What’s the deal with E. coli in the Seine — and is Colin Jost’s foot OK? From pregnant fencers to those dark circles you see on some athletes’ bodies, we’ve got answers to your Olympics health questions.
Even the parents are getting a workout. Some Olympians’ loved ones have been hooked up with heart rate monitors — and for some, watching their kids compete has resulted in spiked readings. Does that mean spectating is a sport in itself?
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