“Where’s All My Stuff??”: 6’3 Olympic Winner Lost Everything He Owned Due to a Very Unhealthy Coping Mechanism

Swimming has produced some of the greatest Olympic athletes. While it’s hard to match up to titans like Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz, Caeleb Dressel has had a great start. He won five golds at the Tokyo Olympics, putting him among the elites of his sport. However, underneath Caeleb’s achievement hid an unhealthy coping mechanism.

The Olympic medalist’s unhealthy habit haunted him even after coming back from Tokyo with five gold medals. During an interview with Graham Bensinger, the Olympian revealed why he developed the habit and how he overcame it.

Caeleb Dressel and his infamous purges

During an interview with Graham Bensinger earlier this year, the Olympic gold medalist spoke about his impulsiveness. However, Bensinger surprised Caeleb with a question. “Take me through one of your purge phases,” said Bensinger. “Oh geez! I guess you’ve done your research,” Dressel responded. The Olympian revealed how one such “purge” cost him all his stuff.

“I think one of my worst was… leading up to trials,” said Dressel. The US Olympic swimming team star said he impulsively disposed of nearly everything he owned. “I didn’t realize at the time that it was like not normal behavior, but that was my go-to thing for nerves and anxiety,” revealed Dressel. 

Dressel told Bensinger he realized how unhealthy his coping mechanism was. “Where’s all my stuff?” thought Dressel, staring at an almost empty closet. However, the five-time Olympic gold medalist revealed he spared virtually nothing. Dressel cleared out, “Anything I felt that was in the way, whether it be a mental block or a physical distraction.”

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Since the incident, Caeleb has addressed his harmful coping mechanism. Dressel now prefers a minimalistic lifestyle.

Caleb’s other hobbies 

While Caeleb loves swimming, not all hobbies survive his impulsive nature. During the same interview, Dressel said he takes up different hobbies, only to drop them within a few months. The Olympian revealed he gave up, over-landing (off-roading) after obsessing over it for about two months. However, he rediscovered his love for drumming: “It’s been there since 5th grade.”

Bensinger responded to Dressel, “It’s like playing Pokemon,” However, this time, it was Bensinger’s turn to be surprised. Dressel said, “Pokemon’s never gone away. I’m playing the new one… it’s fantastic.” It seems some of Dressel’s hobbies have survived.

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Dressel adopted an unhealthy coping mechanism to deal with anxiety before the Olympics. However, he addressed it in time.