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Multi Olympic champion and swimmer with an exceptional career, the American athlete Michael Phelps suffered from depression throughout his exercise. For Brut., he explains how he took care of his mental health.
“I was in the water every day, around 7am, or by the pool around 6:30-7am, stretching. I was swimming for 2 hours and then… I had 3 sessions with weights each week. I spent maybe 25 or 26 hours a week in the pool.“American swimmer Michael Phelps has had a great career with 23 gold medals in four different Olympic Games. But during these years of intensive sport, the athlete was in depression.
“At my last Games, I think that’s when I started to open up and show who I really was. I talked about my difficulties, the fact that we have the right to go bad and have bad days”, explains the swimmer. Since then, he continues to do what is good for his morale. “For a long time I didn’t see myself as a human being, I saw myself as an athlete, a swimmer, not as a person. Now I appreciate the reflection I see in the mirror. I am a father, a husband, a friend, a hard worker… I am me.”
“I think athletes need more support and help. (…) When I was young, if I ever hurt myself physically, it was immediately taken care of. A doctor helped me right away. But if I had a psychological problem, mental suffering, nobody wanted to help me. That must change. Until this changes, the world of sports will not improve“, concludes the sportsman.