DEPRESSION MAY BE A BIGGER THREAT TO SERENA WILLIAMS THAN PHYSICAL AILMENTS
Clearly Serena Williams has gone through a lot in the past year and a half. From the confrontation with a line judge at the US Open, to cutting her foot on glass last summer, (and the two surgeries that followed), to the recent pulmonary embolism in her lung and the surgery to remove a hematoma in her stomach that grew to the size of a grapefruit. All of that would be tough for anyone to deal with, but the recent news that she has been depressed to the point of crying all the time and miserable to be around, is a considerable concern as well.
To be suffering to that extent suggests that she may have an underlying problem in this area that has been covered up by her accomplishments until now. Her quote: “What’s going to make me happy is going on the court and holding up trophies, singles and doubles,” in yesterday’s article in USA Today, makes me even more concerned. Those words are typical of someone who masks their problems with money, success or fame etc. We all need balance in our life and when we rely too heavily on just one aspect of our lives for our contentment, we are doomed to suffer problems in the future.
People are always shocked and confused when sports or movie stars and rich and famous people commit suicide. They often wonder how they could possibly be unhappy with all they have going for them? What most people fail to realize is that these people almost always had an underlying problem prior to achieving their notoriety or success. When you mask your problems rather than deal with them, they tend to become bigger problems.
By the time the problem gets to the point that it is too big to be ignored or masked any longer, all your success and notoriety turns against you. Rather than being able to get lost in all the adulation and money, suddenly it becomes an albatross around your neck and supercharges the feeling of despair in you. It’s easy to mask your problems on your way up the ladder, because you always have something to point to that you think will make you happy when you get there, like more money, more fame or more championships, etc.
Once you have all you ever wanted and still feel miserable, you begin to feel guilty because you wonder, “How can I be so unhappy with all I have?” This inevitably leads to hopelessness which often leads to suicide. That’s why it is especially important for successful and prominent people to get help before it’s too late. Depression gone untreated is actually more likely to lead to suicide in these people than the general population.
It’s entirely possible that all of these setbacks are some kind of divine wake-up call that Serena needs in order to take advantage of the forced time off, and deal with this issue before it’s too late. Sadly, too many successful people are surrounded by people that only tell them what they want to hear and never tell them what they need to hear. I sincerely hope someone in Serena’s corner recognizes the seriousness of this and encourages her to get the help she needs.
