At the Mental Health For US Town Hall in New Hampshire a series of politicians, advocates, judges, and mental health experts spoke about the systemic issues surrounding mental health and criminal justice. Among these speakers was Sarah True, a two-time Olympic triathlete. Sarah’s story resonated with the crowd, as she openly shared about her relationship with her mental wellbeing during her experiences as a high performing athlete. Sarah True’s final remarks were what I found to be one of the most important points of the Town Hall: actions taken by ordinary people drive government initiative to create change, but we need to encourage people to take that first step.
True emphasized the importance of being transparent surrounding mental health. In a profession where she is required to test herself physically, her mental state is also challenged. “There are days where I wake up and I feel like Wonder Woman… and there are also days where I wake up, I look in the mirror, and I see someone who… is not strong enough.” In some of her darkest times, unrealistic expectations often overpowered her mind, leading to her perceived failure as an athlete. After acknowledging her struggles with mental health, she now sees these “failures” as something to address and work on, rather than internalize.
“It was at this point that I realized I had to talk.” First to herself, then to her husband and then to a therapist. She realized just how fortunate she was as she had resources available to her, along with a strong support system in her family and friends. But she didn’t want to stop there: she wanted to help others. “It’s high time that we have systems in place in the state and in this country that treats every life as possessing equal worth and equal value.”
Sarah True expressed her concerns about our current system, in which mental health is usually discussed only when the situation becomes a crisis: “Sadly, I don’t know how we can fix the system. But I know the first step is having this kind of dialogue.” With this thought, she calls for change in both policy and general society: “There’s no real thing of ‘mental health,’ It’s just health”. Our brains are part of us, and the only way we can function optimally is if we take care of all of us from head to toe.” Sarah True’s courage and her passion for making change in any way is very powerful and will continue to inspire others to do the same. We are lucky to have her on this team.
