"Our stories are similar, yet they are different": Michael Phelps on Simone Biles and other famous personalities opening up on mental health

Michael Phelps, the most successful swimmer of all time, has been vocal about his mental health struggles and often shared how he deals with depression and anxiety.

The legendary athlete and the most successful Olympian of all time has admitted that things weren't always great for him behind the scenes. Phelps made his struggles with depression public in 2015 and since then, has continued to be a staunch advocate for awareness around mental health, encouraging people to open up to their loved ones.

In a recent interview with TODAY.com, Phelps acknowledged the cultural shift regarding mental health, saying that he was happy that more and more people were voicing their stories.

"I'm glad more and more people are opening up about it. Our stories are similar, yet they're different. Like, Simone (Biles), me, Naomi (Osaka), and Kevin Love, The Rock. We can just talk about these things and share these things, you know, open up and understand it’s OK not to be OK.”

---

Michael Phelps on therapy

Michael Phelps made headlines in 2014 when he was charged with his second DUI (driving under the influence). However, according to Phelps, the incident was the one that forced him to relook at his approach toward his mental health, eventually setting him on the path to betterment.

'The Flying Fish' has said in various interviews that in the immediate aftermath of the DUI, he slipped into depression to the point where he locked himself in his room for days and even contemplated suicide.

In 2022, Phelps revealed that it was during that alone time that he realized he had to do something different moving forward. This led to him deciding to check himself into an in-patient treatment center, where he stayed for 45 days.

He continued therapy after those 45 days as well and credits it with making him feel "like a person" again. He said (via Healthline):

“I started feeling like a person… I guess I could love myself and like who I saw. I think for a long time, I looked at myself as a swimmer and not a human, so being able to learn more about me, how I worked, why I work that way through treatment and through unpacking all the extra crap that I had inside of me."

After this, the Olympian established the Michael Phelps Foundation, a nonprofit organization aimed at helping kids with their mental health and teaching them water safety.

He has even partnered with online behavioral health company Talkspace in a bid to make therapy and mental health assistance more accessible. Michael Phelps has also made it possible for all Baltimore County Public Schools to offer students aged 13 and above free access to Talkspace.