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The advocacy work has not come easy for Raisman, who started in gymnastics at age 2.

\"In the last year, just from speaking up, there were plenty of times when I was just so exhausted I didn't have the energy to work out, and I would feel like I'd just run miles and miles and even just walking up the stairs was exhausting for me,\" she said. \"I would say that even just speaking up, I felt like I had just done this crazy hard workout because it took so much from me.\"

Raisman, who also described getting headaches after giving speeches, said she's learned to meditate daily, still sees a therapist and recently took up gardening to help her relax.

\"I understand that talking about sexual abuse is uncomfortable. I wish I could talk about gardening up here all the time,\" she said. \"It's very hard for me.\"

\"It's very, very confusing and very scary, and sometimes it can get worse before it gets better,\" Raisman said of speaking out about sexual abuse.

Taking on USA Gymnastics

Raisman has continued to speak out about abuse in gymnastics since Nassar's sentencing. She called for an independent investigation of the USOC and USA Gymnastics by federal authorities, and then, in March, filed a lawsuit against USOC and USA Gymnastics.

\"PHOTO:
Marla Aufmuth/WireImage via Getty Images
PHOTO: Captain of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics teams in 2012 and 2016 Aly Raisman speaks during 2018 Massachusetts Conference For Women in Boston, Dec. 5, 2018.
>

Raisman also used her voice to call for the ouster of Mary Bono as interim president of USA Gymnastics because of Bono's association with a law firm that advised USA Gymnastics during the Nassar scandal. Bono resigned as interim president and CEO of USA Gymnastics in October after four days, according to ESPN.

Earlier this week, USA gymnastics filed for bankruptcy in the wake of lawsuits over the serial sexual abuse perpetrated by Nassar.

\"It was very frustrating and it still is so frustrating that they, that USA Gymnastics, still treats me and my teammates like we are adversaries when we're saying that we were abused while we were training,\" Raisman said Wednesday. \"It's crazy to me that we live in a world where so often survivors are treated like adversaries when they're brave enough to tell their stories.\"

Raisman also described what prompted her to speak out publicly.

\"I was very nervous and very scared,\" she said, \"but I knew that I couldn't sit back and watch organizations continue to sweep it under the rug and act like nothing was happening.\"

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