Yara Shahidi Opens Up: How To Prioritize Mental Health & Overcome Self-Doubt To Achieve Any Dream

Yara Shahidi describes the careful balance she maintains between her career in the entertainment industry and her education, an equilibrium nurtured by her and her family's discernment and strategic choices.

Yara had to navigate the demands of a rising acting career from a young age, including long filming hours and balancing her work with her academic commitments

Yara Shahidi's role as a child actor on shows like "Black-ish" and "Grown-ish" required her to learn time management between acting and maintaining a healthy academic life, even while completing her Harvard degree. Her parents played an instrumental role in ensuring she was treated as a human first and an actor second, advocating for her well-being and personal needs. Yara's disciplined mindset allowed her to prioritize her career and education over social invitations, understanding the financial and opportunity costs involved.

As she became more involved in "Grown-ish," her work hours increased, sometimes extending to 17-hour days due to her character's presence in every scene. After early high school graduation made her "legally 18," work hour restrictions no longer applied, bringing new challenges of self-care to meet the growing expectations. Yara's experience grew more intense as she juggled all-nighters for schoolwork with going back to set.

As a child actor on shows like Black-ish and Grown-ish, Yara had to learn how to manage her time and energy between her acting obligations and maintaining a healthy school life, including completing a Harvard degree while actively working on a TV series

Yara chose a high school program that allowed her to maintain her full Advanced Placement schedule and remain a distance learner due to her acting career, a dynamic that continued at Harvard. She confronted the immense responsibility of needing to be on top of her game for her show and studies simultaneously, never allowing the excuse of a poor paper because she was on set. This even included working on her thesis in various cities before turning it in within a narrow 48-hour window upon her return to the U.S.

Yara acknowledges the diversification of her interests and projects, including running a production company to avoid passively waiting for acting opportunities. She speaks candidly about the pressures of auditioning and the uncertainties inherent in the casting process. For Shahidi, acting on television is a "job" that contrasts with the process of exploring her craft as an actor.

Yara's transition to pursuing a college degree alongside her ...

Yara Shahidi offers insights into the complexities of her mental health, the significance of authenticity, and the pursuit of personal growth, through her journeying beyond the usual stress of career and education.

Yara has had to navigate challenges to her mental health and wellbeing, including anxiety and feeling overwhelmed by the demands of her career and education

Yara has opened up about not having faced extreme adversities despite her efforts and hard work, emphasizing the relative ease of her path compared to other child actors. However, she has also expressed feeling deep anxiety and being overwhelmed by the pressures and expectations that come with adulthood. Though Yara acknowledges her struggles with self-doubt, especially in the creative industry, she has been intentional about confronting these issues.

Yara has been intentional about developing tools and strategies to manage stress and burnout, such as setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care

Yara has been actively working with a therapist and recognizes the importance of being candid about her feelings. She emphasizes the need to say no and the significance of being comfortable with others not understanding her, as a means to manage stress and protect her well-being. Furthermore, Yara has come to realize that emotions are transient, and with this knowledge, she is better equipped to manage them. She has admitted to traditionally prioritizing others' needs over her own, but now understands the need to take care of herself as well as others have cared for her.

Yara has found it important to be honest about her struggles rather than trying to present a perfect or overly positive image, even when it comes to more public-facing aspects of her life

Reflecting on previous challenges, Yara underscores the importance of honesty regarding past issues. She mentions instances where she had to perform extra layers of behavior to appear a certain way, like seeming relaxed, despite her impressive background. The transition towards being transparent and truthful about the difficulties she faces is a deliberate choice, highlighting her commitment to authenticity.

Yara has placed a high value on being authentic and true to herself, even if it means going against conventional expectations or industry norms

Yara has learned to embrace experiences where she might not excel or feel confident, perceiving them as opportunities for personal growth. She speaks about the relief that comes from sharing experiences of rejection and not avoiding the associated hurt.

Yara has learned to be more comfortable leaning into experiences where she may not excel or feel confident, seeing them as opportunities for personal growth rather than failures

She has openly talked about leaning in ...

Yara’s value system and approach to life are deeply rooted in the upbringing provided by her family. Her family's influence is evident in her emphasis on service, financial responsibility, and building meaningful relationships.

Yara was raised with a strong emphasis on service, generosity, and building meaningful relationships with those around her

Yara's parents modeled the importance of being present and attentive to the needs of others, instilling in her a desire to be a "value add" to the people and communities in her life

From a young age, Yara was surrounded by conversations about service at the family dinner table, likely influenced by her mother's family’s involvement in the civil rights movement and her father's background from Iran. The importance of being of service was a principle reinforced throughout her childhood, especially as she attended schools that required volunteering. This foundation helped shape her desire to make a positive impact with the resources, including money and time, available to her.

Yara’s mother’s tendency to offer her mind as a resource and connect people who could benefit from each other set an example of being valuable to others without expecting a return. This behavior emphasized the importance of being present and genuinely attentive to the needs of others, a trait Shahidi now cherishes and applies in her own life. Yara also talks about "relationship equity," a concept from her father that prioritizes building solid relationships over superficial networking.

Yara was encouraged from a young age to be financially responsible and to view her resources, including money and time, as tools for making a positive impact

Yara and her brothers' upbringing included splitting their allowances into save, spend, and donate categories, teaching them from an early age to view money as a tool for positive impact. These lessons on financial responsibility reinforced the value of being generous and using resources for a greater good.

Yara's family also provided her with a foundation of stability and support that allowed her to pursue her creative passions without feeling the need to constantly prove herself

Yara's parents were intentional about ensuring she maintained a balanced lifestyle and sense of identity beyond just her acting career

Her mother, Keri Shahidi, is described as deeply curious and attuned to the world, caring for people deeply, whether they are long-time acquaintances or new encounters. This type of c ...