By now many of you have probably heard about the tragic news of the passing of a rising British snowboarding star, Ellie Soutter. Her body was found a week after she disappeared in the ski resort of Les Gets, France. She was laid to rest, today.
Soutter – who was recently selected to represent Team GB at the 2022 Winter Olympics – was found deep in the woods, so sadly, on what would have been her 18th birthday.
While authorities have yet to announce an official cause of her death, Ellie’s father, Tony, believes the intense pressures of elite sport may have contributed to suicide.
The thing that really stuck out to me the most when reading about this news, was this statement from her father: “Unfortunately it all came about from missing a flight which then meant she didn’t go training with the squad. She felt she’d let them down, felt she’d let me down, and just tragically it just takes one silly little thing like that to tip someone over the edge, because there’s a lot of pressure on children.”
We don’t know what really happened here…& bc of the circumstances we may never know the full details. However, as someone who understands how life experiences affect our MH, I feel compelled to make this point: Most of us have NO clue how “healthy” we are when it comes to our MH. It can take one major stress or trauma to affect our mood, our thoughts, and even our actions.
This is all the more reason why our messages in this space need to speak to the MASSES and not just the 1 in 5 we hear about all the time. It appears Ellie was dealing with “MH complications” but when you look at that smile…and you hear about the accolades, isn’t this evidence that any of us are at risk? Take measures to work on your MH, daily, like you do your physical health. RIP, Ellie.
