“These Feelings Were Scary”: Michael Phelps Admits He Still Struggles With Depression and Anxiety

Published 03/21/2022, 12:01 PM EDT

Being an Olympic champion for years, Michael Phelps is arguably the greatest Olympian of all time. He won 23 Olympic gold medals and broke 39 world records in his career. Having won eight gold medals at a single Olympic Games in 2008, he is just a stunning swimmer. However, he suffered from depression amidst all the successful years he had. He talked about finding it hard to cope with mental health struggles.

Usually, people don’t open up about mental health struggles earlier. But now, times have changed. More and more people are breaking the taboo around depression and is opening up is a great way to move forward. Phelps talked about his struggles in a recent meetup.

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Michael Phelps struggled to open up

At the Valencia Ballroom in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Phelps talked about the struggles he faced and how the stigma should be thrown away. After suffering from mental health struggles, Phelps decided to open up on his issues which became important for him to heal while encouraging people to open up. Hence, he talked about pushing boundaries and spoke to people about how it is okay to get help.

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“This stigma has to go away. We have to break it down. Do I struggle with depression? Do I struggle with anxiety?. Yes, it’s not going away tomorrow. Through my journey and through my struggles, the ups and downs, and the depression; not wanting to be alive – all of these feelings for me were scary. We can’t do this by ourselves. We need the help of everybody,”said Phelps.

Having participated in five Olympic Games, he had the pressures of his country, burdened upon him. His sense of humor put everything into perspective as he is a great orator.

Phelps’ foundation

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With Speedo announcing a bonus of $1 million for winning eight gold medals at Beijing 2008, Phelps decided to start his own foundation, to value the importance of water safety. Ever since he was 16, Speedo sponsored Phelps in his career. They added a bonus of $1 million if he equaled Mark Spitz’s seven gold medals. He went one step further and won eight.

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Hence, his contributions to society are immense. Apart from being the best swimmer in the world, Phelps is a prominent advocate for mental health struggles and helps people to break barriers and let them open up about their struggles. An inspiration indeed!

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Written by:

Jacob Gijy is a US Sports and NBA writer at EssentiallySports. Gijy finished his Post Graduation in Psychology and worked in a hospital for 2 years before his passion for sports compelled him to find his way to sports journalism. A fan of the great Tim Duncan, he is always ready to pick up a debate with anyone who does not offer the power forward, the respect he deserves.

“These Feelings Were Scary”: Michael Phelps Admits He Still Struggles With Depression and Anxiety

Michael Phelps struggled to open up

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Phelps’ foundation