Tuesday, June 7, 2022
Tokyo Olympians Regan Smith and Erica Sullivan Share Mental Health Tips for Swimmers
Regan Smith (left) and Erica Sullivan (right). Photo courtesy of Regan Smith.
Regan Smith spent years focused on training to swim as fast as she could at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Her coaches designed every set she swam and every dryland session she did to help her be successful on the sport’s largest stage.
The effort paid off. Smith won two silver medals and one bronze last year.
Although she wouldn’t have accomplished that feat without her training, her work on her mental health might have been just as important to her reaching the heights that she did.
“The mental game, I would argue, is more important than swimming itself because, as swimmers, during our races, it’s just us,” Smith said. “You can’t hear anything. You can’t get any advice from anyone. You just have the thoughts that are going on inside your head.
“You want to have a good relationship with yourself. You want to feel confident. You just want to be in a good place with yourself mentally. Otherwise, it’s really easy for things to start to fall apart.”
Smith and fellow 2020 Olympic medalist Erica Sullivan shared their advice on how swimmers can improve their mental health.
Know You’re Not Alone
When you’re struggling with your mental health, you might feel like you’re alone, like you’re the only person facing that issue, which might lead you to have a stigma about your situation.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
One in five Americans will experience a mental illness in a given year, and more than 50% of Americans will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder, according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Remember Smith’s quote a few lines above, where she said it’s “really easy for things to start to fall apart?” Here’s what she said next: “I’ve definitely experienced that.”
Mental health issues can and do affect all swimmers, no matter if you’re someone like Smith or Sullivan, who have reached the pinnacle of their sport. Keep that truth in mind whenever you’re facing whatever you’re facing.
Focus on the Journey
Like Smith, Sullivan spent years focused on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She even took three gap years between high school and college so she could focus on training.
She won a silver medal in the 1500 freestyle but then began facing a struggle when she started to shift her focus to the 2024 Paris Olympics, which she intends to retire after. The challenge of years of hard training and focusing on nutrition and recovery led to something of a “post-Olympics depression,” which can afflict swimmers who live their lives quad to quad, or focused on the four years normally between Olympics. (The Paris Games will happen only three years after the Tokyo Games, which were delayed one year because of the coronavirus pandemic.)
“Six months out [before the Olympics], you really start to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Sullivan said. “Then you win your medals, you achieve everything you wanted to, and then you’re back in the beginning of the journey, and the light is all the way back to being four—three in this case—years out.”
You might not restart your training every four years but rather every year, but that can still be a daunting and lengthy period of time to look forward to. Sullivan’s solution to her problem, and her recommendation to others, would be to focus on the journey.
“My coaches have made it a very large priority to be, like, ‘No, it’s a journey. You have three years until Paris. Hold onto that, and just think of it as a big picture,’” Sullivan said. “I’ve been doing really good with that. You’ve got to play it smart and take the rest and the recovery that you need, or burnout is very, very probable.”
Be Kind to Yourself
Following last summer’s Olympics, Smith packed up her life and moved halfway across the country to start her freshman year at Stanford University, where she joined a highly-ranked team filled with fellow Olympians.
“It’s tough because when you’re in a new environment with a new swim team, a lot of talented girls, you really feel like you need to prove yourself every day,” Smith said. “If you’re not always keeping up with people in practice, things like that, you can be really hard on yourself.”
Smith decided to, as she called it, “be nice to herself.” She admitted to herself that there were going to be challenges during her freshman year and that things wouldn’t go perfectly. Her giving herself grace to struggle provided a safe space when she did struggle.
Smith points to her results at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving National Championships in March as an example of being nice to herself in action. She won the 200 backstroke, tied for second in the 200 butterfly, and finished third in the 100 backstroke.
“I had some races that I was proud of, and I had some races that I really wasn’t very proud of,” Smith said. “But I think I did a really good job of just trying to tell myself, ‘It’s OK, and I’m a great swimmer and a great athlete and a great person, and I’m representing my school as best I can, and whenever I go off the blocks and I’m swimming my races, I’m always giving 100%. It’s not always going to be the result that I want, so there’s just no point in beating yourself up too harshly over any one race in particular.’”
Remembering why she got into swimming and the positives swimming provides her help Smith stay grounded whenever she’s struggling.
“Ultimately, you got into the sport because, as a little kid, you fell in love with it for some reason that was not all about winning or all about being as fast as you possibly can,” Smith said. “I got into it because I have so many great friends, and I love being social at the pool and working hard and things like that. I was really trying to go back to my roots regarding swimming and not get too caught up in the ‘I need to win everything, I always need to go best times, I need to do X-Y-Z,’ and just try to be kinder to myself.”
Reframe Your Response to a Disappointing Event
You might have a goal to qualify for a meet, finish in a certain place to qualify for a specific team, or swim a personal best. Unfortunately, you might not achieve your goal no matter how hard you work.
Sullivan believes properly framing your response in these situations is important. Case in point: The University of Texas freshman was disappointed with her times at NCAAs.
“Rather than just being, like, ‘Oh man, I suck at swimming, this is pointless’—that’s not a very productive way to think—I just kind of tried to frame it into, ‘OK, what can I do better the next six months that I haven’t been prioritizing the whole collegiate season,’” she said.
Sullivan decided that she needed to spend more time recovering, so she plans to do whatever she can to ensure she gets eight to nine hours of sleep every night. If she feels disappointed about potentially sacrificing things to make sure she gets enough sleep, she said, she’ll think back to the disappointment she felt at NCAAs as motivation to make the choice to get to bed earlier.
Smith agreed with Sullivan, saying it’s important to use disappointment as motivation to improve. Smith added that she would tell disappointed swimmers to not place too much value on their swim, that it doesn’t define who they are, so they shouldn’t let it rule them.
“I would just try to remind them that they’re still the same person, they’re still loved by so many people, they still work extremely hard, be proud of how driven they are and how successful that’s going to make them in their life,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, things don’t always work out how you want them to, and sometimes it’s out of your hands and you did the very best you can. I think it’s important that, even if you fall short of your goals, you can still walk away from the situation knowing that you gave 100%.”
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, depressed, or in crisis, or if you’re contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for help at 800-273-8255 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
Regan Smith spent years focused on training to swim as fast as she could at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Her coaches designed every set she swam and every dryland session she did to help her be successful on the sport’s largest stage.
The effort paid off. Smith won two silver medals and one bronze last year.
Although she wouldn’t have accomplished that feat without her training, her work on her mental health might have been just as important to her reaching the heights that she did.
“The mental game, I would argue, is more important than swimming itself because, as swimmers, during our races, it’s just us,” Smith said. “You can’t hear anything. You can’t get any advice from anyone. You just have the thoughts that are going on inside your head.
“You want to have a good relationship with yourself. You want to feel confident. You just want to be in a good place with yourself mentally. Otherwise, it’s really easy for things to start to fall apart.”
Smith and fellow 2020 Olympic medalist Erica Sullivan shared their advice on how swimmers can improve their mental health.
Know You’re Not Alone
When you’re struggling with your mental health, you might feel like you’re alone, like you’re the only person facing that issue, which might lead you to have a stigma about your situation.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
One in five Americans will experience a mental illness in a given year, and more than 50% of Americans will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder, according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Remember Smith’s quote a few lines above, where she said it’s “really easy for things to start to fall apart?” Here’s what she said next: “I’ve definitely experienced that.”
Mental health issues can and do affect all swimmers, no matter if you’re someone like Smith or Sullivan, who have reached the pinnacle of their sport. Keep that truth in mind whenever you’re facing whatever you’re facing.
Focus on the Journey
Like Smith, Sullivan spent years focused on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She even took three gap years between high school and college so she could focus on training.
She won a silver medal in the 1500 freestyle but then began facing a struggle when she started to shift her focus to the 2024 Paris Olympics, which she intends to retire after. The challenge of years of hard training and focusing on nutrition and recovery led to something of a “post-Olympics depression,” which can afflict swimmers who live their lives quad to quad, or focused on the four years normally between Olympics. (The Paris Games will happen only three years after the Tokyo Games, which were delayed one year because of the coronavirus pandemic.)
“Six months out [before the Olympics], you really start to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Sullivan said. “Then you win your medals, you achieve everything you wanted to, and then you’re back in the beginning of the journey, and the light is all the way back to being four—three in this case—years out.”
You might not restart your training every four years but rather every year, but that can still be a daunting and lengthy period of time to look forward to. Sullivan’s solution to her problem, and her recommendation to others, would be to focus on the journey.
“My coaches have made it a very large priority to be, like, ‘No, it’s a journey. You have three years until Paris. Hold onto that, and just think of it as a big picture,’” Sullivan said. “I’ve been doing really good with that. You’ve got to play it smart and take the rest and the recovery that you need, or burnout is very, very probable.”
Be Kind to Yourself
Following last summer’s Olympics, Smith packed up her life and moved halfway across the country to start her freshman year at Stanford University, where she joined a highly-ranked team filled with fellow Olympians.
“It’s tough because when you’re in a new environment with a new swim team, a lot of talented girls, you really feel like you need to prove yourself every day,” Smith said. “If you’re not always keeping up with people in practice, things like that, you can be really hard on yourself.”
Smith decided to, as she called it, “be nice to herself.” She admitted to herself that there were going to be challenges during her freshman year and that things wouldn’t go perfectly. Her giving herself grace to struggle provided a safe space when she did struggle.
Smith points to her results at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving National Championships in March as an example of being nice to herself in action. She won the 200 backstroke, tied for second in the 200 butterfly, and finished third in the 100 backstroke.
“I had some races that I was proud of, and I had some races that I really wasn’t very proud of,” Smith said. “But I think I did a really good job of just trying to tell myself, ‘It’s OK, and I’m a great swimmer and a great athlete and a great person, and I’m representing my school as best I can, and whenever I go off the blocks and I’m swimming my races, I’m always giving 100%. It’s not always going to be the result that I want, so there’s just no point in beating yourself up too harshly over any one race in particular.’”
Remembering why she got into swimming and the positives swimming provides her help Smith stay grounded whenever she’s struggling.
“Ultimately, you got into the sport because, as a little kid, you fell in love with it for some reason that was not all about winning or all about being as fast as you possibly can,” Smith said. “I got into it because I have so many great friends, and I love being social at the pool and working hard and things like that. I was really trying to go back to my roots regarding swimming and not get too caught up in the ‘I need to win everything, I always need to go best times, I need to do X-Y-Z,’ and just try to be kinder to myself.”
Reframe Your Response to a Disappointing Event
You might have a goal to qualify for a meet, finish in a certain place to qualify for a specific team, or swim a personal best. Unfortunately, you might not achieve your goal no matter how hard you work.
Sullivan believes properly framing your response in these situations is important. Case in point: The University of Texas freshman was disappointed with her times at NCAAs.
“Rather than just being, like, ‘Oh man, I suck at swimming, this is pointless’—that’s not a very productive way to think—I just kind of tried to frame it into, ‘OK, what can I do better the next six months that I haven’t been prioritizing the whole collegiate season,’” she said.
Sullivan decided that she needed to spend more time recovering, so she plans to do whatever she can to ensure she gets eight to nine hours of sleep every night. If she feels disappointed about potentially sacrificing things to make sure she gets enough sleep, she said, she’ll think back to the disappointment she felt at NCAAs as motivation to make the choice to get to bed earlier.
Smith agreed with Sullivan, saying it’s important to use disappointment as motivation to improve. Smith added that she would tell disappointed swimmers to not place too much value on their swim, that it doesn’t define who they are, so they shouldn’t let it rule them.
“I would just try to remind them that they’re still the same person, they’re still loved by so many people, they still work extremely hard, be proud of how driven they are and how successful that’s going to make them in their life,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, things don’t always work out how you want them to, and sometimes it’s out of your hands and you did the very best you can. I think it’s important that, even if you fall short of your goals, you can still walk away from the situation knowing that you gave 100%.”
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, depressed, or in crisis, or if you’re contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for help at 800-273-8255 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.