I'd wake up in the middle of the night and I would be in full panic. Full panic sobbing. I would go sit in a corner, and I had experiences in my career that were far from

okay that involved other people and substance abuse and different things that I was reliving.

And I was like, where the hell is this coming from? Hey there it's Light Watkins. I'm your host of at the end of the tunnel and

this happens to be your first time listening to this show here is what you are

in for.

So I interview luminaries, artists, philanthropists, athletes, creatives, and basically anyone

who has gone above and beyond to be the change they wish to see in the world.

Sometimes they start movements or they create films or they write books that inspire people.

But in the case of this week's guest, Caroline Burkel is a swimmer who competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics

and then after being mentally and physically wrecked by the end of the experience, she created

a program for young athletes to help better prepare them for the mental

and physical challenges of navigating athletic competition at the highest level.

When Caroline grew up in Kentucky, as a young girl her parents would drop her off at the local swimming pool from 8 o'clock in the morning until 9 o'clock at night, but by the time she was 13, she was competing in the junior nationals. In college she won several NCAA

meets and she ended up meddling in the 4 by 200 meter freestyle relay in Beijing. But in the process, Caroline's body was a wreck and the

experience left her over-trained, physically sick, and depressed. So she ended up

retiring from competition shortly after the Olympics and she spent the next several years battling depression and navigating an eating disorder.

Then Caroline discovered somatic healing, which changed her life, and now she helps to

empower young athletes with the mental skills for navigating high-level competition and staying

connected to their bodies, which is something she

didn't have and it wasn't even really talked about during her athletic career.

I think you're going to find our conversation to be a fascinating peak behind the

curtain of what it's actually like to be an Olympic

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