AP Photo/Matthias Schrader
- Simone Biles recently shared that she goes to therapy, despite initially resisting it.
- The gymnast said she went through an emotional rollercoaster when her training was paused due to the pandemic.
- She said she didn't talk in her first session but she now looks forward to her sessions.
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When her training was paused due to the pandemic last March, Simone Biles went through "all the emotions."
"Angry, sad, upset, happy, annoyed," she told Glamour for a recent cover story. "I got to go through all of it by myself, without anybody telling me what to feel."
At first, the 24-year-old Olympic gymnast filled her newfound free time with self-care. She took lots of bubble baths, spent time with her boyfriend, and attempted to do her own hair, nails, and makeup.
But eventually, Biles decided to seek professional help. Even though she felt depressed and at one point considered dropping out of the Tokyo Olympics, she was somewhat resistant to starting therapy.
"One of the very first sessions, I didn't talk at all," Biles told Glamour. "I just wouldn't say anything. I was like, 'I'm not crazy. I don't need to be here.'"
Biles has opened up about her mental health in the past. She told Priyanka Chopra Jonas that after the sexual abuse she experienced at the hands of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, she struggled with depression and slept all the time.
Eventually, the gymnast warmed up to therapy. "I've learned it's OK to ask for help if you need it," she said.
"I thought I could figure it out on my own, but that's sometimes not the case. And that's not something you should feel guilty or ashamed of," she added. "Once I got over that fact, I actually enjoyed it and looked forward to going to therapy. It's a safe space."