The Atlantic meant well. Its post-Olympics feature examines the depression that athletes often suffer after such sports events, as they strive to cope with their futures and stress linked to big wins and big defeats.
It's a literate, sympathetic piece, gently but incisively examining the emotional crash; the reluctance to ask for help; how intensely athletes identify with their achievements; how much they fear losing themselves by losing in competition.
Almost every angle is covered, it seems, but – you knew this was coming – the spiritual one. The story leaves Mount Olympus haunted with religious "ghosts."
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