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Post by Admin on May 26, 2022 17:21:09 GMT
Karen Chen's mental health journey has, at times, taken the enjoyment out of her successful sports career. The 22-year-old Olympic figure skater recently spoke to PEOPLE, getting candid about her experience overcoming anxiety after previously being ashamed of her personal struggles with mental health. "As I've gotten older, it's definitely become something that I have to battle," she tells PEOPLE. "When I was a lot younger, I genuinely looked forward to competitions; they excited me. However, the past handful of years, it's been a lot more challenging. I often struggled with nervousness and anxiety not just the day of competition, but a week prior." Chen adds, "When I feel this way, it becomes hard to enjoy something that I actually really do enjoy, which is being on the ice and skating my heart out." Sharing her experience with anxiety hasn't always been "easy" for Chen, recalling her hesitancy to discuss mental health because she saw it as a "sign of weakness." "I remember being scared to open up about these vulnerable topics because I was afraid of people thinking I wasn't strong enough to handle pressure," she says. "It has been hard. I always felt that athletes are viewed as being the strongest both physically and mentally. That idea has really made it hard for me to prioritize my mental health," Chen explains, adding that social media also provides "so much unnecessary and distracting noise" that can impact her mental wellness.
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