Alysa Liu was luminous when she won the women’s figure skating Olympic gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, a sense of joy and fun she radiated all through the Games.<\/p>\n
So it\u2019s hard to believe she wasn\u2019t in a good place just a few years ago when she famously retired from the sport at 16<\/a> after feeling burned out and lonely<\/a>. She\u2019d been training non-stop from the age of 5.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mental health used to be horrible, like, absolutely horrible,\u201d Liu, now 20, tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I just took a break, and I did something new. I moved on to a different part of my life. I really focused on school and friendship, and honestly, that’s the thing that grounded me.\u201d<\/p>\n Surrounding herself with the right crowd of people was \u201ccrucial,\u201d she adds. Liu went on her first vacation and got her driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n \u201cI learned how to drive during that time, so I was able to go out more and hang out with my siblings more and go do things. So that definitely helped,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cI looked really deep into myself for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n For a while, Liu had such an aversion to skating that she avoided any visits to the ice rink.<\/p>\n But then she just knew she was ready to come back after an adrenaline-filled winter trip to Lake Tahoe, she recalls.<\/p>\n \u201cI went skiing and I had so much fun, and I was like, \u2018Well, I want to keep having more fun.\u2019 So it was a selfish decision,\u201d Liu says.<\/p>\n She announced her return to competition in March 2024.<\/p>\n Alysa Liu’s Mental Health Advice<\/p>\n Her current formula for staying mentally strong includes two core habits: \u201cGetting a good night’s sleep and making sure I talk to the people I love often,\u201d Liu says.<\/p>\n \u201cI think sleep is like the biggest thing \u2014 getting enough hours. I need at least eight hours to feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n The skater goes to the gym to complement her on-ice training with stability and strength power days. She eats three full meals to fuel her body and brain. During competition, she reminds herself to breathe. <\/p>\n How does she stay so chill under pressure? Appearing on TODAY on March 2, Liu said she\u2019d be \u201ctotally OK\u201d if she messed up and did a horrible program so there\u2019s nothing to be nervous about.<\/p>\n \u201cDon’t compare yourself to anybody. Stay on your own path, your own journey, and focus on yourself,\u201d Liu tells people struggling with their mental health.<\/p>\n For young athletes who are feeling burned out like she once did, she offers this advice: \u201cIf it’s really such a struggle, I would say definitely take that break. Don’t be scared to do that. You’ll be scared of failure, (but) honestly, trying new things will definitely give you a different outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n