“I didn’t know what it was,” she said. “Nobody talked about it. Nobody talked about being depressed. … When you’re sitting there crying for no reason, and you think you have to fix yourself and you just need to get better and only show people your face when you can make a fake smile. That’s what I felt like.”
Her struggle continued for months, until a national team doctor found her crying in an airport and confronted Hughes about the possibility of her suffering from depression.
“I thought I could fix myself, and I should fix myself, when I was depressed,” she said. “Before that, I didn’t even know I was depressed. It wasn’t until someone intervened and educated me on the matter.”
She pursued professional help, and to this day, carries on with therapy to help shine light on her dark days.
“Depression and mental illness in every single form is different for each person,” she said. “It’s something that I live with and I will live with for the rest of my life.”
Her struggle continued for months, until a national team doctor found her crying in an airport and confronted Hughes about the possibility of her suffering from depression.
“I thought I could fix myself, and I should fix myself, when I was depressed,” she said. “Before that, I didn’t even know I was depressed. It wasn’t until someone intervened and educated me on the matter.”
She pursued professional help, and to this day, carries on with therapy to help shine light on her dark days.
“Depression and mental illness in every single form is different for each person,” she said. “It’s something that I live with and I will live with for the rest of my life.”
—
Orangeville Article: Olympian Clara Hughes shares her tale of depression
Clara Hughes, such an inspiration
