Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images
The two-time Olympic gymnast, 26, announced onInstagramSunday that she’s going on a social media hiatus in order to “heal” from the things that she says have been taking a toll on her mental health.
“My life has never been smooth or easy. I have carried a heavy weight on my back for quite some time and it has weighed me down, physically, mentally, and emotionally,” Douglas said. “So many things and people have tried to crush and break me.”
Douglas added that she no longer wants to run from mental health issues but “fight and heal” moving forward, sharing that she’s ready to get to a better place in her life.
“Sometimes we fall, we break, we fail but then we heal, we rise, we overcome,” Douglas added in the caption.
Douglas has been vocal about her mental health, specifically how it relates to her athletic career.
“Coming from that [I focused on] really healing myself, healing my mind and my body,” said Douglas. “I’mnot on social media a lotbecause social media did damage to my personality, in a way. So [I’ve] just been taking years off of social media, off my phone, and really just kind of getting back to who I am.”
Douglas also shared her support forNaomi Osakaafter the tennis star’s decision towithdraw from the 2021 French Openfor reasons related tomental health.
“Every person knows what they need to do to fix themselves, to heal themselves, and everyone’s different,” said Douglas.
She added, “Beingan athlete, we go through so muchalready. If you need to step back, that’s what you need to do.”
source: people.com
