On Simone Biles

A psychologist expressing an opinion on somebody who is not their patient is a huge red flag, but it becomes risible when commenting on a sport the mental requirements of which they are totally ignorant. 

Child psychologist Clare Rowe arguably breached her professional and ethical obligations when she appeared as an expert on the Bolt Report and gave this take on United States gymnast Simone Biles’ withdrawal from the Olympic team finals: ‘she commenced the competition, and then she stuffed up, and then she quit.’ ‘I don’t know what else is going on for Simone Biles,’ Rowe continued, before doubling down by saying ‘from the outside looking in, it looks as though she’s chucked a tantrum and thrown in the towel.’ 

Just a suggestion: perhaps if she didn’t ‘know what else is going on for Simone Biles’ (who, by the way, spent her early years in foster care, has ADHD and was sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar), it would be prudent for Rowe to not hold herself out as a health professional while speculating ‘as an outsider looking in.’ Unsurprisingly, it turns out Rowe did not know what she was talking about, with it later being revealed that Biles was suffering from what is known by gymnasts as ‘the twisties’ (essentially mid-air vertigo that prevents athletes from telling up from down). Bolt and Rowe are not experts on the effect of one’s mental state on physiology in a sport that requires participants to be so finely-tuned. Biles being disoriented was not only a risk to her physical safety, it jeopardised the chances of her team. 

Bolt and Rowe mainly had an axe to grind about USA Gymnastics, commentators and fans ‘applaud[ing] her bravery in prioritizing her well-being,’ contending that Biles deserves ‘sympathy, but not praise.’ Their arguments in this regard were predictable: she started something so she should have finished it, she let down her team, it’s not a good example to pull the plug when you have a setback, etcetera etcetera. Real Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Gymnastics type stuff.  

There is a serious broader point to be made here: Biles was at work. Many people will relate to the feeling of reluctance at pulling back on work because there is a project in train, or their colleagues will need to pick up the slack, and of being apprehensive about expressing the need to do so for the sake of their wellbeing to their employer. Bolt and Rowe effectively saying Biles should have sucked it up and gotten on with it is an irresponsible, even dangerous message about handling stress and pressure. 

I was diagnosed with depression at age 18, and after a severe manic, then psychotic episode that, in retrospect, quite understandably,  occurred in the early no-toilet-paper-on-the-shelves days of Melbourne lockdown 1.0, I was hospitalised and diagnosed with type 1 bipolar disorder. 

Employment declarations (especially the kind you fill out prior to securing the position) have always been a dilemma for me: though on principle I feel a duty to detail my mental health, and while I know that technically the Disability Discrimination Act prohibits prospective employers from holding it against me, I am aware that this is not necessarily the practical reality. 

It is even more of a conundrum now I am aware that my condition is not your garden-variety, largely-destigmatised depression or anxiety, but one that can literally make me (apologies in advance for the term) crazy. I am also entering the legal profession, which is notoriously stressful and requires the constant exercise of sound intellectual and ethical judgement. Given I have doubts about my own ability to meet the inherent requirements of a position (an exception to the operation of the Disability Discrimination Act), I can hardly blame a prospective employer for having these concerns. 

Be that as it may, I am still faced with the decision of whether or not to lie on a form which I will sign as being true and complete. At a legal level, not flagging your condition with an employer can have adverse consequences should you seek to rely on it later during performance management discussions or a disciplinary proceeding, but, more to the point, from a human resources perspective, I am certain that my ability to mitigate the effect of my illness on my employment (and vice versa) if I am able to discuss the matter. Declaring it and engaging in an ongoing dialogue with my employer is in the interest of all involved, which is common sense really, given it is best practice for managing practically every other health condition in the workplace. It would put the employer in a position to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ (the exception to the ‘inherent requirements’ exception alluded to above) to accommodate my condition. And yes, this might at times include withdrawing from collaborative projects.

Fifteen years after watching Western Australian Premier Geoff Gallop resigning from politics to aid his treatment for depression, it beggars belief that I am still hearing such an ordinary take, not just from the likes of Bolt, but from a member of a profession I trust with my psychic wellbeing. My generation (millennials) and Biles’ (zoomers) absolutely need to be the last to have these experiences, so yes, she absolutely deserves praise for hopefully sparing us the same debate at Brisbane 2032.