Manssita Traore has described the mental health struggles that have affected her life and football career, saying she is gradually beginning to recover while continuing psychological support.
The Strasbourg forward opened up in an interview with L’Equipe after writing on Instagram on her 23rd birthday, 9 September: “I am destroying myself because I am suffering inside, I am suffering in silence and I continue to cling to emptiness.”
Asked about what she has been going through for several years, the former PSG player spoke about a difficult childhood, unresolved emotional wounds and anxiety attacks.
“I experienced some very complicated things during my childhood,” she said. “I left home very early, even though I was very close to my family. The wounds had not healed and being separated did not make things any better.
“When I was first separated from my family, I was at INSEP, 10 minutes from home, but I cried every night. I pretended to be injured so I could go home.
“I also struggled with my first selections. I began to suffer and experience depression. I had anxiety attacks. I was not well, but I did not tell anyone.
“When I went to football, I showed nothing. But at some point, when you keep forcing yourself to carry on while deep down you are really not well, it starts to show. I am not superhuman.
“I began to lose a lot of weight, I was absent and I even fainted. That alerted my family. That was when I began receiving support. It is difficult, but I am slowly starting to come back.”
Traore said the issues have also influenced her decisions about football. At the end of each season, she considers stopping in order to give herself time to recover.
However, the 23-year-old said her determination to continue has remained stronger than the thoughts that have encouraged her to walk away.
“I have made a lot of sacrifices to get where I am,” she said. “The attachment I have to football is so strong that it outweighed the things that could have made me want to stop.”
Traore remains hopeful as she continues with psychological care, insisting that her experiences can eventually help her move forward.
“I am convinced that all these ordeals have not happened for nothing and that I am capable of overcoming them, and that something better is waiting for me,” she said.