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Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.
CNN
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lance armstrong I experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and used an intensive treatment approach for several years after recognizing my post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). drugs that improve performancethe former professional cyclist said on the podcast “The Great Unlearn.”
Armstrong was stripped of seven titles in what remains one of the most infamous scandals in sports history. Tour de France He won the title in 2012 and was also asked to return all prize money he earned from wins from 1999 to 2005.
He first spoke publicly about taking performance-enhancing drugs in a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey. explain How they used drugs such as erythropoietin (EPO), which stimulates the production of red blood cells, testosterone, human growth hormone, and illegal blood transfusions.
“I went from hero to zero overnight,” says a 52-year-old man. Said In an episode of the podcast “The Great Unlearn” released Tuesday.
“A lot of people praised it. A lot of people thought it was funny. A lot of people thought I deserved it. And a lot of them are right. I didn’t think it was funny. But I thought it was natural.”
in him oprah interviewRegarding the extent of his doping, Armstrong stated that he was “seriously flawed” and “was a bully… in the sense that he was trying to control the extent of his doping,” and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said, “The most sophisticated, specialized and successful doping program ever.”
After his public confession, Mr. Armstrong was hit with numerous lawsuits. Most notably, he agreed to pay $5 million to the U.S. government after admitting to doping in 2018, while the U.S. Postal Service was paying millions of dollars to sponsor the team.
“The list of lawsuits was a mile long,” Armstrong said on the podcast “The Great Unlearn.” “My income went from exorbitant amounts to zero… You can’t go through all of this without suffering from PTSD.
“I think as a society when we hear about PTSD, we associate it with people who have gone to war and lost comrades, witnessed death, killed people…PTSD is not just for soldiers, and of course I It’s not just something.”
Armstrong did not say on the podcast when or by whom he was diagnosed with PTSD.
According to the American Psychological Association, trauma is an “emotional response to a frightening event” that can be followed by “unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships, and even physical symptoms such as headaches and nausea.” .
Armstrong’s doping scandal also damaged Livestrong, the cancer charity he founded in 1997, a year after the Texas native was diagnosed with cancer at age 25.
In “The Great Unlearn,” Armstrong said he had been doing “couch therapy” for several years after his interview with Oprah before deciding he needed “something different, something deeper” to deal with his PTSD. he said.
He said he went to Onsite, a therapy and counseling retreat in Tennessee.
“It’s five days on site.” [of therapy]”I’m alone, one-on-one, 10 hours a day,” Armstrong said, likening it to “surgery” while his previous treatment experience was “a band-aid.”
He also said he “threw it.” [him]A few years after confessing to doping, he turned to fitness and health. “I ran a lot,” he added. “I swam. It doesn’t necessarily have to be training. [but] I started playing golf. ”
CNN has attempted to contact Armstrong and Onsite for further comment.
in interview In a 2014 interview with CNN, Armstrong explained that he wasn’t considering therapy, saying, “My therapy is riding my bike, playing golf, and drinking beer.”
“Look, we all go through these events in our lives, good, bad, and middling. [therapy]. That’s understandable, but it hasn’t happened yet. ”
These days, Armstrong said he works out every day. Swimming is his “favorite and go-to” workout. Also “THEMOVE” about cycling and the Tour de France and he interviews a different guest in each episode.
