Mardy Fish will make his return to professional tennis, ending an 18-month hiatus, on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open, but his goals will be a lot different from back in the days when he was a Top 10 player with a shot to participate deep into Grand Slam draws.

These days, Fish just wants to overcome his anxiety and prove that he can still play—for himself, but equally for others that suffer from anxiety.

"Frankly," he told ESPN’s Matt Wilansky in this in-depth feature, "I don't really care what my results are."

Read the full ESPN feature here

Fish, whose problems began in 2012, when he was diagnosed with a cardiac arrhythmia, eventually had minor surgery on his heart, but that was just the beginning of his troubles. He would soon spiral, losing sleep and experiencing regular panic attacks, until he bottomed out and was diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder.

"I was at the bottom," Fish told ESPN.com earlier this week. "I was in a deep, deep place. It wasn't like I needed a little bit of medication and a couple therapy sessions and we're back."

This week, Fish won’t be hoping that his return to the ATP Tour sets him up for a run at the top of the game. He’s more interested in baby steps, and, more important, he wants to set an example for others by overcoming his fears and working out his issues in the public eye.

"I want to get my life back, and this is the next step in doing that," Fish said. "It's educating the mental illness community and the people who have gone through anxiety or panic disorders or depression. These issues are overlooked in our society. It's important, very important, for me to tell people who are going through this that I am, too. And hopefully they can relate to me and see a success story."