India tennis star Sania Mirza has opened up about her battle against depression, highlighting that many people rely quite a bit on their careers to bring happiness into their lives.
The 6-time Grand Slam winner, speaking in the latest episode of YouTube show Mind Matters, said she went into depression after pulling out of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 with an injury in the first round. Sania said she was not able to digest the fact that she had to pull out of the Games and was worried whether she would ever be able to compete in another Olympics.
“I think many times we rely so much on our career to bring happiness into our lives, we kind of forget that career is just a part of our lives, it is not really our life,” Sania said.
“At 34, it is a lot clearer in my mind but at 20, there were a lot of incidents where I honestly felt that I could not do this.
“One incident was when I had to pull out of my match at the Olympics. It was the 2008 Beijing Olympics and I had a very bad wrist injury. I went into depression for 3-4 months after that, I remember crying for no reason. I would be absolutely fine and then I would burst into tears. I remember not coming out of my room to even eat a meal for over a month,” she added.
My family helped me see the right direction: Sania
Sania Mirza shed more light on the mental health battle, saying she started to feel that she had let her country down by pulling out of the Games. The tennis star said she felt much better and was able to come back stronger after seeking help for her issue.
“I felt that I will never be able to play tennis ever again. I am a bit of a control freak so for me not being able to do things on my terms was very difficult to digest. The fact that I was being forced into not being able to do what I love or what I do, was really bothering me. It’s a lot for anybody at any age, but for a 20-year-old to read that you’re finished or you are not going to be able to compete at the Olympics ever again,” Sania added.
“To put into context, my wrist was so bad that I was not able to comb my hair. I had lost complete motion, and I needed surgery. After surgery, it got worse. It was a complicated thing that was happening. I felt I let my family and country down.
“My family helped me see the right direction and I got the help I needed. I happened to win two medals at the Commonwealth Games that happened in India,” she added.
Sania Mirza will be gearing up to feature in Tokyo Olympics where she will in action in the doubles events.