Tia Mowry Reflects on the 'Anxiety' and 'Dejected' Feelings She Endured in Her '90s Sitcom Days (Exclusive)

She played bubbly teen Tia on the beloved '90s sitcom Sister, Sister, but behind the smile, Tia Mowry says she was experiencing something more complex.

"I think during Sister, Sister days was when I first had bouts of anxiety when it came to being in front of an audience," she tells PEOPLE in a recent interview. "Being on set when there's an audience, like right in front of you. Talk about shaking in your bones. What if the line that is scripted for you is not funny?"

Though the series — which ran from 1994 to 1999 on ABC and The WB and costarred her twin sister Tamera Mowry and actors Tim Red and Jackée Harry — was considered a hit, making it work weighed heavily on the young star.

"You're performing live in front of an audience and you know you're a kid ... if you're going to get a good grade on this test, you're worrying about boys," the 46-year-old continues. "You're worried about standing on your mark. You're worried about how you look. You know, there's just a lot going on."

Though she says that eventually as a child star, "you kind of get used to it, performing, feeling nervous," what really helped her was "learning the why."

"Like, why am I feeling this way? Sometimes you won't always have that answer, but being intentional and mindful about why this anxiety is coming up for you has also been helpful for me," she shares. "What helps me also is visualization. So I will visualize myself doing what I'm doing now, and it'll help my brain kind of connect with my behavior, and I'll feel better about the situation."

Rejection is another experience that was tough for the young star, too — and still is today.

"I think it never gets easy or easier," she admits. "But I was really, really young. And I remember I had tried out for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I believe the character was Ashley, and I didn't get it and I just felt dejected."

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"But as time went on, I realized that if I wasn't rejected, then I wouldn't have been able to do Sister, Sister. You just have to trust the process and trust the journey and trust that what is for you is for you, and what is for you will never miss you."

Hear more from Mowry — including the "joy" she feels with children Cree, 13, and Cairo, 6, and the loneliness she experienced following her 2023 divorce from Cory Hardrict — in the clip above.