WATCH: Olympian shares his mental health struggles at Limerick business event
ONE-in-four people suffer with their mental health at some stage in life was one statistic shared to a full room of prominent Limerick businesspeople.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Castletroy Park Hotel this Friday morning for a breakfast briefing in aid of the Limerick Mental Health Association and Limerick Chamber.
Olympian David Gillick, Treaty United manager Tommy Barrett, Linda Ledger, CEO of St Munchins Community Centre and D. Lisa O’Rourke Scott: Chair of Limerick Mental Health Association and Head of Psychology at TUS made up the panel with each sharing their own insights into mental health, leadership skills and general well being.
Former Irish athlete David Gillick began his running career at the tender age of seven and went on to represent Ireland at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing as well as indoor and outdoor European nationals where he obtained gold in 2005 and 2007 (400 metres).
A torn achilles at the young age of 30 cut his career prematurely short and with that devastating end came a wave of mental health struggles and a battle that he says he will face for the rest of his life.
He candidly shared what life was like stating: “I was embarrassed. I felt I let an awful lot of people down”.
Now approaching his 40th birthday and becoming a well known face on RTÉ, commenting at athletics competitions and speaking publicly at events, the Ballinteer native explained to the Limerick Leader / Limerick Live how life after sport is crucially important for mental health.
“I think when you're involved in sports, we all want success and we all want medals, we all want trophies and all that comes with it but what I would say to people is don't let sport define you. Yes, you can have the passion and you can put all the hours and the minutes into it to get that success, but you know, be aware of your confidence and self-worth.
“Because sport is fragile. You have a shelf life and you could have the swan song and retire on your terms, or you could get an injury in one game or training session. And I think sometimes in sport we just need to focus on that holistic approach to it and have other interests, other social aspects, maybe away from sport too,” he added.
Watch the video above