Aussie swim star Shayna Jack reveals she attempted to take her own life as she battled with mental health demo – Daily Mail
By James Cooney For Daily Mail Australia
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Australian swimmer Shayna Jack has opened up on her crippling mental health struggles during the fight to clear her name after testing positive to a banned substance four years ago.
The World Championships and Commonwealth Games medallist was one of the rising stars of the pool until her world came crashing down in 2019.
Jack, 24, tested positive to banned muscle-builder Ligandrol, leaving her swimming career and Tokyo Olympics hopes in tatters.
She has now revealed the heartbreaking mental toll it took on her, and how it prompted her to attempt suicide.
‘I was home alone, I had my dogs there, my partner was at work – and I was done,’ Jack wrote in a News Corp article.
Swimming star Shayna Jack has bravely opened up about her darkest moments
Jack says she went into a spiral of trauma after her baffling drug test result
‘I was done with the process. I was done with life.
‘And boy, did it scare me.
‘Thankfully, my partner came home and he could see just what was going on.
‘I think that was the scariest day of my life and also my partner’s life.’
Jack revealed that the baffling test result tipped her into ‘a spiral of trauma’ and feeling that she did not know how to deal with.
The freestyle star says she was trapped in her emotions while struggling to clear her name.
‘When my partner came home and found me in the kitchen that fateful day, it was a turning point,’ Jack said.
‘I felt like I was a burden to other people and just better off not being around.
Jack says she felt like a burden on those around her and that she was done with life
She is thankful her partner arrived home and could stop her from going through with it
Jack is now swimming again and encourages others to reach out if they need help
‘Having to see people go through pain and believing I was the reason for that, just made me hurt more.
‘But I don’t give up.
‘I know it’s so hard for people to recognise that in their lowest moment – and I’m so grateful that I did.’
Jack started seeing a a psychiatrist and says it’s the ‘best things she ever did’ as they helped her understand why she felt the way she did.
She was found to have reactive depression – and it now made sense to her why she was crying every day.
Jack was allowed to return to the sport in 2021 after a two year ban and an expensive legal battle.
She says she now swims for the people who helped her through her darkest times and encourages others to reach out for help when they need it.
‘There’s no shame in asking questions or asking for help,’ she says.
‘I wouldn’t be here without other people. I couldn’t have done it alone.’
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Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group
Originally posted 2023-10-08 12:01:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter