Despite Winning 23 Olympic Gold Medals, Swimming Legend Michael Phelps Wants a Major Life Change

The stigma around mental health begins to fade as more and more people become educated about these concerns. That, begins with spreading awareness. Among the many sportsmen who have spoken publicly about their struggles with mental health in recent years, one of them is swimming GOAT Michael Phelps. The most decorated Olympian swimmer of his time, discovered a whole new world as a result of talking about his mental health.

In a recent article published by People, Phelps discusses the positive effects of his therapy. Additionally, he talked about the impact of his mental health advocacy through his many social media postings.

Michael Phelps found new possibilities

During his Olympic career, Michael Phelps was an unstoppable force. With a total of 28 medals, including 23 gold, he has made a dent, more than any other Olympian in history. Phelps claims, however, that his lack of self-awareness as anything other than an athlete has led to problems with his mental health. Even though swimming was his passion, he still wanted to be accepted as a regular person. Post his DUI in 2014, he participated in a group treatment program for 45 days, that changed his outlook forever.

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Phelps states that releasing his pent-up emotions in front of a bunch of strangers in therapy was very uncomfortable at first but ultimately beneficial. After his first one-on-one therapy session, he began to see himself as more than simply an athlete, and his perspective shifted dramatically. Since then, he has made it a priority to take care of his mental health and has helped others by speaking up about his personal struggles to raise awareness.

The swimmer has won several awards and is proud of his long and distinguished career. However, according to People, the one change that the legend would welcome would be his upbringing as an athlete. He has been recognized from the beginning as a major athlete, but he has always preferred to be recognized first and foremost as a human being.

The act of opening up, was not only a complete surprise but also one of the nicest things Phelps had ever done for himself. In addition, he has just formed a partnership with Talkspace in an effort to use his massive online following to raise awareness about mental health issues.

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