As a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and a World Cup champion, Wambach is considered an icon in her sport. But during her career, she struggled with addiction. In her 2016 memoir, Wambach details going through drug and alcohol abuse as well as depression and her road to becoming sober.
Wambach told The New York Times that everything escalated when she was nearing her retirement and dealing with issues in her marriage. "I was having an existential crisis. I didn't know what I would be without soccer as my main identity," she said, adding that she used drugs and alcohol as a means to "counterbalance the pain." And things got worse after she retired — a DUI ended up being a wake-up call for her.
Now 39, Wambach uses coping mechanisms such as meditation and running to get through tough days. "People are so uncomfortable talking about mental health because they can't fix it," she said in a video with Well Being Trust. "As soon as I started talking about it, I immediately felt like this is what I've been needing to do. The number one thing anyone should ever say to somebody is that they're not alone."
