Content warning: eating disorders, suicidal ideation, OCD

I frequently encounter both disordered eating and suicidal ideation (both of which I have written about in detail in my book and in other blog posts). My brain tries to tell me “If you feel like you’re fat, you’re clearly fat” or “If you feel like you’re worthless, you’re clearly worthless”. I find it useful to see examples of people who are clearly highly skilled and accomplished athletes who also suffer from these challenges. These provide rock-solid counterexamples to those beliefs held by my brain. Equipped with these examples, it is easy to see that the fact that you think you are fat does not carry any information about your body. Likewise, the fact that you think you are worthless does not carry any information about your value.

Here are some examples.

Clare Shine has 7 caps with the Republic of Ireland national soccer team. Despite clearly being a world-class soccer player, she suffered from serious emotional challenges, due to which she turned to alcoholism. She also suffered from eating disorders, especially alongside her need to take antidepressant medication.

Briana Scurry was born into immensely disadvantaged conditions and became the starting goalkeeper in the famous “99’ers” US soccer team. She helped her team win gold in two Summer Olympics and the famous 1999 World Cup. After gaining some weight, she felt that she had “dishonored the U.S. Soccer crest”. After her career was ended due to a traumatic brain injury (and she was royally screwed by insurance companies), she “came close a few times” to jumping off of a bridge into a waterfall.

Millie Farrow has played for top soccer clubs in the WSL in England (including a first-place finish in the league) and the NWSL in the United States, and she currently plays for Sydney FC in Australia’s A-League Women. She has also represented England at the under 19 and under 23 levels. She fought through numerous injuries, including two ACL tears! While accomplishing these outstanding achievements, Farrow also suffered from anxiety, panic attacks, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. She wrote that in 2022: “I could feel I was mentally losing myself […] What do you do when you find yourself losing weight and you can’t eat properly because you feel sick due to the horrible thoughts that are entering your head?”

Alex Scott was a part of the Arsenal team that won a quadruple, including winning the Champions League, and she retired with 145 caps for the England and Great Britain national teams. Despite this, she acknowledges having body image issues. She is insecure about her butt and quad muscles, especially in her post-soccer media career where she frequently encounters professional models.

Sources:

  • Scoring Goals in the Dark: The Extraordinary and Brave Story of International Footballer Clare Shine (Clare Shine, Gareth Maher)
  • My Greatest Save: The Brave, Barrier-Breaking Journey of a World Champion Goalkeeper (Briana Scurry, Wayne Coffey)
  • Brave Enough Not to Quit: How I Realised My Football Dream (Millie Farrow)
  • How (Not) to Be Strong (Alex Scott)