"You're like what the hell am I supposed to do? Who am I?" - When Michael Phelps recalled facing post-Olympics depression for first time

While Michael Phelps made his Olympic debut at the 2000 Games, he experienced post-Olympic depression after his second appearance at the 2004 Games. The American swimmer had won eight medals at the Games and struggled to cope with the lack of release of adrenaline afterward.

Phelps qualified for the 200m butterfly in his debut Olympics but didn't win a medal. However, during the next Olympics cycle, the 39-year-old broke multiple world records while winning eight gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships.

The Baltimore Bullet put up a show at the 2004 Athens Olympics, winning a staggering eight medals while setting two world records, three Olympic records, and one national record. However, the high of winning was followed by a phase of depression as Phelps struggled to navigate the post-Olympics life.

Speaking about his first experience with post-Olympic depression during an interview with Healthline in 2022, the 23-time gold medalist recalled struggling to live a normal life.

"[You] work so hard for four years to get to that point, and then it’s like you’re…at the top of the mountain, you’re like what the hell am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go? Who am I?”

The 39-year-old had taken a break from the sport following the 2004 Games but returned shortly after to write more history. He won an astonishing eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and four more at the 2012 London Olympics before announcing his retirement for the first time.

Phelps struggled with depression and alcohol and drug addiction following his first retirement before making a comeback in 2014. He later added five more gold medals to his name at the 2016 Olympics to retire for the final time.

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"For a long time I looked at myself as a swimmer and not a human" - Michael Phelps on the causes behind his depression

The Match 10 - Michael Phelps playing gold (Source: Getty)

Michael Phelps' road to recovery was triggered by a DUI arrest in 2014, and he later spent 45 days in an in-person treatment center to get a fresh perspective on his life. Following his return from the treatment, he felt he had suppressed his emotions and feelings during his swimming career, realizing the arrest was a wake-up call to open up.

“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," Michael Phelps said in the aforementioned interview.

Phelps had experienced suicidal thoughts at one point but was glad he had not taken his life during the tough days of depression.