Helen Maroulis has at all times been a fighter.
Her wrestling journey started on the age of seven when her older brother wanted a sparring associate. In highschool, she wrestled largely towards boys, serving to change the panorama of wrestling in Maryland. She would shock the world within the 2016 Olympics, the place she turned the primary ever feminine wrestler to win gold towards Saori Yoshida, who was a 16-time world champion and going for her fourth gold medal.
Helen Maroulis had reached some extent she had dreamed about for years as much as that second. However her hardest struggle was forward of her.
She would undergo two critical concussions that resulted in mind trauma, and she or he would later be identified with PTSD. She would battle with an altered persona, uncontrollable feelings that led to her briefly retiring. By means of wrestling, she would discover a strategy to deal with her signs to take dwelling bronze in her Olympic return in Tokyo final yr.
The journey again to that time in addition to her highway to restoration is chronicled within the upcoming documentary Helen | Believe (launch date TBD). The movie was produced by Faith of Sports activities, Reserve Leisure, and Chris Pratt’s Indivisible Productions/.
Helen Maroulis spoke with Muscle and Health concerning the cathartic means of placing collectively the documentary and chronicling her restoration from her harm. She additionally mentioned what led to her getting again on the mats and why she needed to inform her story.
Telling the Story of Helen Maroulis
Andrea Courtney, who I knew as a result of her son wrestled, she’s one of many producers on the movie. In 2018, she launched me to Dylan Mulick and all of us simply sat down and had a gathering and talked about presumably doing a documentary and overlaying my journey to the Tokyo Olympics. However this was earlier than the worst of plenty of the concussions.
It was nonetheless in that center interval after I didn’t know if I needed to retire but. They got here onboard and obtained related with Faith of Sports activities, Reserve Leisure and Chris Pratt’s manufacturing firm Indivisible Productions. It simply steamrolled from there and we began filming. It was actually an unimaginable expertise. I like how Faith of Sports activities goal to inform tales that makes believers and to actually present the human behind the athlete and inform the complete story. That was the journey that I used to be going by — it was this all-time low and simply making an attempt to beat obstacles and build back that belief in myself. It was cool that they have been there to movie, seize, and inform it in such an exquisite method.
It was positively cathartic and really therapeutic. It’s cool as a result of I’ve by no means been at a spot in my life the place I needed to cease at sure milestones and do an hour-long interview, recap, or retell a narrative. I used to be very intentional with my ideas and being very conscious of what I used to be going by, what does this really feel like, how will I describe the journey. Simply to have the ability to put that in phrases, Dylan, the director, and the superb group of individuals engaged on the challenge helped me inform that was actually therapeutic and I additionally really feel prefer it actually helped me prep for the Olympics as properly.
Helen | Imagine is a narrative of overcoming obstacles and believing in your self. You don’t must be an athlete to do this, and I feel each single human goes by struggles and I feel that each single human is designed for connectivity with one another and relating. I hope that folks take pleasure in it and if they’ll draw any inspiration, assist, or therapeutic then I’d like it to depart a constructive affect on others.
Helen Maroulis Will get Comfy Opening Up About Psychological Well being
With the PTSD, after I obtained the prognosis initially, I didn’t need to share with anybody, and it was actually arduous with the triggers. I wasn’t regular and I used to be going by rather a lot. Simply the considered sharing that with others wasn’t on my thoughts. I feel possibly the bottom level was — and I feel the film touches on it rather a lot — was being in a really darkish place and feeling such as you’re by no means going to get again to regular. It wasn’t even about sport anymore. I simply needed to be healed and have a traditional life and questioning if that was doable. I discovered rather a lot about myself within the course of.
A yr in the past, earlier than Psychological Well being Consciousness month in Could, I thought of being extra open about a few of the issues I went by. Our girls’s staff was engaged on a challenge to talk up extra about that and we have been all going to share some private issues. We obtained related with these two girls who work with women that wrestle with psychological well being and completely different points.
They informed us to watch out about asking different individuals to share what they’re going by since you don’t have in mind what comes with that vulnerability. As soon as it’s on the market, it’s on the market and do you will have the fitting issues and other people in place in an effort to handle that?
For me, I knew that whereas I used to be going by what I felt like was the worst of my battles with the concussions and mental health stuff, I didn’t need to discuss it. I didn’t really feel prepared to speak about it and I feel there was additionally this good facet of understanding that the digicam is filming but it surely’s not going to come back out but. It was actually attention-grabbing to be very open with the administrators, producers and the individuals engaged on the challenge to have the ability to share what I used to be going by, a few of the fears I had going to the Olympics, however I knew that nobody was going to see this earlier than the Olympics. That was a very cool course of. I’m only a massive believer that in the event you need assistance, attain out for it and simply share with individuals that you simply belief and which have your greatest curiosity in thoughts additionally helps with the therapeutic course of.
I used to be actually making an attempt to cover it for some time from my household. I didn’t need to put a burden on them, and I didn’t need them to see it. I additionally know that they’re not consultants in concussions, traumatic mind accidents, or psychological well being, so I do know that they didn’t even know the right way to take care of it. I felt like after I lastly went dwelling and noticed them head to head and so they noticed what I used to be going by, that was most likely one of many first actually massive steps in my therapeutic, to know that they’re there and love me it doesn’t matter what and so they’re going to assist me get higher. To have that rock to lean on and that assist was simply so extremely useful. That additional COVID yr was actually simply this time that I obtained to spend with my household, spend therapeutic and there was no strain or expectations from work on my finish or theirs. It was actually a therapeutic time.
Helen Maroulis Is Taking Again Management
I moved dwelling in December of 2019. My dad and mom knew one thing wasn’t proper and informed me to come back again. I began going to wrestling practices to assist out at a neighborhood child’s membership to have one thing to do. It was by no means about coming again and competing once more. I spotted I may use wrestling to coach out of signs and that’s what I began to do. Wrestling was the place plenty of the trauma occurred, so if I needed some triggers to go away, it felt like I nearly needed to confront every thing head to head and relearn the right way to be within the sport and fall in love with it once more.
Inside a six-week span, I made a decision to do a contest and ended up qualifying for the Olympic staff trials. It was similar to in a matter of weeks, going from utterly retired to you might be again on the scene once more and in the event you win this qualifier, you’re robotically within the finals of Olympic trails. That’s what occurred however I by no means anticipated it. I believed I used to be going there simply to lose. I’d get to place a singlet on yet one more time and simply see how that feels. I by no means would have thought it might go from 0 to 100 once more. It was actually eye opening. Then COVID occurred and I used to be nonetheless all about defending my well being, being protected with my household. I didn’t need anybody to see me and see what I used to be battling. In November of 2020 was when all of it clicked, and I spotted I felt wholesome, and I may lastly prioritize efficiency and I wanted to go discover a strategy to prepare and make this concerning the Olympics once more.
Medaling in Tokyo
Actually, medaling in Tokyo was among the finest emotions in my life. It meant one thing utterly completely different to me and it was simply so particular to get to do what I like once more and to get on that massive stage. I feel as a result of I most likely thought I don’t have that a lot time left in wrestling, I simply appreciated every thing. The primary time profitable in Rio was like, “Oh my God, that is superb!” I used to be simply in shock by every thing. In Tokyo, it was I’m carrying the burden of all my experiences with me, and that is simply particular. I at all times puzzled if I misplaced at an Olympics, is it going to be one thing the place you simply dwell the remainder of your life with remorse or wishing you probably did one thing otherwise. I see now what I may have finished otherwise to win however I don’t remorse it in any respect. I actually don’t as a result of that journey was about me therapeutic, overcoming, and believing. I really feel like I did these issues to the most effective of my talents, so I’m pleased with that.
How A Change in Priorities Helped Helen Maroulis
I feel with the entire accidents, I positively prioritize my well being before everything in my coaching and my psychological well being. I’ll do exactly as many restoration remedy classes, rehab stuff, some kind of psychological and emotional remedy to only be at my greatest self and the wrestling half I really feel will simply fall into place, whereas earlier than it was about placing wrestling first. Now, I’ll put my psychological well being first. You possibly can simply go to your coach and say I’m not in the fitting headspace to do XYZ and I’ve actually discovered the right way to converse up for myself to say that and it’s been superb. I’m with nice those that assist me in that, and it’s been actually cool.
Shift in Conversations about Psychological Well being
Simply seeing athletes and so they’re at all times on their A-game and we admire them due to what they obtain, and it appears they’ll go on the market and do no matter they put their minds to, however the actuality is that no athlete is on one hundred pc of the time. No human is on one hundred pc of the time, and I feel we must be actual with that and actual with ourselves.
Additionally, studying the right way to outline success. You possibly can win a gold medal and those self same issues that drove you to win can drive you to a very damaged place after sport. I noticed a few of that occuring in my life and I noticed this obsession and lack of stability in my life, and it saved snowballing. Now, pushing sport otherwise, we are able to take pleasure in sports activities and prioritize our well being and every thing outdoors of that and have it’s a well-balanced strategy. I feel athletes sharing and talking up about that has been superb and it’s actually shifting the narrative.
You possibly can comply with Helen Maroulis on Instagram @helen_maroulis.
