Jelena Dokic's candid discussion about mental health
Jelena Dokic has opened up about her struggled with mental health issues, being diagnosed with an eating disorder, and the trauma that came with being a young tennis champion.
The 40-year-old spoke candidly with 9Honey ahead of the release of her tell-all book Fearless: Finding the Power to Thrive, which hits the shelves on September 12th.
In Jelena's first book Unbreakable, she documented the abuse she endured at the hands of her father and tennis coach Damir Dokic.
After the release of Unbreakable, Jelena found strength from other women who came forward to share their stories of abuse.
"It's changed my life," she told 9Honey.
"I say that the day that Unbreakable came out was the best day of my life. It was the beginning of healing for me and basically finding happiness."
She shared how her cultural background of being born in Croatia, combined with the secrecy of her career, meant she couldn't speak out about her abuse.
"I was taught to be silent, to never say a word, to not speak up and to never talk about those things that go on behind closed doors.
"And if you look at a lot of things in this world like abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, mental health, the power of those things is the silence, and that's how the abusers and the perpetrators control the situation."
She went on to cite the MeToo movement, and stories of survival from Grace Tame and Simone Biles as reasons to come forward with her own story.
"Everything changed once those amazing women spoke up," she says.
Since going public with her story of struggling with mental health issues as a result of her abuse, Jelena has been subject to a slew of online hate.
As a result of the onslaught and lasting trauma, the former tennis champion was diagnosed with bing-eating disorder, or BED.
"I didn't even know originally that I had it," Dokic explains.
She says she thought her disordered eating behaviours were "kind of normal" particularly on the professional sports circuit.
"It wasn't really until the last couple years where I was dealing with actual trauma from the past and going through a lot of these things where I've discovered 'OK, I've got an eating disorder,'" Dokic says.
After losing and regaining 50kgs in the past few years, and being the target of relentless online body shaming, Jelena wanted to speak out about body positivity and those who target different body types.
"That's why I wanted to talk about it because again, I think that for a lot of people, it will resonate with them and I think that we need that representation," she said.
"It doesn't matter because that should not be that main topic, do you know what I mean?
"My kindness and who I am at my core, my IQ, my important values. Not my measurements."
Through dealing with lasting trauma, an eating disorder, and a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD), all while being in the limelight, Jelena said it is important to be open and honest about your struggles, and not paint the picture of perfectionism.
She has learned that being strong "has nothing to do with putting on this perfect front".
"There's actually so much strength in being vulnerable," Dokic shares.
"That actually takes courage and strength, being vulnerable and being honest and raw and open about everything, especially about your tough moments."
"I am very proud of myself where I am now," she says.
"And the biggest thing I'm proud of is the fact that there is absolutely no hate, bitterness or frustration from me going towards anyone or anything in life.
"I have embraced all the difficult and tough times and just tried to make a positive impact. And I am, yeah, I'm very proud of that."
Image credits: Instagram