Simone Bile is considered one the greatest gymnasts of her era, but she drew both ire and support when she pulled out of the 2020 Toyko Olympics.
Biles explained to the press that she was experiencing "the twisties," a term that gymnasts use to describe when they lose their spatial awareness during their routines and their mind and body are out of sync, which can cause severe injuries, Newsweek reports.
Since taking a break from gymnastics, Biles said she has prioritized self-care and spending time with her boyfriend.
"My self-care routine looks a little bit different than pulling out of the Olympics … [it involves] taking baths, going to the spa, having movie nights with my boyfriend, and spending time at the pool with my dog," Biles said in an interview with Net-a-Porter's digital title Porter.
"I feel like to protect my mental health the main thing is like is hanging out with family and friends and people that you are comfortable with to kind of be distracted. But another thing that works for me is that I go to therapy, and I also know this doesn't help everybody, and everybody is different as well, but I'm also medicated to help relieve stress and anxiety, and depression, and it's also nothing to be ashamed of," the gold medalist told Good Morning America.
The athlete said she recalls being "scared" after making her decision to withdraw from three Olympic events, GMA
reports.
Fans, coaches, friends and other athletes including tennis champion Naomi Osaka, who removed herself from the French Open citing mental health issues, embraced Biles' choice.
Biles said her coaches were highly supportive, and they made sure she wouldn't regret the decision in the future.
Since then, Biles said self-imposed downtime has been necessary for her since her life has been consumed with training and competition.
"There's no timeline, and there's nothing that's really urgent from me right now," she said. "My whole life has been go, go, go. … So it's kind of nice to take a step back and relax."
