Olympian, certified yoga instructor and best-selling author Suzy Favor Hamilton opened up about her lifelong struggle with mental illness at the NBC4 Health & Fitness Expo.
Favor Hamilton spoke on the Main Stage at noon, sharing her story and raising awareness for mental disorders. As mental illness affects over 60 million people per year, Favor Hamilton called for an end to the stigma and shame surrounding this health issue.
During her tenure as a runner, she competed in three Olympic games. Favor Hamilton said that after she retired, she felt depressed and anxious, but also elated and energetic. She lived a double life and struggled to find balance as both a mother and a high-end escort in Las Vegas.
After she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and received treatment, she said her life started to make sense again.
Favor Hamilton hopes to continue the conversation and asks coaches and athletes to create dialogue surrounding mental health issues. She said she wishes that her coaches would have saw her as a human being and not just as a running machine.
For more details on Favor Hamilton's journey from athletic prodigy to high-end escort, check out her best-selling autobiography, "Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running from Madness." Her book is being sold at the NBC4 Expo at the Healthy Book Festival station.
Stop by for a chance to meet Favor Hamilton during a book signing!
