"I'm super intense, so I tend to become anxious" - Serena Williams opens up on experiencing mental stress and how she dealt with it
Serena Williams spoke about experiencing mental stress during her career and how she has learned to deal with it over the years.
The American gave a detailed interview to Daniella Pierson for the latest installment of The Business of Feelings podcast — speaking on a range of issues starting with her life post-tennis, her foray into venture capital as well as mental health.
Upon being asked about her go-to method to deal with mental stress, Williams said she chooses to "shut down" the outside world during such moments. The 23-time Grand Slam champion added that it was something that she had learned at a young age and has carried with her since.
"Mental fitness, for me is just really learning to shut down. You know, I did this years ago, even before mental health was like a topic among everyone's mind. It was like, all right, I'm shutting myself down today, just subconsciously and it is something I've always done," Serena Williams said.
"Now that I know that it's so important to just put yourself first, especially mentally. I always have shut down moments. I have serious boundaries and I don't let anyone cross them," she added.
Describing herself as a "high-strung" individual, the seven-time Wimbledon champion said she can be "super intense" and often gets anxious — before adding that prayer helps her handle all of those emotions.
"I really don't do anything for me and I terrible at that. Time and time again, I said, I'm working on it but more or less, at least prioritizing what I need to do and then when I'm turned off, I'm turned off," Serena Williams said.
"I'm a high-strung individual and what I do like you can see. When I'm in my job and I'm playing tennis, I'm really super intense but that's my passion and that's kind of how I wear it even in VC. So I do have a tend to become anxious. But I really learned over the past that for me prayer works a lot, just really realizing the bigger picture and it really is helped in my anxiety," she explained.
Serena Williams gives an insight into life post-tennis
Serena Williams, who played her last professional tournament at the US Open this year, also gave an insight into her life sans the pressures of competitive sport — saying "everything was good".
The American said that she was taking stock of the things that were most important to her and making the effort of prioritizing them.
"Everything is good, It's never really great, you know what I mean? It's always something that I think I'm dealing with whether it's physical, whether it's mental, but it's really about managing how you're able to do it," Williams explained.
"How you're able to like, manage your emotions, your feelings and everything and still be able to perform. And I'm not talking about performing on a big stage or anything, just like perform in general, just before as a mom for me, or just before and day to day. So I think those are kind of my emotions now but it's good because I always kind of thinking about what are the most important things for me and prioritize those," she added.