Wow, what a powerful piece, and sharing it might just impact the world for the better so much more so than being the world #1 in tennis. It reminds me a lot of

Wow, what a powerful piece, and sharing it might just impact the world for the better so much more so than being the world #1 in tennis. It reminds me a lot of another piece from a year ago: https://stories.expost-news.com/screw-stigma-im-coming-out-6809e83f355e https://stories.expost-news.com/screw-stigma-im-coming-out-6.... I've learned it can be really dangerous to tie so much of your identity up into something that's external and not fully under your control. But maybe that's something that's particularly true for people predisposed to anxiety? It would be interesting to know if, for example, Fish's contemporaries identify at all with what he's going through. Maybe it's a matter of degree. I've had anxiety issues for most of my life. I'm 31 now, and until I was about 22, I think my anxiety and related issues were one of the defining features of my life experience. I've never really gotten professional help with them because I only realized what was going on with me in retrospect, after managing to wrestle my anxiety under control, with a lot of support from people close to me. It's almost like anxiety cloaks itself so that the sufferer feels like their experience is truly unique and untreatable. I look back and feel silly for having felt that way. But I hope I know enough now to identify anxiety and call for help if it ever rears up again. What has helped for me is a great deal of meditation to reframe what's important in my life, taking on of tasks that challenge my fears, seeking balance and diversity in my activity and thought patterns, development of self-awareness of my thought patterns and deeply held assumptions, a very intentional focus decoupling of my self-worth with success in tasks I take on, and being lucky enough to friends patient enough to really shepherd me through some difficult times. What hasn't helped are self-medication, over-reliance on any single source of comfort, value and/or security, and adherence to belief systems that emphasize extremes.