Shayna Jack backs Can We Talk? campaign after sad loss

Swimmer Shayna Jack has detailed how she is putting her mental health first after being through the lowest of lows and highest of highs. WATCH HER EMOTIONAL VIDEO

Swimmer Shayna Jack says she is putting her mental health first after being through the lowest of lows, and then the highest of highs, an Olympic gold medallist can experience.

In her darkest moments, while serving a doping ban, Jack contemplated taking her own life.

She was eventually cleared of intentional doping but still received a two-year ban from swimming and her mental health suffered significantly.

Her remarkable comeback has yielded two gold medals at the Paris Olympics, a full set of medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and an Order of Australia honour this year.

But the 26-year-old continues to work on her mental health since suffering from reactive depression during her banned substance saga, which kicked off when she was a rising star aged just 20.

Swimmer Shayna Jack with her beloved dog Hugo, who sadly had to be put down. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

And she wants to use News Corp Australia’s new Can We Talk? awareness campaign, in partnership with Medibank, to encourage Australians to talk about mental health.

Can We Talk? is a News Corp awareness campaign, in partnership with Medibank, helping Australian families better tackle mental wellbeing. To follow the series and access all stories, tips and advice, visit our new Health section.

It comes at an especially challenging time for Jack who, with fiance Joel Rintala, had to put down beloved dog Hugo last week due to cancer.

“I wanted to speak out because I’m struggling,” Jack said.

“I want people to look at someone like myself, who potentially does come across as quite strong and resilient, and be aware that I struggle too.

“I want to make sure people speak up … and find support however they can.

“For me, it’s speaking to a psychologist, speaking to my coach (Dean Boxall) – it doesn’t always have to be professional help, it’s whatever works for you.

“I think everybody has moments in life where they struggle and need support, and that’s okay.”

At her lowest point, Jack said, she convinced herself that “the best option was to no longer be here”.

Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon and Meg Harris win gold in Paris. Picture: Adam Head

She recalls feeling “so many different emotions (within the space of) potentially one hour”, including anger and tear-inducing, energy-sapping sadness.

“I can look back now and think, ‘how did I get to that point?’,” she said.

“I’m not ashamed of it, I don’t feel guilty for it.

“That’s how I felt at the time.”

Regularly seeing a psychiatrist and psychologist; journalling and returning to swimming, also helped.

And Jack said she had to overcome feelings of “anger, disappointment and betrayal” to enjoy swimming again.

Jack picked up Hugo three days after being sent home from a training camp in Japan in 2019, having been told she had tested positive to a banned substance.

The European Great Dane puppy would grow into an 85kg “gentle giant” and the swimmer’s “reason for getting out of bed everyday”, as she was unfairly vilified as a drug cheat and plunged into a lengthy and expensive legal battle to clear her name.

She credits Hugo – along with Rintala and their other dog, Willa – as being “the fundamental parts that got me through this really tough time”.

Experiencing mental health battles during her suspension has armed Jack with strategies for challenging periods, like having to say goodbye to her “first fur baby”, who was aged just five.

They include being upfront with the people around her, including her swim squad, and asking for space to “feel the emotions I need to feel”.

She said she had also booked a session with her psychologist and would attend training as usual to keep routine.

“I’m not going to hide from the sadness,” she said.

She described Hugo as her “cuddle bug” who “would not hurt a fly (and) loved me from the day I met him”.

“He had these huge jowls that would have slobber coming from them constantly – a face only a mother could love,” she said.

“When I was emotional or upset, he would put his head down so I could wrap my arms around him.

“Every morning when I woke up, he would be ready to give me a kiss and cuddle.

“That’s something I’m going to extremely miss.”

Attending a second Olympics in LA is a dream for Jack, and also for hockey star Rintala, who has been named in the Kookaburras’ first squad on the path to the 2028 Games.

“I really do want to stand up on that podium again in LA,” she said.

“But it will come down to ensuring that I’ve set myself up for what might come after sport (including) potentially starting a family.

“I think that LA would be my last (Olympics).”

Her wedding – potentially after the 2026 Commonwealth Games – is also a priority after Rintala proposed in Paris last year.

“I don’t have the words to describe how incredible Joel’s been in my journey,” she said.

“I’m incredibly lucky to be the future Mrs Rintala.”

Can We Talk? is a News Corp awareness campaign, in partnership with Medibank, helping Australian families better tackle mental wellbeing. To follow the series and access all stories, tips and advice, visit our new Health section.