<\/p>\n
PEOPLE PLEASING, PRESSURE AND BURNOUT \/ PERSPECTIVE<\/strong><\/p>\n Life had changed, forever, and while there were countless positives Maddie then found herself wondering what was next and how to recreate that \u2018buzz\u2019, experiencing what many other athletes have alluded to as \u2018post-Olympic blues\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a squad we were probably the most prepared we could possibly be as we\u2019d planned for every scenario during the Games,\u201d she recalls.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe only thing we hadn\u2019t thought about would be \u2018what if we win it? What if we become famous? How will that impact us as players and as people?<\/p>\n \u201cLife was never the same and for months I was riding a wave but then we came back to prepare for the next World Cup and something had changed.\u201d<\/p>\n For the first time in her career Maddie felt the weight of expectation and pressure to perform as her \u201cbubble\u201d increased with new sponsors, endorsements and the \u2018Olympic champion\u2019 title proudly top of her list of accomplishments.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was no longer this kid that just like stepped on the pitch and tried to stop a hockey ball, people knew my name, had opinions about me, expected things,\u201d she tells the WSA.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt I had to be this \u2018superhero\u2019 or \u2018perfect athlete\u2019 which never exists and I felt a huge weight of expectation to please people in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2018 Maddie announced she would take time away from the national team and in 2020 she revealed she had been diagnosed with depression.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I struggled with most was living up to an expectation to be some kind of superhero and by 2018 it had become something of an obsession,\u201d she states.<\/p>\n \u201cI hid under my helmet for too long and didn\u2019t speak about the burnout for too long, but now several years on I look at it and think I\u2019m actually really pleased I went through that period of my life because I actually learned a huge amount of power of vulnerability.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m now aware of the triggers and I\u2019m a lot kinder to myself now, which is probably why I\u2019ve had a longer career than I expected to.\u201d<\/p>\n POST-PANDEMIC OLYMPIC BRONZE AND FINALLY A COMMONWEALTH GOLD<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n