I wish I was surprised when I read and heard the backlash against Simone Biles when she withdrew from the women’s gymnastics team competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. People were actually angry that she didn’t just suck it up, as some misguided folks like to put it. They felt as though she personally owes them a medal… or four.
I know there are some people who will simply never acknowledge that mental illness is real. I’ve got a lifetime of experience with people who would say my depression isn’t real, that my anxiety isn’t real, and that I should just suck it up, and be a man.
I’m a practical, solutions-based person, so the question becomes, what can we do to move the needle on mental health awareness?
Well, we hit them where it hurts: the bottom line.
The fact is, if Simone Biles had continued competing, she wasn’t going to help contribute to a gold medal.
That’s the same way an employee living through a mental health crisis isn’t going to make as many widgets as the boss wants… or sell as many cars or close as many deals.
I wish we didn’t have to resort to this tack, but if recent memory has taught us anything, it’s that things like science, data, and anecdotal experience doesn’t hold water with a certain crowd.
I sincerely wish we didn’t have to illustrate to people that forcing people to suck it up is bad for capitalism.
But there we are, right? And it might be the only way to convince them to practice compassion.
So it’s worth a try, right?
I’m Christopher Heimerman, and that’s my Perspective
