Kelly Chang, U.S. Olympic volleyball star, describes how she avoids negative comments online to focus on mental health

Kelly Cheng reached a career milestone when she competed in her first Olympics at the Tokyo Games.

Kelly Cheng reached a career milestone when she competed in her first Olympics at the Tokyo Games. But instead of enjoying competition against the world’s best, the U.S. beach volleyball star felt dread.

“Every match, every point, every contact on the ball felt like life or death,” she said. “I was stressed, mentally, physically.”

Cheng said criticism from her detractors took a toll on her mental health on NBC's ’ “My New Favorite Olympian” podcast.

“A lot of people don’t like how I play volleyball,” she said. “Me reading (online hate) is letting it in. So that really feeds into the negative self-talk because then that negative voice in my head starts repeating those things that I’ve read.”

Cheng’s performance can also be hurt when she doesn’t play to her own expectations as an Olympic athlete.

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/olympics/olympics-volleyball-kelly-cheng-rcna157117

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