Roisin Willis opens up about struggle with insomnia and depression

Hmm....trying to remember what happened on here when Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka spoke about their mental struggles. I can't remember. I'll just wait to see how this thread unfolds.

Never heard of Biles or Osaka, are they on LetsOtherSports.com ?

Roisin:

welcome to being an adult

I know this is the day and age of social media where every moment of our lives - the good, bad, and ugly - must be shared with the world - but I can't help but wonder if handling depression quietly amongst friends, family, and a therapist is a better solution than announcing your mental struggles to the entire world.

I just don't see the upside in volunteering your deepest and darkest issues to total strangers.

I talked to Roisin twice this year, once indoors and once outdoors. She's a very nice person.

I didn't know she was having any kind of problems until the PAC-12 championship in mid May when it became obvious that she wasn't running as well as she usually does. One of her teammates told me at that meet that Roisin was dealing with some health issues, but didn't go into the details.

Not being able to sleep really sucks. I've only had that problem a few times in my life when I was sick, but fortunately it didn't last long. I can't imagine having trouble sleeping for weeks or months.

I hope Roisin is able to deal with her depression and insomnia issues this summer so she can be back to being 100% when school starts in the fall.

Her life is being conducted literally under a microscope. I recall my lesser known college career in the dorms. Always too much comotion for me then to finally find a quiet place to study (outside of mandatory study tables) was hard without running into people I knew. I needed the ability to shut a door, remain quiet and in the zone for hours and really separate from people. If she feels the pull from the academic demands of her coursework and the push from her sporting life, she may feel caught between. Sometimes as a freshman and sophomore I was scared to say "no" to birthdays and other social gatherings but had to learn to say "no" and really prioritize. If she is a perfectionist or OCD with regard to cleaning and quiet time, she may be living in a fight or flight mode, still fighting but ready for flight.

In the beginning of school, I would stay up Wednesday nights to study for a 06:25AM lab quiz for a measely 20pts but if I didnt stay up I'd score only 10. So I stayed up every Wednesday night. Little obligations like that begin to add up and you "burn the candle wick at both ends". It is only sustainable for a short period of time.

I would love to know what you do for a living and what makes you so hard.

Wait, I don’t …

One is an 18 year old with depression. That is a mental illness. The other 2 are 25 year old professional athletes who can't take the pressure of competition. It is like a blue collar worker missing work due to a broke leg as opposed to calling in sick because he doesn't want to go to work.

Let me refresh your memory. Biles quit on her teammates at the Olympics and Osaka quit playing the tour. Willis, on the other hand, showed up at NCAAs and gave it her best shot.

Very good point.

Depression is a medical condition. It’s not something that people “claim” to have, you focking chucklehead.

My insomnia PR is just shy of 120 hours, and I wouldn’t wish extended insomnia on anyone, ever.

WTF kind of place/program has a 06h25 lab? I didn’t even have that in organic chem. Not even in the military!