Many retired athletes struggle with 'unravelling of identity' after career ends

Kaetlyn Osmond has been like a boat adrift at sea.

Four years after retiring from competition, the world figure skating champion says she's just now starting to find her feet as a former athlete.

"Definitely more difficult than expected," Osmond said. "Mentally, retirement is difficult because you lose a large part of your identity you've had your whole life."

Cara Button, who has counselled Canadian athletes on retirement for 16 years, says while some find it relatively easy to move on, no athlete makes the transition completely unscathed.

"Identity is huge. Who am I, if I'm not an athlete? How do I introduce myself? What's interesting about me outside of sport?" Button said. "It's also grieving the loss of what they loved doing that they can no longer do."

Button is the senior manager of Game Plan, which was established seven years ago by the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees and the country's network of sport institutes as a high-performance wellness and transition program.

The 26-year-old Osmond captured the world title in 2018 a month after winning bronze in women's singles at the Pyeongchang Olympics.

She was only 22, and hadn't planned on retiring that year.

"So, when I stepped out of it, I wasn't prepared," she said. "All I knew is that I just I couldn't convince myself to train anymore, compete anymore."

Cutting the tether, however, came with an immediate and deep sense of loss.

"There was a loss of validation," she said. "For a long time, you're the centre of conversation, you're trending on social media. And then the next thing you know you are completely forgotten."

Osmond's body image issues that nagged her as a skater magnified after retirement.

"I couldn't convince myself to go into a gym," the