Regan Smith has been open about her mental health struggles throughout the years. Her journey has not been easy, and during this Mental Awareness Month, she candidly reflected on the challenges she has faced.

In a recent interview with USA Swimming, she opened up about how sports psychologists helped shape her career and taught her a lasting life lesson. She had worked closely with Emily Klueh, and that changed her life forever.

“I was in therapy, and Emily, my sports psychologist, said, ‘You do realise that it’s normal for you to struggle with this pressure because, growing up, you were fed all of these compliments,'" Smith said. "Even when you weren’t swimming very well, you were still doing amazing.’

"And I feel like that made it difficult because I was being fed that for so long. It’s not a bad thing that people give positive feedback all the time. I’m a big believer that we can’t live in the past.”

Smith became the top favourite for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after her phenomenal outing in 2019 at the women’s 100m backstroke. However, the pressure affected her, and she had therapy sessions to help her focus on her game.

Smith said in an interview with Fox Sports Digital in 2024 that she initially was not interested in talking to sports psychologists.

 "I didn't want to have a sports psychologist," Smith said."I didn’t want to talk about it. I thought you were weak, or I thought I was weak. And so the feelings that I had, I tried to shove inside and ignore them, and it festered and exploded. "

But after closely reconsidering her decisions, she met Emily Klueh, who helped her improve her performance in the pool. Smith credited her for her journey and said that she took her swimming completely to the next level.

Regan Smith Also Revealed the Special Companion Who Helped Her In Tough Times

Earlier this month, Regan Smith attended the Purrfecto Cat Lounge event, which was sponsored by Nulo. At this mental awareness event, the American swimmer talked about how her cat, named Roo, helped her in her mental health journey.

“It’s a good hobby to do with your cat,” Smith said. “She’s literally saved my mental state so many times.”

Smith adopted her cat from an adopter shelter house in 2024 and, with time, developed a strong bond with it. Not only that, but she also limited her time on social media to focus more on her mental health. She even started writing journals and reading more books.

Read more at Daily Swimmers Club!

Written by

Ankita Yadav

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi