The road to becoming the most decorated Olympian was full of obstacles for Michael Phelps. He battled with depression throughout his career, but the problems started way before. When Phelps was 9, his parents got divorced. So he and his sisters grew up with their single mother.

Around the same time, he found that he suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorders (ADHD). He struggled with paying attention in class, sitting still and listening to his teachers. The only thing he could spend long hours on was swimming.

Michael Phelps’ mother helped him cope

His two elder sisters, Whitney, and Hilary Phelps, were the reason the 23-time Olympic champion ever entered the pool. Michael Phelps was forced to go along with them to swim lessons, which he initially hated, and gradually got used to the water.

On her maiden trip to India, Hilary Phelps talked about the swimming legend’s life growing up. When the doctors diagnosed him with ADHD, their mother, Debbie, never gave up. “I was in college when that happened. My mum did a lot of visualization with him and he still uses it to this day when he prepared for races,” Hilary explained.

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“In the stands, she would form a ‘C’ with her hand, signifying composure, whenever she noticed Michael was stressed before a race. She would sit with him and quiet his mind. At every meet, he visualizes the race in his head, and how it should unfold,” she continued.

Not only did Mama Phelps help Phelps deal with his ADHD, but also gave him tools to calm down during his races. The trio of ladies has been a constant fixture through Phelps’ journey in the pool, always supporting him from the stands through highs and lows.

Phelps is, in the end, thankful for the way he is

As a young student, his teacher told him that he would never succeed in life. “I [saw] kids who, we were all in the same class, and the teachers treated them differently than they would treat me,” he recounted. “I had a teacher tell me that I would never amount to anything and I would never be successful.”

ADHD isn’t a curable condition. But one can manage it with medication and therapy so it doesn’t hinder day-to-day life. Similarly, Phelps lived with the condition his entire life, and it changed things for him right from the get-go.

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But he learned to seek help when things got too much. He learned to live his life to the fullest. It may have been “A challenge and a struggle,” but it made him who he is today. “I’m thankful that I am how I am. I look at myself every day and I’m so proud and so happy of who I am and who I’ve been able to become,” he claimed.