Five-time Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin dropped by CBS Sports Radio on Wednesday to discuss her life, career, and retirement, among other topics, and also opened up about her battles with anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
รขโฌลI think I always did a really good job of keeping a sense of normalcy, but really where I failed to do that was leading up to 2016,รขโฌย Franklin said in studio on The DA Show. รขโฌลI donรขโฌโขt think Iรขโฌโขd ever felt more alone than I did in that year, and for the first time in my life I really started to let those expectations and that pressure in.รขโฌย
Franklin didnรขโฌโขt feel that pressure at the 2012 Games in London.
รขโฌลIt was my first time, no one knew who I was รขโฌโ everyone was just so excited for me,รขโฌย she recalled. รขโฌลBut then all of a sudden when you do it once, people not only expect you to do it again; they expect it to be better. So Iรขโฌโขm going into 2016 รขโฌโ still at 21 years old รขโฌโ but now instead of going to the Olympics because I love it and Iรขโฌโขm so excited and Iรขโฌโขm living out my dream, my fear is that Iรขโฌโขm going to disappoint people and have a less successful Olympics, which of course I was never even thinking about during my first one.
รขโฌลSo carrying that weight is what led to so many mental health issues for me,รขโฌย Franklin continued. รขโฌลIt was such a growth experience. It was miserable. Iรขโฌโขm not going to paint over it in any way. It was the hardest time of my life, and it was such a challenge to get through it. But now being on the other side, Iรขโฌโขm able to look back and recognize how much I learned about myself during that process.รขโฌย
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