Aly Raisman, 26, has recently spoken about her mental health struggles.
The Olympic athlete appeared virtually on CBS This Morning Friday and revealed how she has been keeping her mental health.
The show’s co-host Anthony Mason asked how she has reconnected with herself since her retirement. Raisman said it is a “work in progress and healing is not one-size-fits-all.”
She explained, “I feel differently each day, but it’s been really interesting because I went from being in the best shape of my life, working out six to seven hours some days, to honestly, some days, not even being able to go for a 10-minute walk outside. I’m still kind of trying to navigate how to fully recover, but I’ve learned the importance of being kind to myself.”
“Because I’ve realized that when I’m really stressed out, when I’m having a lot of anxiety, I’m often really hard on myself and it is exhausting” the retried gymnast continued. “I’m sure anyone who’s watching who can relate to experiencing some type of trauma or anxiety, can recognize just how exhausting it can be. So I’ve learned the importance of taking time for myself each day and prioritizing my mental health.”
Raisman also opened up about important aspects of her own healing process.
She said, “Honestly, I’ve done a lot of reflecting over the last couples of years and I realized I was being so hard on myself.”
“What we say to ourselves really matters and I would think about it and I would say, ‘Okay, would I ever say this stuff that I’m saying to my little sisters or my mom or a good friend or my future daughter?’ And the answer is absolutely not, so why am I not giving myself the same love and kindness I would give to someone else?”
“So I’ve realized that’s been extremely crucial for me in my healing journey,” she added.
Raisman also went on to share that it is important to have some “sort of a routine.”
She said, “Taking time for myself, even on the days where I’m really busy, those are sometimes the times where it’s harder to fit time in, but those are actually the times that I need it most.”
“So even just taking 30 seconds and doing a quick body scan, taking time for myself, even doing, like, a four-minute pilates workout if that’s all I have the energy for or the time for, it really makes a difference, even a couple of minutes,” Raisman added.
“One of the things that I’ve struggled with is worrying so much about what other people think about me and people-pleasing, cause that’s really a lot of the sport,” she continued. “Even if I feel I did my absolute best routine — but the judges think it’s my worst routine — that’s the result that I have. And so it’s really hard to kind of dig in and really look inside myself and be happy with who I am without other people worrying about me.” “So I think the people-pleasing just got a little bit too much for me and I became a little bit obsessive about what other people thought,” she added. “So I would say I really started to realize it years ago, but then felt more comfortable asking for help a few years ago.”
