A Peek Into Lindsey Vonn’s Depression & Mental Health Problems

Many kids dream of getting a coveted Olympic gold medal placed around their neck with a large crowd cheering them on, but few ever make it there. For one little girl from Minnesota, this dream became a reality.

Lindsey Vonn’s Career

Lindsey Vonn is a highly decorated professional skier. With 4 women’s World Cup overall championships and 82 wins, she is the all-time leader in the event for race victories. Not to mention the three Olympic medals she has won, including 1 gold and 2 bronze. With all her hardware and a worn-out body, this year Vonn decided to hang up her skis and retire. Although her career is one that most people dream of, Lindsey Vonn faced many downfalls in her life.

Vonn’s Mental Health Struggles

For many years, the international championship skier battled depression. Vonn isn’t the only professional athlete to struggle with mental health either. For many elite athletes, the pressure to do more, be better, and win can take its toll. For Lindsey, her problems began in 2002 when her parents’ relationship started to fall apart. Although depression plagued her for many years, she mostly suffered in solidarity and first stepped forward about her struggles with depression in 2012. Vonn revealed that she was taking antidepressants to combat the symptoms and that she sought out treatment for depression that made her feel much better.²

Now many years later, Vonn’s depression is still a factor in her life. In the last year of her career specifically, she faced many physical health problems and injuries that hurt her mental health and made her depression worse. The details of Vonn’s depression and final season skiing have been made into a documentary by HBO called Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season.³ With her body telling her enough is enough, Vonn finally decided to retire. Although she no long struggles with the stress, pressure, and injuries that come from skiing on a world stage, she must now grapple with her retirement. Like many people, her battle with depression is an ongoing struggle.

Vonn Opens Up at 2019 Health of America Forum

Recently, Vonn opened up about her depression and mental health struggles at the 2019 Health of American Forum at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. The forum focused on millennial health trends and Vonn, as a millennial herself, shared her story.

She recounted her struggle with depression even at the peak of her career. Vonn also talked about her retirement saying, “It’s hard to feel 100% confident without skiing,” Vonn said. “A lot of times I feel just incredibly insecure, without that anchor in my life. Some days I wake up and I feel like I’m a complete failure, and other days I wake up and I feel really good.”

Many millennials can relate to Vonn’s struggle with mental health. There has been a 47% increase in major depression diagnoses in this generation since 2013 alone, but many are not getting treatment.⁴ At Banyan Mental Health, we understand the importance of asking for help. A residential mental health program could save a life.

If you are grappling with your mental health, you are not alone. Even famous athletes who appear to have it all can be battling mental health problems. Get help today at our mental health treatment center in Boca. We have experience dealing with various mental health problems and will do everything in our power to help. Reach out to us now at 888-280-4763 to get started.

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Reach out to us now at 888-280-4763 to get started.

Sources:

1. Britannica - Lindsey Vonn
2. USA Today - Skier Lindsey Vonn reveals she's battling depression
3. HBO - Everything You Need to Know About Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season
4. BlueCross BlueShield - Two million commercially insured Americans diagnosed with major depression are not seeking any treatment