2020 Women's Artistic All Around Final (Thursday, July 29, 2021)

[MaryClare]

Who are the “haters”? Everyone seems happy for Sunni? For me, I really warmed to her, her family and her coaches when watching Golden so I’m delighted for her. I just found the AA a bit of an anticlimax, I’d have preferred the winner to have performed at their very best. However, as others have mentioned, like 1980, 1984 and 2000, there will always be a bit of an asterisk.
It makes me very sad that so many gym fans want to behave like tribal teenagers.

 

[JaJa]

Thanks for posting that. I dont understand why people like Piers Morgan can be so hateful and not understanding of mental illness

This is NOT about mental illness. Twisties is not a mental illness.

 

[MaryClare]

Because the twisties (and Simone has confirmed that’s the only issue), isn’t a mental health issue. It’s a sports psychology issue.

 

[pavlovasdawg]

Thank you!

 

[Sparklesmom]

I think twisties are a vestibular issue. Not sports psych.

 

[JaJa]

Because the twisties (and Simone has confirmed that’s the only issue), isn’t a mental health issue. It’s a sports psychology issue.

If its even that. It may just be vestibular. An Inner or middle ear thing

 

[tempest]

If its even that. It may just be vestibular. An Inner or middle ear thing

I had that once, it’s scary… my doctor FREAKED out when she found out I was driving with it but what other choice did I have lol

 

[Sanzhirovka]

It’s both?

I mean the fact that it happened may very well be vestibular, but I’ll bet that tying to “fix it” is definitely sports psychology.

It if was purely vestibular, we’d all know about gymnasts who had it happen, when to a doctor to fix the vestibular thing and then went back and started twisting with no problem.

But after you experience, there is a fear of it happening again. And that is where sports psychology must come into play.

I’d think? I say that because I’ve no idea and would be interested if someone with more knowledge chimed in on my admittedly “gut instinct” thought process here?

 

[Doug1233]

It’s a sports psychology issue.

It’s not sports psychology. To me - twisties was literally physical. I couldn’t DO what I wanted my body to do. A sports psychologist couldn’t talk me “out” of it.

 

[Doug1233]

An Inner or middle ear thing

I don’t think it’s an ear thing. At least, that’s not how it felt for ME.

It’s very very difficult to explain. It’s like you’re a puppet, and someone else is holding the strings.

For example, my twisties occured on front saltos without twist. My body would always want me to twist it. I remember that feeling of trying to do a plain front layout SO HARD. And literally forcing my body not to twist SO HARD, that my body would do a quarter twist to the left, and then I would force a quarter twist back to the right, in mid air. The twist to the left was out of my control but the twist to the right was me trying to “force it back”. It was hugely disorienting, and scary. You don’t know when your feet will hit and you don’t have any control of body shape.

I dunno if that explanation makes sense at all but it’s the only way I can describe it.

 

[JaJa]

It does make sense. At least i understand what you are describing.

We need a sports physician to explain the dynamics. It seems like some weird combination of body awareness/spatial orientation and motor control. Maybe not an ear thing but some parietal cortex thing. I don’t know. But it just does not sound like its a “mental health” issue.

 

[flyaway]

I think mental health comes into play BECAUSE of the twisties, not before. Anxiety over why it’s happening and how to stop it, depression because it’s messing up your plans, etc.

 

[MaryClare]

It feels physical, but it isn’t. That’s what makes it a sports psychology issue. The physical ability is there, unlike with an injury. I don’t think there is anything physical that can be treated to aide recovery from it?

 

[Doug1233]

Anxiety over why it’s happening and how to stop it

Partly this. But the predominant anxiety is that you’re gonna break your legs or back.

You don’t trust your body to do what you want it to do.

 

[Doug1233]

It feels physical, but it isn’t. That’s what makes it a sports psychology issue. The physical ability is there, unlike with an injury. I don’t think there is anything physical that can be treated to aide recovery from it?

Perhaps. But speaking to a sports psychologist won’t cure it.

This is one for your gymnastics coach. It’s a physical progressions thing. Go back to basics to get your brain to “re-trust” your body again.

 

[MaryClare]

But isn’t that to almost reprogram the brain?

 

[flyaway]

And rightfully so!! I can’t imagine how disorienting it must feel.

 

[Doug1233]

But isn’t that to almost reprogram the brain?

Yes! But it requires knowledge of gymnastics progressions. A sports psychologist won’t know that.

 

[Sasha]

Can the twisties be caused by stress? Because we all felt that something was off as far back as Trials, and Simone herself cited stress and mental health when speaking to the media. I can only think that she believes there’s a link.

 

[shirai]

She said on her instagram that she’s heard somewhere it could be triggered by stress, but she’s not sure if it’s true