The journey to the top of any sport can be extremely solitary. This, however, is amplified when the sport in question is not a team sport . In any individual sport , all of the glory and all the pitfalls as well fall on one shoulder. As the athlete finds more success and gains more attention the pressure and expectations only increase. While this may be easy for some to handle for others, it is not as easy which can lead them to fall out of love with their sport. This is something that happened in the case of the most decorated Olympian of all time Michael Phelps .
The American swimmer suffered majorly with mental health during his time at the top of the sport. Now, Phelps is one of the very few athletes brave enough to come forward and talk about it to raise awareness about the same.
Michael Phelps Opens Up on the Darkest Moments of His Life
In a recent interview, Phelps opened up about the darkest times he faced as an athlete. In an interview with Jay Glazer , he said, “Not wanting to be alive. I hope I don’t wake up. For three days I didn’t leave my room, didn’t eat, didn’t drink anything.”
Separating the Good From the Great
In the same clip, the 28-time Olympic medallist goes on to reveal what separates good athletes from great athletes. He said, “I can guarantee you there were probably a 100 days where I did not want to do anything. I wanted to stay in the pool or stay in my bed and not get out. But, those were the days where you have to. You have to get up and do something because I think that is really what separates the good from the great. The greats do things when they don’t always want to do them.
Midas Touch
Phelps will go down as not only the greatest swimmer of all time but also the most decorated Olympian of all time. He won a record-breaking 28 medals in total, of which 23 were gold medals. The 37-year-old also holds multiple records in the sport of swimming that have not been touched ever since he called it quits in 2016. The 37-year-old did take a brief hiatus from the sport in 2012 but returned to the sport in 2014.
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Life After Swimming
Given that Phelps achieved the highest highs that any sportsman can achieve he has experienced all the emotions that elite athletes go through before after and during a tournament. Since he has opened up about his own journey with mental health and how it has affected him, Phelps is now devoting his time to spreading awareness about mental health not just in sports but among individuals in general.
While Phelps is not actively involved in any sport, he uses his platform on social media to promote communication and seek help, especially among male athletes where this is not the most openly discussed topic. Phelps is also on the board of Medibio a company focused on the diagnosis of mental health disorders.
