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Molly Seidel speaks openly about mental health challenges

"Mental health takes work, and I want to be very transparent that medication is sometimes a very necessary part of that work," says Seidel

Photo by: Kevin Morris
June 16, 2022
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Olympic bronze medallist Molly Seidel openly discussed her mental health challenges in a recent Instagram post that detailed her reasons for pulling out of the NYRR Mini 10K in New York City. Seidel is currently waiting for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) that will allow her to race professionally while continuing to take the ADHD medication she recently started.

Photo: Justin Britton

In her post, Seidel said that she hoped to “provide some transparency about competing and abiding by #cleansport while taking medication” and expressed a desire to help de-stigmatize mental illness by being as open as possible. Seidel has shared with the public in the past when she opted to check into treatment for concurrent mental health issues, including disordered eating, rather than attend the 2016 Olympic Trials.

Seidel explained that, after having negative experiences with various SSRI medications, she began seeing a new therapist during a difficult period after the Tokyo Olympics, and was diagnosed with mixed-type ADHD. She was given a prescription for Adderall and began taking it just after the Boston Marathon.

“It would probably be appropriate to describe it as life-changing,” Seidel writes, “and for the first time, I felt like I was able to get the quiet, functioning brain in my day-to-day life that I could previously only achieve with intense physical activity.” She added: “It also gave me remission of my many eating disorder behaviours that I’ve had consistently since my teens.”

While Seidel can use Adderall outside of competition with approval from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), she needs to be granted a TUE in order to race while taking it. Seidel has been going through the application process with the help of her team of medical professionals, but won’t receive a decision until late June and cannot stop taking her medication without potential mental health setbacks.

“I will not compete with Adderall in my system until I have complete approval from both USADA and WADA,” says Seidel.

In response to Seidel’s post, other renowned athletes offered support and critiqued the lengthy TUE application process. “Very disappointed that the process is taking so long,” commented Olympian Kara Goucher. “They are failing the athletes.”

Seidel said she was “gutted” to pull out of the NYRR Mini, but her dedication to both a clean sport and her own mental health means following the TUE process.

 Senbere Tefere, of Ethiopia, won the Mini 10K with a time of 30:43.

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