For many, swimming is a simple way to stay active or cool off during summer. For Michael Phelps, however, swimming became a lifelong pursuit—one that earned him worldwide recognition as the most decorated Olympian of all time, with 28 medals, 23 of them gold. Yet there was far more to Phelps’s story than victory on the world stage.
For more than two decades, Phelps swam roughly eight miles a day, rarely missing a workout. His daily routine included two swim sessions and weight training, reflecting a level of discipline that few can imagine. Phelps has often attributed his success to this relentless commitment and structure. However, this same intensity left him struggling to understand who he was outside of the pool.
Phelps struggled with his mental health after he finally achieved his goals of Olympic gold, and he wondered what else there was for him. His reaction to the anxiety and unpleasant feelings that crept into his head post his 2004 Olympics was to suppress them and compartmentalize. He said, “Prior to my first retirement, I saw myself strictly as an Olympic athlete or a swimmer— somebody wearing a pair of goggles and a swim cap, not somebody that has feelings and emotions.” Michael Phelps initially retired from swimming after the 2012 Olympics, and he was in a very dark place trying to separate himself from swimming. He was struggling with severe bouts of anxiety and depression, including thoughts of suicide. He received a DUI in 2014, which was reportedly a turning point in his life. After that, he checked himself into an inpatient rehabilitation center where he began therapy. Phelps claims that those initial therapy sessions changed the way he viewed his problems and inspired him to take just as much care of his mental health as he did his physical health.
Phelps continued his therapy once he left the rehabilitation center, and he began to view himself as more than just a swimmer. Therapy provided him with a vital setting in which he could be honest and vulnerable. Phelps realizes that his mental health is not going to improve via some magic technique or in a single therapy session. He understands that maintaining his mental health takes practice and effort, very similar to swimming. “I can’t expect to have every answer today, but I also have to give myself forgiveness because I’m still learning and at times that is hard.” In the same way that he committed himself to years of tough swimming practice and workouts, he commits himself to caring for his mental health.
Michael Phelps is now a large advocate for mental health in athletes, and he wants to reduce stigmas surrounding therapy for male athletes in particular. He has partnered with TalkSpace and uses the Michael Phelps Foundation to promote healthy lifestyles in and out of the pool. He is now open about his history of mental health struggles and wants to remind others that help is possible. “I hate seeing the suicide rate increase more and more. I hate opening the
news and seeing somebody [died by suicide] …because I do know what that feels like to not want to be alive,… I also know…there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Michael Phelps achieved a tremendous amount of success in his swimming career, and his work should be celebrated. But his work outside of the pool is no less important. An athlete of his stature can have a profound influence on mental health awareness and remind us all that no matter how successful one may be, maintaining our mental health should always be a foremost priority.
Sources:
Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “Michael Phelps.” BGCA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, www.bgca.org/about-us/our-partners/michael-phelps/
Michael Phelps Foundation. “About Us.” Michael Phelps Foundation, https://michaelphelpsfoundation.org/about-us/
Freedman, Ani. “Michael Phelps Does These 5 Things Every Day to Be His ‘Mental Health Routine’.” Fortune, 6 Dec. 2024. https://fortune.com/well/article/michael-phelps-mental-health-routine/.
Cassata, Cathy. “Michael Phelps: ‘My Depression and Anxiety Is Never Going to Just Disappear’.” Healthline, 17 May 2022. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/michael-phelps-my-depression-and-anxiety-is-never-going-to-just-disappear
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