Rafael Nadal Breaks the Shackles on Mental Health ‘Taboo’ With an Intensely Personal Confession

Rafael Nadal is known for his indomitable spirit on the tennis court. However, this tennis maestro also suffered from mental health issues during his professional tennis career. Now in a candid conversation, Rafael Nadal finally spoke about the measures he took to fight against his mental health issues.

Nadal suffered a massive setback after his injury that needed him to operate and took a break from tennis for over a year. This impacted Nadal’s performance and his mental health. Now this legendary tennis star revealed his fights against mental health issues.

Rafael Nadal confirmed his mental health issues and visited psychologists for that

In a recent interview, Nadal candidly spoke about his mental health issues. He said- “I have never had any problem talking about it [mental health], I went to a psychologist twice in my life, at two different stages in my life for two different problems I had. If you have pain in your leg, you go to the doctor. Maybe it has been a more taboo subject in the past, but I don’t think about it this way, I perceive it as something normal and natural. It is just another part of the body, I would say it is the most important.”

This Spaniard legend confirmed seeking help in his issue as he mentioned- “The people who have problems, no matter how small, if they can receive help and it helps them be happier, they are welcome.” Nadal explained that mental health problems are like any other normal disease, for which people need to visit doctors.

Previously also, Nadal delved deeper into the subject and expressed his thoughts. Nadal said- “Everybody approaches the issues in a different way, We are under pressure because the competition makes you feel more stress. But, at the same time, we are super lucky persons, you know, because we are able to work on one of our hobbies. The most important thing in this life, in my opinion, is be happy, more than anything else.”

Read more: Rafael Nadal Talks About his Mental Strength: “I Always Wanted to Have this Fighting Spirit”

Rafael Nadal’s statement brings the issues of athletes’ mental health issues to the forefront. The fact that players like Nadal are speaking in favor of therapy, gives courage to many of his fans to come forward and seek expert help in this matter. This is the way we can help build a society that is free from any taboos about mental health.

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