For Olympic athletes, first come the Games—then the post-Olympics blues often arrive. Here what experts and fellow athletes have to say about dealing with post-Olympics mental health struggles.
Competing at an Olympics like the Paris 2024 Games is a peak experience in an athlete's career. Yet, diving a bit deeper, after the Olympics euphoria ends and pushing oneself routinely their physical and mental bounds to the limit for the shot at a top performance, there is a comedown athletes refer to as the "post-Olympic blues" during the performance decompression period after the Games.
Studies show what aquatic athletes like Michael Phelps and Adam Peaty have candidly talked about -- the highwire are of committing to and following their Olympic pursuit while operating in an environment full of an increased risk of disappointment, identity foreclosure, and high life stress.
"It's okay to not be okay," says Michael Phelps in an interview with @AriMelber. The decorated Olympian talks about mental health and how learning to communicate in his 30s has changed his life.
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 31, 2019
Watch the full interview: https://t.co/0KI69QHuGV pic.twitter.com/f79YEP80Qs
As part of the mission to support athletes throughout their entire career trajectory, the International Olympic Committee's Athlete365 team is hosting a two-part webinar series next week on “Maintaining Momentum” post-Games and finding “Post-Paris Pathways” to help athletes navigate this tricky transition period.
Held on 24 and 26 September, the webinars will be available in six languages (Arabic, Chines, English, French, Spanish, Russian).
Join our Post-Paris Webinars for Olympians and Paralympians. ✨
— Athlete365 (@Athlete365) September 4, 2024
Whether you're reminiscing on your incredible achievements or reflecting and feeling a little low, we're here for you. 🫶
Our ‘Continue Your Journey’ two-part webinar series will focus on maintaining the momentum… pic.twitter.com/4SEhlOIzjc
The athletes will hear from incredible speakers about their own post-Games experiences, connect with the athlete community and explore the offers and support available to Athlete365 members.
- Register for the online webinars here: Continue your journey after Paris 2024 with our webinars (olympics.com)