"I keep God in the center of it all" - Shericka Jackson on handling stress
Jamaican athlete Shericka Jackson recently revealed a couple of ways she handles stress. With hard work and dedication, the 29-year-old has become her country’s and the world’s finest sprinter. However, it was not a cakewalk for Jackson as she also faced stressful moments in her training sessions. So she found ways to handle it effectively.
The reigning 200m world champion, Shericka Jackson, is a strong advocate of embracing athletic mental health. She believes that, as an athlete, she goes through immense stress while training.
Hence, the best way to deal with it by taking therapy. Jackson encourages the idea of taking therapy and opines that one should not feel shy about openly accepting that they take it to maintain sanity in their mind.
Recently, she revealed a list of ways in which she handles stress when a fan asked her ‘How do you manage stress?’ during her Instagram Q&A session. Shericka Jackson replied to the fan:
“So many ways but I keep God in the centre of it all. Pray a lot, BAWL a lot, I also go to so that helps me a lot. I document how I feel most days so when I'm under a little stress I know what to do. Plus my friends is my free therapy” Shericka Jackson wrote along with a red heart emoji.
Shericka Jackson on documenting her thoughts before championships
Shericka Jackson talked more broadly about documenting her thoughts during her interview with 'Jamaica Gleaner' in August. She revealed that she had more emotional triggers, so she wrote down the thoughts that hurt her head.
It helps Jackson understand her feelings and why she is experiencing them. As she works on her mental health daily, it helps the athlete to be in a calm state of mind by the time she begins to compete in a championship.
“You will see me smiling and dancing and everything. I don’t write just times but I write my triggers and what keeps me intact,” Jackson told.
Furthermore, she also talked about her demeanor before she began documenting her thoughts. Jackson believes that she was not approachable previously, considering the pressure she always bore in her mind. However, now the athlete defines herself as more ‘simmered down’. She added:
"I understand that I have different personalities. I was a little laid back, but now I enjoy being Shericka.”
Lastly, she stated that with proper training and work on handling stress, she can manage to achieve any fate that she desires.