66 | What Olympians Understand About Anxiety

• Why does anxiety still show up when someone looks strong?
• What if mental toughness is not about pushing through everything?
• What if fear is loud, but not always right?

In this episode, Jessica Davis breaks down what Olympians understand about anxiety, pressure, self-doubt, and mental strength. Through the stories of Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, and Naomi Osaka, this episode shows that anxiety does not disappear just because someone is successful, talented, or seen as strong by the world.

Jessica connects each athlete’s story to a lesson from the C.O.U.R.A.G.E. Method. You’ll hear how Simone Biles showed self-compassion, how Michael Phelps acted despite uncertainty, and how Naomi Osaka reminded us that fear is not fact. If you’ve ever felt like you should be able to “just handle it,” this episode will help you see strength in a different way.

What You’ll Learn in this Episode:

• Why anxiety can affect anyone, even elite athletes
• What Simone Biles teaches us about self-compassion
• How Michael Phelps shows the power of asking for help
• Why Naomi Osaka’s story proves fear is not fact
• How to take the next step even when anxiety is loud

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Transcript

Why Elite Confidence Is A Myth

Jessica N. Davis 0:07

Simone Bio stood at the edge of the Vault Runway at the Tokyo Olympics and the whole world was watching. She had earned the nickname Goat, the greatest of all time. Everyone knew what was supposed to happen next. More medals, more history, more proof that she was untouchable, but she stepped off the mat. What happened in that moment wasn't failure, and it wasn't just about gymnastics. She knew something most of us are never taught. Your mind gets a vote too, and sometimes it's the loudest voice in the room. Three elite athletes, three different sports, save hidden truth about fighting back against the thoughts that tell you you're not enough. So, what did they figure out that can actually change how you handle your anxiety? If you want extra support while you're listening, my free anxiety survival toolkit is in the show notes. It includes coping skills, audio tools, a full breakdown of the courage method, and a guided meditation, all completely free. Also, quick reminder this podcast is here to support and guide you, but it is not a replacement for talking to someone in real life. If you're struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a therapist. And if you're in crisis, contact emergency services or a local health line. You don't have to go through it alone. All right. We carry this belief around about elite athletes that they've conquered fear, that mental toughness means never cracking, never hesitating, never showing the weakness the rest of us feel every single day. And it makes sense why we think this way. We see the highlight reels, the podium moments, the interviews where they look into the camera and say, I just pushed through. We watch them stand on that top step with the metal around their neck, and we assume they got there because they're different from us, stronger, braver even, immune to the doubts that knock us down. But that version of strength leaves out the most important part. Anxiety and self-doubt don't care how many metals you have. They don't check your resume before they show up. You can be the best in the world at what you do and still wake up with that familiar knot in your chest, the one that tells you today might be the day everything falls apart. You felt this spiral, right? I should be able to handle this. Why can't I just snap out of it? Everyone seems fine. What's wrong with me? That loop plays on repeat, and every replay makes you feel a little more broken, a little more certain that you're the only one who can't get it together. And that exact same spiral shows up in your life, too, even if there's no Olympic stage involved. It's there before a big test, when your brain tells you that you're going to fail before you even pick up the pen. It's there in social situations when you're convinced everyone's judging you and you can't find the right words. It's there when expectations pile up from parents and teachers and friends and the version of yourself you're supposed to be. The thought doesn't need a stadium full of people to feel overwhelming. A classroom works fine, a group chat, your own bedroom at two in the morning. And what have they been telling us exactly what works if we just know where to

Simone Biles And Self-Compassion

Jessica N. Davis 3:38

look? At the Tokyo Olympics, Simone Biles was mid-air in her vault when something terrifying happened. She got the twisties. If you don't know what that means, it's when the gymnast loses their sense of where their body is in space. Your brain and your body disconnect mid-flip, and suddenly you're falling without knowing which way is up or down. And gymnastics is not just scary, it's dangerous. So think about what was running through her mind in that moment. Every instinct, every year of training was screaming, push through, don't embarrass yourself, don't let everyone down. The entire world had turned to watch her dominate. And she knew it. She was supposed to be the GOAT, right? She was supposed to be untouchable, but she listened to a different voice, the one that said her mind needed care more than the world needed another performance. She withdrew from the team final, then from the individual all-around, then from event finals. And when she spoke about it, she didn't apologize. She said, we have to protect our mind and our body rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do. That right there is the our encourage method. Respond with self-compassion. Now, let's be clear about what self-compassion actually means here, because it's not what a lot of people think. It's not letting yourself off the hook. It's not making excuses or taking the easy way out. Self-compassion in this moment meant recognizing that pushing harder would break something. It could hurt her body, her mind, maybe possibly both. Breaking herself wasn't going to help anyone. The difference between self-compassion and making excuses comes down to honesty. An excuse hides the truth. Self-compassion faces it and says, I can't keep going like this. And that's okay to admit. Here's how you can translate this to your own life: it's catching that moment when your brain is screaming at you to keep pushing, to not look weak, to just get through. And instead of obeying, you stop and ask yourself one question. What do I actually need right now? Maybe it is a break. Maybe it's asking for help. Maybe it's telling someone you're not okay, even though every part of you wants to say, I'm fine. I won't pretend this is easy. Responding with self-compassion is harder than pushing through, not easier, because pushing through lets you avoid the disappointment. It lets you avoid the judgment. When Simone Biles stepped off that mat, she had to face every headline, calling her a quitter, every comment, saying that she let her team down. She had to sit with all of that and still know she made the right choice. That's not weakness. That's a kind of strength most of us haven't been taught to recognize

Michael Phelps And Action First

Jessica N. Davis 6:23

yet. Michael Phelps is one of the most decorated Olympians in history. 28 medals, 23 of them gold, right? Insane. If you measure greatness and podium finishes, nobody comes close. Well, maybe smoke, but I haven't calculated to figure it out. But after the 2012 London Olympics, he hit a wall no amount of training could prepare him for. He didn't want to be alive anymore. He talked about this openly since then, about sitting alone in his room for days, not eating, not sleeping, just wanting darkness to pass. And in 2014, things got worse. He got arrested for a DUI. It was his second. The most famous swimmer on the planet was facing jail time, suspension, and the end of everything he had built. This was the moment that forced a choice, not about swimming, but about whether he wanted to keep living. He checked himself into a treatment facility for 45 days. And here's the part that matters for anyone who's felt trapped by their own thoughts. He didn't go because he knew it would work. He didn't go because he was certain things would get better. He went because staying where he was would destroy him. And the only way to find out if there was another side was to start walking toward it. That's A in the courage method. Act despite uncertainty. He talked about that time openly and about the darkness and feeling like there was no way out. And then he talked about what is on the other side of that. The gap between those two places is everything. He didn't wait until he felt brave. He didn't wait until the fear subsided or the shame disappeared or he had some guarantee that therapy would fix him. He acted while his brain was still telling him that there was no point. And this is a lesson I hope that we take from it. Most of the time, uncertainty is the thing that keeps us frozen. We don't know if talking to a therapist will actually help. So we don't call. We don't know if opening up to a friend will change anything. So we stay quiet. We really don't know if that coping strategy will work for our specific type of anxiety. So we don't try it. But the not knowing this is a problem, waiting for certainty before you move is. Certainty almost never comes first. Action does. Phelps didn't know if getting help would save him. He just knew he couldn't stay where he was. And that tiny sliver of willingness, that single step towards something unknown, that turned out to be enough. So what does acting despite uncertainty look like in your life? It's sending the text to a friend even though your brain is telling you you're being dramatic. It's walking into the counselor's office even though you're not convinced anyone can understand. It's trying the breathing exercises, even though it feels silly and pointless in the moment. You don't need to know it will work. You just need to give it a chance. You just need to give it a try and keep trying despite all the feelings and emotions that tell you to quit and to not try or that life isn't meaningful.

Naomi Osaka And Fear Stories

Jessica N. Davis 9:24

Brings us back to that question. What happens when you make this choice publicly? When the whole world has an opinion. Naomi Asaka found out in 2021 at the French Open. She was 23 years old, already a four-time Grand Slam champion, already one of the highest paid athletes in the world. And she announced she wouldn't be doing press conferences during the tournament. Oh Naomi. But not because she was being difficult, because her mental health couldn't handle it. She wrote about it directly saying, I've often felt that people have no regard for athletes' mental health. And this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one or ask questions that bring doubt into our minds. And I'm just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me. Amazing, right? The tournament fined her $15,000. It threatened to excel her. So Osaka withdrew. And then the world had its opinions. Some people supported her, many didn't. The headlines called her a diva, a brat, someone who couldn't handle the pressure. The same narrative that shows up every time the athlete says, I'm not okay, push through, toughen up, stop being so sensitive. But here's what Osaka understood that her critics didn't. This is the you and the courage method. I understand that fear isn't fact. Fear told her that if she spoke up, she'd be destroyed. Fear told her that setting a boundary would end her career. Fear painted a picture of the worst-case scenarios and whispered that avoiding the press was safer than facing the judgment. But fear isn't a fortune teller. Fear is a feeling. And feelings, even the most overwhelming ones, are not predictions. She later wrote about suffering long bouts of depression and having a really hard time coping. She took a break from tennis. She sat with the backlash. She let the fear roll through without letting it dictate her choices. And she came back. Not because the fear disappeared, but because she learned to see it for what it was a signal, not a sentence. This distinction changed things. Fear says if you admit you're struggling, everyone will judge you. That's not fact. That's a story your brain is telling you. I had a client who literally told me that they were afraid to go on a walk during our therapy session because people potentially could see them and judge them for being in therapy. Fear says if you set a boundary, you'll lose everything. Also, not that. Also, a story. The fear feels real. The racing heart, the tightness, the spinning thoughts, and all of it is real. But the catastrophe, your fear predicts, that part is not guaranteed. And most of the time, it hardly ever happens. I think the percentage is like 85% of the things that you worry about will not come true. Don't quote me, but somewhere wrong those percentage lines. Treating fear's predictions as if they're certain is like letting a broken weather app dictate whether you leave the house. Osaka stepped away from the store. She dominated because she understood something that takes most of us years to learn. The fear doesn't get the final vote. You

Three Takeaways And Next Steps

Jessica N. Davis 12:39

do. We went over three Olympic athletes, three moments where everything was on the line, three different choices that all point toward the same truth. Simone Biles taught us to respond with self-compassion when our brain is screaming at us to push harder. Michael Phelps showed us that actions come before certain, not after. And Naomi Yosaka reminds us that fear makes predictions, but predictions aren't fact. None of them were born knowing this. They learned it the hard way in public under the kind of pressure most of us will never experience or fully understand. And they're still learning it every day. So when anxiety shows up for you before the test, during an argument at two in the morning when you can't sleep, remember you're not the only one fighting this. The people we put on pedestals are in the arena with you too. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be certain. And you definitely don't have to believe everything your fear tells you. You just have to take the next step. I hope this episode helped. I really enjoyed doing this episode. Thank you so much for listening to it. If this resonated, I would love it if you would share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, please take a moment to leave a review. It helps more teens and young adults find the show and know they're not alone. Until next time, keep moving forward. Trust yourself and never forget you have what it takes to block out the noise.