Olympic Champion Gabby Douglas Announces Her Return to Gymnastics After 'Facing Darkness and Fears'

The three-time Olympic gold medalist teases a comeback on social media: 'Let’s do this #2024'

Gabby Douglas hinted on Instagram Thursday that she has resumed training and is aiming to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, sharing a photo of herself practicing her form on the balance beam.

“As you all know I stepped back from the socials and in that time I did a lot of journaling, reflecting, soul searching and found myself back where it all began,” she wrote in the caption, adding, “it’s so easy to suppress and run away from facing darkness and fears.”

“For many years, I’ve had an ache in my heart,” she continued, noting “but I didn’t want to keep carrying anger, pain, sadness, or regret and through my tears and hurt, I’ve found peace.”

Douglas said she “wanted to find joy again for the sport“ and knows she has “a huge task ahead of me,” concluding the post with: “and even more grateful for all of your support and love. It truly means so much🖤 there’s so much to be said but for now….💪 😎 let’s do this #2024”

Douglas, 27, stepped away from social media to “work on myself and focus on my mental health,” as she wrote in another Instagram post last year.

"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," she wrote. "So many things and people have tried to crush and break me."

"I refuse to be defeated by this weight, I refuse to be hardened by this weight,” she continued. “I want to feel light and happy again. I want to be the best representation for all of you and be the best version of myself.”

"Sometimes we fall, we break, we fail but then we heal, we rise, we overcome," Douglas added in the caption.

Related: Gabby Douglas on Being a 'Hero' to Younger Generation: 'Every Single Day I Wake Up Grateful'

Douglas has spoken candidly about her mental health, particularly how it impacts her athletic career.

Previously, the Olympic gymnast spoke to USA Today, saying the 2016 Games "really did a number on me."

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"Coming from that [I focused on] really healing myself, healing my mind and my body," she said. "I'm not on social media a lot because 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 expressed her support for Naomi Osaka after the tennis star's decision to withdraw from the 2021 French Open for reasons related to mental health.

Related: Gabby Douglas Shares How She Keeps Her Pets Healthy Like Her — Including Homemade Food and Joint Workouts

"Every person knows what they need to do to fix themselves, to heal themselves, and everyone's different," she said, adding, "Being an athlete, we go through so much already. If you need to step back, that's what you need to do."

The legendary gymnast — who did not compete in the Tokyo — previously spoke with PEOPLE to discuss the backlash she experienced at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

“Maybe people weren’t being fair on social media, but that’s social media for you,” she told PEOPLE.

“I just found things to be positive about,” she said. “And there’s a lot to be happy about. We won the gold medal as a team, and it was just such an amazing experience. I came to the Olympics and won a gold medal! That’s still really awesome. I can only do what I can do, and if people want to say their stuff on social media, I can’t stop them.”

“It felt really good to have people support me,” she added. “It was a good reminder that where there is hate, love is more.”

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