A Journey of Healing and Resilience
Rebecca Henderson, a four-time Olympian and world champion mountain biker, has opened up about the deep struggles she has faced with mental health. In a 47-minute interview with Wide World of Sports ahead of the new World Series season, she spoke candidly about her journey through depression, anxiety, and self-sabotage. Her story is one of vulnerability, resilience, and transformation.
“I had totally given up. My last resort was trying one more time to find the right psychologist. The one I have now has changed my life,” Henderson said. These powerful words highlight the emotional toll she has endured over the years.
Henderson’s journey took a significant turn when she suffered an injury during the 2025 World Series season. She was in a sling when the season kicked off, and it was a difficult time for her. Desperate to feel a sense of self-value again, she vowed to be in prime condition for the Brazil season opener. However, this goal was shattered when she crashed during the national championships at Mount Buller, breaking two bones: her right shoulder blade and left thumb.
Despite the pain, she refused to quit. She climbed back on her bike, chased down the lead riders, and won. But the World Series season opener was off the cards. Her scans came back and she withdrew. Or, more accurately, the doctor made her withdraw.
“It was such a hard time,” Henderson recalled. “I was not in a good place at all. The only thing that got me out of bed each day was training, and it was the only purpose that I had.”
Over the years, Henderson has faced several challenges, including a divorce in 2022 and other difficult life events. However, she attributes much of her struggles to how her brain is wired. “I’ve been unpacking a lot of things about how I grew up and my way to think and my way to see myself – just a lot of factors that are all ‘me’ things,” she said.
She also spoke about her high anxiety and depression, which runs in her family. “Everything’s kind of under control and then you just explode. I’ve felt my whole life, more or less, no matter what I do it’s not good enough, and I’m not good enough.”
It’s incredibly sad that someone as successful as Henderson can feel like they’re “not good enough.” It’s also a confronting reflection of the nature of mental health. “It doesn’t discriminate,” she said.
On many occasions, she’s found herself crying in the gym or before setting out for a ride. She invariably cracks the whip. “It’s like, ‘Time to do your intervals. No more time for that. Go’. I’m just so firm and hard with myself.”
She has been brutally hard on herself, and the self-sabotage and self-destruction is a big part of her undoing. “I’m learning now to speak differently to myself and learning that I wouldn’t speak to other young riders the way I do myself.”
A smile, oftentimes, shrouds the struggle. “It’s just a big coping strategy,” she said. “So people see this happy girl and it’s very hard for people to realise what you’re going through.”
The psychologist Henderson is working with was sourced through the Australian Sports Commission’s mental health referral network. “I’ve managed some really dark places alone,” she said. “The 2024-25 summer was the absolute rock bottom.”
“I think around the Paris Olympics was the beginning of things completely coming undone, but I still had it together a bit. And then that next summer was a really hard one to get through.”
She reached out to a few friends at times saying she couldn’t live anymore, and the alarm bells weren’t going off even though she was very clear in what she was saying. “And then I found the psychologist I have now.”
A smile spread across Henderson’s face as she said that last line, and her shoulders relaxed. “She wasn’t asking me about my day-to-day,” she explained. “It was so much deeper than that, and it was the first time I have ever felt understood. Ever.”
“She’s just the most wonderful and amazing person, and I actually look forward to going.” She’s still “a work in progress,” but the impact has been profound.
“I can sleep in general, which is huge, especially as an athlete,” she said. “I’m not questioning if I can pass the day or get to tomorrow, which is big, and I don’t think so far ahead to being old and things like that.”
“My day-to-day is so much nicer and I’m so much more peaceful within myself and I’m able to process my relationships differently. The biggest thing has just been understanding myself and why I am this way, why I think this way, and why I respond this way.”
She feels it’s important to be “transparent and real.” “I don’t just want to show the shiny side of being an athlete,” she said. And if sharing her story can help someone else, she’s thrilled.
“When you hit rock bottom,” Henderson said, “there’s only one way to go.”
If you or anyone you know needs immediate support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via lifeline.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
