When you think of an individual in sports who began to speak up and play their part in the conversation on mental health, who comes to mind?
(Creator: Tom Pennington, Image Credit: gettyimages)
When you think of an individual in sports who began to speak up and play their part in the conversation on mental health, who comes to mind? For me, Michael Phelps was the first person I thought of. Now, if you know me, you would think it would be someone in the world of soccer, think again. Growing up and going through my own struggles, even though I never followed or found swimming as something to my likening, when I heard or saw the headlines about him on his mental health over the years it surprised me and caught my attention.
With 23 gold medal-winning titles, 4 world records, and countless other awards, he was undoubtedly talented and was born to swim at the highest level an athlete could. It’s as if almost nothing phased him and couldn’t be affected by any force that he encountered or endured. Well, almost nothing…
With the career he had, it’s hard to think as viewers watching him from afar if he could even feel the pressure from others or on himself. But in fact, mental health became very present in his life and affected his career for many years. Maybe it was because of the constant hours of training every day? Or the constant pressure to break world records? Or the pressure to perform constantly at a high level no matter the cost? What about taking care of his own family and spending days on end away from his family?
This constant pressure from the world to perform at the highest level affected him to the point where he hit his lowest of lows and needed help. He was suffering from severe anxiety and depression. As you can imagine, during the early 2000s mental health was still seen as more of a weakness and not as accepted or respected compared to today. But, one year he would soon make a decision that would influence athletes and the sporting world to rethink how we view mental health.
In 2004, when he released a statement to the public about his experiences with mental health outside the pool and this for me looking back was a groundbreaking statement. A statement that would soon pave the way for more athletes to speak up about their mental health and not be afraid of other people’s opinions. Athletes such as Kevin Love (NBA basketball player), Simone Biles (Pro gymnast), Serena Williams (Pro tennis player), Abby Wambach (Pro soccer player), A.J. Brown (NFL Football player), and countless others. More importantly, he slowly helped create awareness, and influence people to understand it’s all right to ask for help and speak about what you’re going through. He was an example of an athlete who had achieved the highest level he possibly could in a sport, but at the same time, experienced mental health conditions that affected his everyday life. Not only an example for higher level athletes, but, anyone in the sporting world who may be struggling with mental illness. We tend to see all the glory and positive moments in people such as Michael when in reality there can be so much more pain, suffering, and failure behind the scenes.
In an article by Health line, Phelps didn’t come to terms with how much he was going through mentally until he finally got his second DUI in 2014. He had been struggling and constantly battling anxiety and depression since 2004 till this point. So much so, that he would seek care in a facility to help his mental health and gain back the pieces of himself that were lost.
He had finally realized that he needed to take a step back to take a step forward in order to regain who he was again. This step back was in the direction of finding someone to talk to about where he was in life and would finally discover this through therapy. He was able to connect through conversation and become more in tune with himself, his emotions and his thoughts. Deep down, through his therapy, he studied himself and was able to find ways to manage his depression, anxiety and build a healthier connection with himself and others around him.
Today, Michael Phelps has done countless interviews and supported many organizations and platforms in the fight against mental health such as BetterHelp (Online Therapy platform), Talkspace, and the Michael Phelps Foundation. In doing so, he has helped play a role in ending the stigma around mental health for athletes and helping others understand that we are never alone. He’s one of the main individuals in the sporting world who helped evolve the conversation and impact others to help spread awareness. A key figure who helped me understand it’s ok to feel the way I do, express how I’m feeling at the same time and ask for help.
Since then, more athletes of all levels are speaking out about the hardships they’ve endured and what we all can do to end this stigma around mental health. As seen in Michael’s story, sometimes we have to go through a little bit of dark to find the light, but if there’s help along the way, be open to that help, because you may find the light you’re looking for is the help right in front of you.