Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin finally felt “like myself again” after recovering from a ski racing accident last season and lingering PTSD.

Shiffrin described the physical and mental disabilities she needed to clear during a huge slalom game in Killington, Vermont in a Friday article for the player’s Tribune in a post.

"Everyone knows that the cough is not good. But PTSD…is not that way," wrote the 30-year-old from Edwards, Colorado. "It comes in all shapes and sizes. Everyone experiences it in their own way, and no two situations are exactly similar."

Shiffrin took the lead in the first game of the huge slalom in November and flipped the skis in her final step as she lost the edge and slid into the door. The most winning Alpine World Cup skier racer of all time hit another door and parked in a protective fence.

Until today, she didn't know what caused the puncture wound, but that was "from beautiful disastrous millimeters," she told the Associated Press.

"It's hard to explain the feeling of pain. But the closest I can get is like...not only is there a knife stabbing me, but the knife is actually still inside me."

In late January, Shiffrin returned to the World Cup Tour. The huge slalom of the air remains the source of anxiety, though, and she skipped the event at the World Championships.

She has been working steadily to overcome the psychological trauma of the huge swimmer swaying around the giant as she prepares for the 2026 Mirano-Cortina Winter Games. She won the gold medal in discipline at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

She has been working with psychologists to conquer her own mental disorders.

"I can admit there were some very low moments," Shiffrin recalls. "When I started guessing myself for the second time, or being critical of myself because I felt like I was messing up so much." It's like: Come on, Mikaela, people have a crash worse than this, and they're even worse for injuries. Those people encountered it.

“On particularly bad days, I would question my motivation or whether I would like to do it again.

She and the therapist began to study her own recovery through the prism of PTSD.

"With me, I also thought it was possible that I had a crash in Cortina in early 2024 and then there was a Killington … the two crashes could have been built on each other," Shiffrin said. "I discussed this with the therapist and she let me know that past history of trauma or trauma events can sometimes affect your response to new trauma events."

Five years ago, she lost her father Jeff in a family accident. Her fiancé and Norwegian ski racer Aleksander Aamodt Kilde are still recovering from a serious ski crash on January 13, 2024.

"Maybe when I crashed and suffered a puncture wound, maybe this was a perfect situation for PTSD," Shiffrin wrote.

One thing that helps, Shiffrin said, is “back to a happy place.” She closed her article: "All I can do is thank you for your smile. Because, at the end...."