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Former Tennis Star Jelena Dokic Says She ‘Almost’ Took Her ‘Own Life,’ Is on the ‘Road to Recovery’
“28.04.2022-I almost jumped off my 26th floor balcony and took my own life. Will never forget the day,” Jelena Dokic wrote on Instagram
(GERMANY OUT) 12.04.1983-Sportlerin, Tennis, AustralienEurocard German Open, Berlin: beim Aufschlag (Photo by contrast/Ralf Pollack/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Jelena Dokic is opening up about her struggles with her mental health.
In a candid message shared on Instagram Monday, the former Australian tennis pro posted a photo with tears in her eyes and told her followers that they are not alone.
“28.04.2022-I almost jumped off my 26th floor balcony and took my own life. Will never forget the day,” she began. “Everything is blurry. Everything is dark. No tone, no picture, nothing makes sense…..just tears, sadness, depression, anxiety and pain.”
Continued Dokic: “The last six months have been tough. It’s been constant crying everywhere. From hiding in the bathroom when at work to wipe away my tears so that nobody sees it to the unstoppable crying at home within my four walls has been unbearable.”
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She said she has experienced “constant feelings of sadness and pain” that “are just not going away and my life has been shattered.”
The athlete told fans she did not believe “I am worthy of loving” and added that she is “scared.”
While she knows she has “so many things to be grateful for,” she said she experiences a “vicious cycle in my head,” adding that “I mustn’t be [grateful] since I want to end it all.”
“The result: almost jumping off my 26th floor balcony on April 28th. Will never forget the day, I just wanted the pain and the suffering to stop,” she wrote.
Recounting the moment, Dokic said she was able to “pull myself [off] the edge, don’t even know how I managed to do it.”
She credited “getting professional help” as the thing that “saved my life.”
“This is not easy to write but I have always been open, honest and vulnerable with you all and I deeply believe in the power of sharing our stories to help us get through things and to help each other,” she told her followers.
Dokic said, “I know I am not the only one struggling. Just know that you are not alone.”
Of how she’s doing today, Dokic wrote, “I am not going to say that I am doing great now but I am definitely on the road to recovery. Some days are better than others and sometimes I take a step forward and then a step back but I’m fighting and I believe I can get through this.”
She said she believes it’s OK to “feel what I am feeling” and to “feel sad,” adding that she will “just keep fighting.” She wrote, “That’s what I am trying to do and that’s what keeps me going.”
Ending with a strong message for her supporters, Dokic wrote, “It’s ok to feel this way and you can come back from it. It’s possible, just keep believing. Love you all and here is to fighting and surviving to live and see another day. I will be back stronger than ever. ????????????❤️❤️❤️.”
Before retiring in 2014, Dokic was ranked the fourth best tennis player in the world, per CNN. During her career she won six WTA Tour titles. In 2000, she was a semifinalist in the Wimbledon tournament. In 2002 she played in the quarterfinals in the French Open and again in 2009 for the Australian Open.
She is currently a broadcaster for Channel 9’s Wide World of Sports in Australia.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
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