Gracie Gold in-depth interview

Mrs. P · Oct 7, 2018

Gracie Gold gave an in-depth interview with Canadian entrepreneur Jeremy Crawford. Crawford's daughter did a training session with Gracie when she was working at the Ice Den in Scottsdale, Ariz.

This is a really a good interview. She goes in-depth with her mental health issues and how it impacted her skating and about returning back for another Olympic cycle. There's also some cool stuff about her Olympic experience in Sochi.

Warning: There might be some triggers if you're dealing with mental health issues.

Thanks Imagine for posting this on her Fan Fest thread!

It's super long so here's a few highlights:
* She talks about how she got into skating and how she advanced in her sport.
* She talks about her experiencing winning U.S. Nationals in 2014 and going to Sochi.
* She mentions that she never gave herself time to recover after Worlds 2016.
* She talks about how basically things came to a head at Champs Camp before the 2017-2018 when she ended blasting off at some USFSA officals (with profanity!) :shocked:
* She mentions that she opened up to female U.S. skater at Champs Camp and that skater played a key role in getting help. She doesn't mention who, but mentions it was someone who was a "close friend." I'm glad to hear that skater knew what to do and was there for Gracie.
* She said watching U.S. Nationals earlier this year is what sparked her to consider coming back. She also met her current coach there. She talked about that deep down, she still sees herself as a skater.
* She talks a lot about her mindset ---and how she's working on not getting stuck on the negative. She says she tries to set aside time for herself in the morning and a set a goal for the day.
* She talks about how she use Pinterest to get her inspiration for the day.
* Probably the best quote is "You can always go back to average, but there are few opportunities to do something incredible." :love:

I'm really encouraged to hear Gracie is in a much better place!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whXn7k87XYk

el henry · Oct 7, 2018

I have not had time to listen to the entire hour plus interview, but the part I did listen to....kudos to Gracie. :clap:

So sad that she felt that she was "soft" or "letting people down" :sad21: and didn't understand that she needed help, until she actually got the help.

May she inspire others, and not just in skating :pray:

momrk · Oct 8, 2018

Thank you so much for posting this link- it is very encouraging, and she clearly has gotten some good professional help (this is what I do, so really appreciated watching and hearing). I would trust she has resources in place that she can draw on for the inevitable bumps in process, and that regardless of the outcome, I hope she feels joy and satisfaction in whatever her comeback looks like (and of course I wish her all the best).

Arriba627 · Oct 8, 2018

She looks and sounds great. When I saw the interview was an hour and twenty minutes long, I figured I'd watch part today and part tomorrow. But when I started listening / watching, I found it so compelling that I ended up listening to the whole thing. I am really pulling for her and look forward to seeing her at Rostelecom hopefully...This was definitely worth a listen. I love her little positivity signs on her refrigerator! :laugh:

princessalica · Oct 8, 2018

I appreciate so much how positive she was and how much she acknowledged what she’s gone through. She’s grown and seems so self aware. I’ve been a gracie Uber, but this makes me a bigger fan.

Farnaz · Oct 8, 2018

Mrs. P thank you very much for posting this video

DSQ · Oct 8, 2018

I’ve not got time to watch the whole interview but just from those quotes she sounds like such an inspiration. It’s so difficult to come forward and talk about such things so the fact that she’s giving this interview at all makes me doubly impressed.

I know I’ll be rooting for her win or lose.

Dr. Jenn · Oct 8, 2018

Thank you very much for the link to the interview. I just finished watching it. It was really enjoyable! Gracie seems like she's in a really good place now and has a great attitude going forward, regardless of what happens with her skating career. I appreciate how open and honest she is being about her situation. I am really looking forward to seeing her perform this season, especially her FS, which sounds like it will be very personal, given the song choice.

pearly · Oct 8, 2018

I love that she did this and am so happy for her because she seems to be doing well.

I wish someone who knew more about the sport was interviewing her. He refers to her as a professional figure skater more than once and you can tell he doesn't really make the connections someone in the know would make. His comments to anything figure skating related she says are "wow, that's crazy, so cool, amazing."

Gullygirl84 · Oct 8, 2018

Listening to the interview. That the fed did not recognize that Gracie was crying out for help until Champs Camp ("The Incident", as she refers to) is surprising to me. What about Stars on Ice that year?Very proud of her that she can speak out like this.

pearly · Oct 8, 2018

I am amazed at how mature and well spoken Gracie is. Love her.

andromache · Oct 8, 2018

pearly said:
I am amazed at how mature and well spoken Gracie is. Love her.

Ugh I'm so disappointed that I have to do video editing at work today - which means I can't listen to something else! Can't wait to watch.

Sam-Skwantch · Oct 8, 2018

I struggled to take my eyes off of Jeremy’s microphone which looked like a close relative of r2d2 IMO

Nice to see someone doing an in depth piece like this on the sport. I just skimmed thru but hope to play it later tonight while I’m doing some of my Monday night house chores. Thanks for sharing Mrs P :agree:

NymphyNymphy · Oct 8, 2018

Mrs. P said:
Gracie Gold gave an in-depth interview with Canadian entrepreneur Jeremy Crawford. Crawford's daughter did a training session with Gracie when she was working at the Ice Den in Scottsdale, Ariz.

This is a really a good interview. She goes in-depth with her mental health issues and how it impacted her skating and about returning back for another Olympic cycle. There's also some cool stuff about her Olympic experience in Sochi.

Warning: There might be some triggers if you're dealing with mental health issues.

Thanks Imagine for posting this on her Fan Fest thread!

It's super long so here's a few highlights:
* She talks about how she got into skating and how she advanced in her sport.
* She talks about her experiencing winning U.S. Nationals in 2014 and going to Sochi.
* She mentions that she never gave herself time to recover after Worlds 2016.
* She talks about how basically things came to a head at Champs Camp before the 2017-2018 when she ended blasting off at some USFSA officals (with profanity!) :shocked:
* She mentions that she opened up to female U.S. skater at Champs Camp and that skater played a key role in getting help. She doesn't mention who, but mentions it was someone who was a "close friend." I'm glad to hear that skater knew what to do and was there for Gracie.
* She said watching U.S. Nationals earlier this year is what sparked her to consider coming back. She also met her current coach there. She talked about that deep down, she still sees herself as a skater.
* She talks a lot about her mindset ---and how she's working on not getting stuck on the negative. She says she tries to set aside time for herself in the morning and a set a goal for the day.
* She talks about how she use Pinterest to get her inspiration for the day.
* Probably the best quote is "You can always go back to average, but there are few opportunities to do something incredible."

I'm really encouraged to hear Gracie is in a much better place!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whXn7k87XYk

Gracie Gold sochi bronze medalist. We wish her all the best.

chuckm · Oct 8, 2018

Gracie NEVER looked overweight---her weight problem was how SHE thought she looked, not how she really looked. That is common to people with eating disorders: it's called body dysmorphia.

Gullygirl84 · Oct 8, 2018

Gracie was very clearly in a different "skating shape" than she had been in the past starting around Stars on Ice in April of 2017...but "skating shape" and "regular people shape" are extremely different things (also, being healthy and being in "skating shape" are perhaps not always the same thing. I'm sure many skaters who appear to be in skater shape are actually very unhealthy. It reminds me of Aly Raisman talking about how when she actually went outside the system and saw her own nutritionist, they were stunned that she was so unhealthy and had so little body fat).

andromache · Oct 8, 2018

Based on the interview, it really sounds like the depression was the primary issue plaguing her. I think I kind of assumed that the eating disorder was playing a more prominent role than it maybe was due to some of the statements she made about weight 1-2 years ago? But it was really this overall deep depression. Her honesty about it is really refreshing and inspiring.

I also think her comparison of mental illness versus physical injury was fantastic. Why is getting help and taking time off for depression seen as shameful (to yourself, at least) but taking time off and getting help for a broken foot seen as normal and fine?

I hope her journey brings some more openness to mental illness in elite sports and helps other athletes reach out for help when they need it.

Gullygirl84 · Oct 8, 2018

andromache said:
Based on the interview, it really sounds like the depression was the primary issue plaguing her. I think I kind of assumed that the eating disorder was playing a more prominent role than it maybe was due to some of the statements she made about weight 1-2 years ago? But it was really this overall deep depression. Her honesty about it is really refreshing and inspiring.

I also think her comparison of mental illness versus physical injury was fantastic. Why is getting help and taking time off for depression seen as shameful (to yourself, at least) but taking time off and getting help for a broken foot seen as normal and fine?

I hope her journey brings some more openness to mental illness in elite sports and helps other athletes reach out for help when they need it.

Agree on her take re: comparison between mental and physical injury. Jenny Kirk has a youtube channel, and I remember her making the same point when talking about mental health /eating disorder recovery. It would have been very easy as well for Gracie last season to say "I'm taking time off for personal reasons", instead of going public with her anxiety, depression, and eating disorder issues, and I hope that it helps others (especially younger skaters who probably look up to Gracie) feel like they can ask for help if they need it as well.

DanseMacabre · Oct 8, 2018

andromache said:
Based on the interview, it really sounds like the depression was the primary issue plaguing her. I think I kind of assumed that the eating disorder was playing a more prominent role than it maybe was due to some of the statements she made about weight 1-2 years ago? But it was really this overall deep depression. Her honesty about it is really refreshing and inspiring.

Just popping in to add that eating disorders and depression/anxiety disorders (as in a mental illness, not situational depression) are not mutually exclusive and are often co-occurring. In many cases they're inextricably linked. For me, my eating disorder was one of the ways in which my depression -- the chemical imbalance in my brain -- manifested itself in my behaviour. You can't treat one without the other. The brain is a complex thing.

Anyway, it's really nice to see Gracie being open and honest about her struggle with illness. It's incredibly difficult to open yourself up like that to thousands of strangers (some of whom who would love nothing more than to disparage you for it), so bravo for that. I really do hope she's in a healthier, happier place now. I know from experience how difficult it is to live with that sort of illness, so seeing her getting back on the horse is really inspiring.

andromache · Oct 8, 2018

DanseMacabre said:
Just popping in to add that eating disorders and depression/anxiety disorders (as in a mental illness, not situational depression) are not mutually exclusive and are often co-occurring. In many cases they're inextricably linked. For me, my eating disorder was one of the ways in which my depression -- the chemical imbalance in my brain -- manifested itself in my behaviour. You can't treat one without the other. The brain is a complex thing.

Oh I 100% agree. Former anorexic/depression-haver here (and I still struggle with anxiety). I was just surprised that she seemed to focus on depression as her primary issue rather than the eating disorder, at least in the interview, since during 2016-2017 season she made more than one negative comment about her weight. Anyway, I am incredibly impressed with how reflective Gracie is about what she has been through and all the steps she has taken, and is still taking, to be mentally healthy. I know that a lot of fans looked toward Gracie' comeback with some trepidation and worry that it's too soon, but she really does sound incredibly mentally prepared to deal with the upcoming season - even if she doesn't perform super great, she has the resources to cope with it.

Gracie Gold in-depth interview

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.

momrk

Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION 🔥

princessalica

Farnaz

DSQ

Dr. Jenn

pearly

Gullygirl84

pearly

andromache

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

NymphyNymphy

chuckm

Gullygirl84

andromache

Gullygirl84

DanseMacabre

andromache

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