We were lucky to catch up with Ivy Watts recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ivy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
I was a DII top performing student-athlete who struggled with my mental health in silence. I was terrified of being labeled as anything other than perfect. I grew up belieivng the stigma around mental health, which was only amplified growing up in a Black family, and being a student-athlete. I couldn’t let the world see me as weak, so I struggled with anxiety, lack of self-worth and depression in silence. It wasn’t until a few years after college that I finally was able to get help for myself, because of a former teammate who opened up to me about her own mental health challenge, which broke down the stigma I grew up believing and empowered me to begin therapy. After realizing the healing benefits of therapy and seeing that talking about my struggles was a sign of strength and not a sign of weakness, I wanted to figure out how I could help other people, especially student-athletes, who were also struggling with their mental health in silence. I began blogging and speaking to share my story of my struggle and to hopefully provide others with some tools I had learned along the way. After a year or so of speaking, I knew in my soul that I wanted to leave my full time job, and pursue speaking as my full time business. It was the scariest thing I have ever done to leave my job. I often felt that I wasn’t good enough to take this risk, or that I would be perceived as a fraud. My dad and I spoke about my “6 month plan”. I had enough savings to keep me going for 6 months and if the speaking business did not work out, then after 6 months, I would look for another job. However, here I am, 5 years later, and my business is stronger than ever. I am so grateful for all of the schools across the country who see the value in speaking about mental health. I am even more grateful and proud of myself for taking a risk that many others do not. I had a dream and a goal, and I did everything in my power to set myself up to be ready and able to meet that goal. It’s an incredible feeling to have gone after what I wanted and taken a huge risk. I now have the life that I dreamed of where I am helping others every day. The messages I share are the messages I wish I had heard when I was struggling. I took a risk in sharing my story and a risk in leaving my job to pursue my passion, and I’ve never looked back once!
Ivy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Ivy Watts and I am a Mental Health Empowerment Speaker. I am a former All-American Track & Field student-athlete who appeared to have it all together, graduating Summa Cum Laude and a top 30 finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, but on the inside I struggled daily with anxiety, self-worth and depression. After finally seeking help through therapy, I have made it my mission to promote mental wellness and reduces stigma around mental health by sharing my story through public speaking and my blog, Beautifully Simply You. Normalizing mental health challenges is so important to me because I never want someone to struggle in silence like I did. I always want others to know that they have a voice and that asking for help is the strongest thing they can do. I travel across the country and have spoken to over 50,000 athletes, students, coaches, administrators, teachers and employees and provided them with practical and hands-on self-care, self-love and mental wellness tools. So many attendees have left my sessions feeling seen, less alone, and empowered to begin their mental wellness journey. I have also released my first book in October 2022, You Are Worth Fighting For, which will provide you the tools to look within to find your own sense of mental wellness, self-care, and self-love. This book is in honor of my late mom. Each chapter focuses on one of the life lessons she left me with, and I put my own mental wellness outlook on each of those lessons.
I have my undergrad in Psychology from University of New Haven and my Masters in Public Health from Boston University.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2020, I created an all in one mental wellness platform specifically for athletes. I was so excited about this platform. I had hired a few very part-time employees to work on this project with me and partnered with a few athletic departments who were excited to bring the program to their athletes. Unfortunately, in 2021, my mom’s cancer progressed and she passed away. At that time, I was so full of grief that it felt impossible to continue on with my work. I had to make the difficult, but right, decision to take a step back from this platform. I made the difficult decision to let my employees go. The platform still exists, but the programming that we were doing with the schools who we contracted with, no longer existed. It was a heartbreaking decision, but I needed to give myself the space to grieve. I was newly pregnant, still very active in my speaking business, and I just did not have the time to commit myself to the work in the ways I needed to. Looking back, I am proud of myself for that decision. As a Mental Health Speaker, I have to be able to practice what I preach. I am proud that I recognized I was overwhelmed and allowed myself to have the space to grieve.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
As a former student-athlete, many student-athletes relate to me very well because I understand the pressures, expectations, and demands that come along with being a student-athlete. Because I was an athlete who was high performing on and off the track, I relate to so many athletes who are seeking out perfection but are also struggling with their mental health. My story is relatable for athletes, but also helpful for coaches to see that they have to check in on all of their athletes, not just the ones they know are struggling.
Also, being a Black female, I have become highly sought out to provide representation in the mental health world. Mental health stigma is so much more heightened in the Black community, so bringing in someone like myself who talks about mental health, provides a voice to young Black males and females who are struggling in silence.
I also speak to the general student body as well as employees, and my story of experiencing pressures and struggling with those pressures in silence is relatable to anyone. I think people really resonate with my story and they really resonate with the tools I provide.
Contact Info:
- Website: ivywattsspeaks.com
- Instagram: @ivywattsspeaks
- Facebook: @ivywattsspeaks
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivywatts/
- Twitter: @ivywattsspeaks
Image Credits
Anna Ivanova Photography