new delhi the world watched from their homes as american artistic gymnast simone biles faltered on her vault landing at the tokyo olympics and decided to pull out of the allaround competition an event she hadnt lost once since 2013what may have been the end of an era started a conversation instead from the olympics arena to millions of homes the issue of mental health skulking around the corners of highwired professions such as sports and showbiz and a lived issue for countless others balancing everyday stresses was back at the centrestage of discussionthis attention is more than welcome said psychologists and other mental health experts as well as those battling the demons of depression and anxietyfor anyone saying i quit i didnt quit my mind body are simply not in sync biles had written on instagrami dont think you realize how dangerous this is on hardcompetition surface she added nor do i have to explain why i put my health first physical health is mental healthwhen influential people such as biles one of the worlds biggest sports stars talk with such candidness it validates the existence of mental health as an issue in the general public said delhibased development sector consultant bhawna khattarwhere it helps is to generate conversations for instance when sushants case happened or when a deepika padukone talks about it khattar who has been taking professional help for her mental health issues for the last two years told ptiwhile actor sushant singh rajput was found hanging in his mumbai home last year padukone among indias biggest stars has spoken in public about her depressionboth sports and films are professions with high visibility that demand steep thresholds of unrelenting stress and dedicationas important as it is for athletes to prepare themselves to perfection mental health professionals believe the true form of a sportsperson lies not just in pushing a little bit more but also in knowing when it is ok to quitawareness is really important and knowing when to stop is the most important thing many dont know when to stop and many feel it is not right to stop it takes awareness and courage to quit at a highly competitive level sports and exercise psychologist keerthana swaminathan told ptiin her view the taboo around mental health hinders a conversation from happening in indiayoull find foreign players talking about mental health care in india they use words as stress because people are not taught that these things exist in the us they welcomed her biles decision to quit midway they said its fine with us its always about what would people say if you quit the taboo around mental health is very much there in our society swaminathan saidbiles who has frequently championed the cause of mental health during her career adds to the small yet strong lineup of sportspersons who have talked about the pressure of a sporting arenaearlier this year japanese tennis sensation naomi osaka pulled out of the french open after refusing to