"It would be a sign of weakness" - When Michael Phelps opened up about his approach towards mental health as a competitive swimmer

Michael Phelps once opened up about his approach towards mental health as a competitive swimmer. Phelps has enjoyed a peerless career with 28 Olympic and multiple World Championships medals.

Having started his Olympic journey at the 2000 Sydney Games, Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time. He won his first Olympic medal at the 2004 Athens Games and participated in five editions of the Olympics. Although he started his mental health journey as a competitive swimmer, Phelps continued advocating mental health after his retirement.

In an interview with healthline.com in 2022, he reflected on his honest approach toward mental health as a professional swimmer, stating he was afraid of talking about mental health as he worried it might appear as a weak mentality. He also stated his delight in seeing athletes be open about their mental health in recent times.

"I can speak from an athlete perspective of being a male and an athlete. If I was to speak up during my career, I would feel like it would be a sign of weakness…and we’re giving our competitors that edge, and in sports or basically kind of in battle, it’s like you can’t give your competitors that edge,” he said.

“I think [the stigma] is dropping a little bit and for me, it’s incredible to see that. It’s incredible to see people talking about their own journey their own way, and sharing their own stories,” Phelps added.

"Had to figure out a way to get there" - When Michael Phelps opened up on his experimental approach towards his mental health journey

Michael Phelps at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Getty Images)

Michael Phelps once compared his experimental mental health journey with his eight-gold medal-victory Olympic appearance. Drawing the parallels, he stated that the way he did not have any blueprint for winning eight gold medals at a single Olympics, he also did not receive any layout for his mental health journey and had to rely on a trial-and-error-based method.

“Throughout my career, there was no blueprint on winning eight gold medals; it was kind of trial and error that we had to figure out a way to get there. So, for [my mental health] …I can’t expect to have every answer today, but I also have to give myself forgiveness because I’m still learning and at times that is hard,” he said. (healthline.com in 2022)

“[I] want to be as perfect and I want to learn as fast as I can, but at times, that’s not possible. I’m constantly learning. I’m constantly growing,” he added.

Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.