- Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic, has brought attention to the significance of not concealing emotional pain
- She encouraged her followers not to fear discussing their mental health struggles
- She drew courage to speak about this from her own experiences with depression
Former Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic, has brought attention to the significance of not concealing emotional pain in a heartfelt social media post.
In her message, she encouraged her followers not to fear discussing their mental health struggles. She drew the courage to speak about this from her own experiences with depression, social media abuse, body shaming, and family violence which she carried throughout her career.
On Instagram, the 40-year-old shared a tearful photo of herself, emphasizing the importance of addressing mental health openly.
While assuring her followers that she was doing fine, she candidly revealed feeling overwhelmed and sad, prompting her to seek help from a friend.
Tennis Commentator and former tennis player Jelena Dokic. PHoto/People
Dokic said that she felt compelled to share her experience, hoping that it might resonate with someone going through a tough time.
She conveyed a powerful message, urging people to be unashamed about expressing their struggles, healing processes, and traumas.
The tennis commentator emphasized that it’s entirely acceptable to be vulnerable and seek assistance or talk openly about challenges a tennis star is going through.
She remarked that hiding emotional pain does more harm than good for tennis players adding that there is strength, growth, and courage in sharing it openly.
“There is truth, growth, healing, strength, courage and bravery in your pain but only if it is shared and brought into the open. So, don’t let your heart scream in pain in silence. Let it out, it will be easier and a huge weight will lift off your shoulders if you say it out loud. No shame, stigma or embarrassment. Just pure honesty, rawness and openness,” she wrote on Instagram.
In the past, Dokic also addressed the painful reality of domestic abuse, laying bare painful experiences of the violence she endured as a young tennis player in her book, Unbreakable.
By posting photos of her bruised legs on Instagram, she shed light on the countless women suffering from abuse, emphasizing the importance of not carrying untold stories of pain and suffering.
Jelena Dokic. PHoto/ESPN
She further emphasized that those who judge or shame others for opening up should be the people who should be ashamed.
Mental health is an important issue among tennis players because they are the most vulnerable.
Stress, anxiety, and melancholy are common due to the intense competition and demands of the sport. The strain on athletes to continuously do their best work, deal with the uncertainties of a career in sports, and control expectations from fans, sponsors, and themselves tampers largely with their mental health.
Feelings of loneliness and emotional tiredness can also be exacerbated by demanding training regimens, extensive travel, and separation from family and friends.
Injuries and performance slumps can also have a bad effect on a player’s mental health, which can result in dissatisfaction and self-doubt.
External factors such as domestic abuse also take a toll on players like in the case of Dokic whose old wounds greatly affected her.
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