Shows / The Anxious Achiever
The Anxious Achiever
Host Morra Aarons-Mele is on a mission to reframe how we think about anxiety and mental health in the workplace. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. We desperately need better models for leadership and a more holistic view of mental health. Our culture tells those of us who suffer from anxiety and depression that we can’t succeed, but we tell a different story — without sugarcoating the tough stuff. We feature stories from people who’ve been there and experts who…
Episodes
- The Anxious Achiever
Understanding Bipolar Disorder With The Scientists Driving Innovation
Over 40 million Americans have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and many more go undiagnosed. This episode takes a deep dive into what we know (and don’t…
- The Anxious Achiever
“Energy Is All There Is”: Understand Your Energy Body, Feel Better
Managing your energy is key to regulating anxiety, stress, and overwhelm. In this episode, Morra sits down with energy healing practitioner Ellen Donaldson to…
- The Anxious Achiever
How Growing Up in Foster Care Shaped Chéla Gage’s Leadership
How does growing up in foster care shape you as a leader? Chéla Gage is the former Vice President Global Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer, workforce mental…
- The Anxious Achiever
Using AI for ADHD With Lindsay Scola
What happens when a late ADHD diagnosis meets the powerful potential of AI? Writer, strategist, and sleep coach Lindsay Scola joins Morra to share how she uses…
- The Anxious Achiever
Crossover Special: Everyday Better with Leah Smart
Everyday Better with Leah Smart is a show that helps listeners level up - in their careers and their lives. In this episode, Leah speaks with Anxious Achiever…
- The Anxious Achiever
Who’s In Your Mental Health Squad?
It might not be that easy to talk to your boss about mental health. But having close friends at work - on your team or elsewhere - where you can have open…
- The Anxious Achiever
Unpacking Your Money Trauma
We all have hang ups when it comes to money - but do you know where yours come from? In a time when many people feel economically insecure, Morra speaks with…
- The Anxious Achiever
Defining Your Values with Suzy Welch
Do you really live by your core values - or do you even need help defining what they are? Many of us might have a vague notion of what is important to us in…
- The Anxious Achiever
The Roots of Perfectionism and How We Can Change
Perfectionism can help us succeed, but it can also be a detriment to our mental health and our lives. Understanding it is the first step to better management…
- The Anxious Achiever
The Power of Spaciousness and the Gift of Being Seen
Do you feel like a rubber band about to snap- low on capacity, time, and space to think? Are you constantly stuck in a mode of “doing” - trapped by your own…
- The Anxious Achiever
Flexing Your Emotional Intelligence Muscles
What does it really mean to be emotionally strong—and why is emotional intelligence the leadership skill of the future? Emily Anhalt, author of the new book…
- The Anxious Achiever
Finding Your “Why” and Rooting Leadership in Healing
Five years ago, Dr. Maggie Chery tragically lost both of her parents to the Covid 19 pandemic, just weeks apart. It was a trauma that still affects her today…
- The Anxious Achiever
Masculinity, Disability, and Reframing Leadership
What assumptions do you hold about leadership, ability, and power? In the wake of recent comments from Mark Zuckerberg about the need for more “masculine…
- The Anxious Achiever
OCD and the Art of Noticing Everything
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder isn’t just a cluster of symptoms to manage. Like other mental health challenges, it can come with hidden advantages like the…
- The Anxious Achiever
Hypervigilance: When Everything Feels Like a Threat
Hypervigilance is a state of being where you constantly are on the lookout for perceived threats. It’s often the result of trauma - but it shows itself in the…
- The Anxious Achiever
The Practice of Mindfulness and Meditation, From Industry Leader Sharon Salzberg
Practice makes perfect - except perhaps when it comes to meditation and mindfulness. In this episode we revisit a conversation with mindfulness expert Sharon…
- The Anxious Achiever
The Real Cost of Masking at Work: Neurodiversity Expert Ludmila Praslova
It’s absolutely crucial in today’s work for leaders and the organizations they run to understand the unique strengths and challenges of neurodivergent workers…
- The Anxious Achiever
The Unseen Links Between Mental Health, IBS and Your Gut
Among the most important links between our physical and mental health might just lie in our digestive tract. Dr. Will Bulsiewicz is a gastroenterologist, gut…
- The Anxious Achiever
What We Still Don’t Understand about Adult ADHD
Dr. James Kustow is a London-based expert in adult ADHD. He shares the latest research around the disorder - which he hesitates to even call a disorder -…
- The Anxious Achiever
Shows We Love: We Too Are One
Want to learn more about neurodivergence and navigating career success? Check out Morra’s recent appearance on the We Too Are One podcast, where host Martin…
- The Anxious Achiever
What’s the Root of Your Perfectionism?
Author and former Fortune 500 CHRO Susan Schmitt Winchester returns to the show, this time to talk about past toxic bosses, perfectionism, and coming to terms…
- The Anxious Achiever
Managing Leadership Anxiety
Leadership comes in many forms, and good leadership can be found at all kinds of organizations, from startups to faith communities. In this episode, Morra…
- The Anxious Achiever
Mental Well-Being Can Supercharge Your Organization’s Success - Here’s How
Vlad Gheorghiu is on a mission to make workers happier, healthier, and at the same time, more productive. The ex-McKinsey consultant took his own experience of…
- The Anxious Achiever
What Can Radical Transparency Do For Leadership?
Disclosing your mental health struggles to colleagues or a boss (or even friends and family) can be really hard. In this conversation, host Morra Aarons-Mele…
- The Anxious Achiever
The Toll of Shame on Mind and Body
Many of us carry shame around every day without even realizing it. It can stop us from developing great relationships, chasing our dreams, or even making the…
- The Anxious Achiever
Bringing Vulnerability to Work: A Non Profit Leader and a Police Officer
We all bring our trauma with us to work every day. But if we build the right culture and relationships, we can also bring vulnerability and healing. If you’ve…
- The Anxious Achiever
Revisiting Accent Bias in a World Pushing Against DEI Initiatives
The bias against accents and the perception of how well someone speaks English has huge impacts for individual contributors, leaders, and the business world at…
- The Anxious Achiever
Is Your Leadership Style Inspiring or Infuriating?
Have you ever had a boss who just infuriated you? Bosses and leaders often have the ability to make or break our experience at work. In this episode, host…
- The Anxious Achiever
When The Company You Build Almost Fails
From afar, Luvvie Ajayi Jones seems to have it all together; to be thriving as an entrepreneur and author, complete with New York Times best-selling books and…
- The Anxious Achiever
How to convince others you’re still relevant — Hint: start with yourself (from Fixable)
Experience is not always seen as an asset in a world that equates innovation and youth – particularly in fast-moving industries like tech and art. How do you…
- The Anxious Achiever
The Couple Making the Most of ADHD for Their Creative Business
When you are neurodivergent, it can feel like you are always behind, don’t fit in, or even worse - wreak havoc on the lives of those who love you. But Penn and…
- The Anxious Achiever
How to Ride the Wave of Anxiety and Overthinking
In the high stakes world of technology companies, a lot of lip service is paid to well-being and mental health. But Meredith Arthur has been researching…
- The Anxious Achiever
When Your Body Dials 911
Ongoing stress can affect not just your emotional and mental health, but also your physical health. The connection between mind and body is often overlooked in…
- The Anxious Achiever
Resilience Isn’t Enough: We Need To Be Anti-Fragile
To succeed in sports and in the corporate world, you might need more than just resilience. Enter the concept of anti-fragility, which focuses on the idea that…
- The Anxious Achiever
What if Impostor Syndrome Isn’t All Bad?
It turns out, a lot of our beliefs about how we are performing at work - and how we choose to label that performance - can negatively impact our jobs and our…
- The Anxious Achiever
Connecting Mind, Body, and Work Performance in a Stressful Season
Why do we feel anxious even when threats are only imagined, and why have we evolved to feel anxiety? The connection between mental and physical health is well…
- The Anxious Achiever
Say Goodbye to Negative Self-Talk and Hello to Your Superpowers
Sanyin Siang is an advisor, coach, and adjunct professor at Duke University where she leads the Fuqua/Coach K Leadership and Ethics Center or COLE. She’s also…
- The Anxious Achiever
Tim Shriver on Emotional Intelligence, Family Healing, and Difficult Conversations
Tim Shriver is a filmmaker, chairman of the Special Olympics, and host of the podcast Need a Lift. He’s also a member of the Kennedy clan, and has spent much…
- The Anxious Achiever
Finding Healing After Layoffs
Yowei Shaw was the host of the NPR podcast Invisibilia before layoffs hit the organization. In the aftermath, she struggled with how her identity and sense of…
- The Anxious Achiever
Introducing: Let's Talk Offline
Check out a new show we love: LinkedIn's Let's Talk Offline. Co-hosted by Gianna Prudente, LinkedIn's early career development editor, and Jamé Jackson, a…
- The Anxious Achiever
How Envy Impacts Work and Leadership
Envy can drive us - but it can also drive us into a wall. It can motivate us at work, but it can make us - and the teams around us - miserable. And sometimes…
- The Anxious Achiever
Is Work Fundamentally Broken?
Laurie Ruettimann is a former human resources leader and current author and speaker on work place culture. She looks at how the overall system of capitalism is…
- The Anxious Achiever
Hacks for Managing Yourself and Others: Understanding Attachment Styles
A lot of us have a basic understanding of how attachment styles - secure, anxious and avoidant - affect human beings in their relationships. But we don’t often…
- The Anxious Achiever
What Companies Should Do For Workers in an AI Age
When it comes to managing our mental health as AI takes over the workplace, there’s a lot on our plate. But in a world that is also driven by systems, it’s…
- The Anxious Achiever
Disruptive Change and Shifting Mindsets Around GenAI
When it comes to anxiety, the best thing we can do is figure out what is in our control and shift our energy away from the what ifs and the negative thinking…
- The Anxious Achiever
Does Discomfort Reflect What We Value Most?
Sometimes, you have to look scary change in the eye and approach it with flexibility instead of fear. Dr. Diana Hill is a clinical psychologist and leadership…
- The Anxious Achiever
Morra Joins The Next Big Idea To Talk Anxiety As a Trait of Great Leaders
Host Morra Aarons-Mele recently spoke with Rufus Griscom on LinkedIn’s The Next Big Idea to talk about leadership. She speaks about how anxiety is an asset…
- The Anxious Achiever
AI, Work and Mental Health: Nilay Patel on Tech and the Future
Like anxiety or depression, AI is now a constant companion for millions of people around the world. We might be benefitting from the use of AI at work, but…
- The Anxious Achiever
Is Passion Driving Burnout?
There’s often a direct connection between how much you achieve at work, and how high you climb, and how much passion you have for your work. It’s a huge…
- The Anxious Achiever
Hope as an Essential Ingredient of Life and Work
We humans need hope! A lack of hope contributes to much to mental health struggles across the board, and that’s why it’s important to learn more about the…
- The Anxious Achiever
You Can’t Change the World If You’re Unhappy At Work
We’ve come a long way in the last five years, but there’s so much still to be done when it comes to our working lives and our mental health. In this episode…
- The Anxious Achiever
Adapting Your Career to Your Neurodivergent Needs
What if all your assumptions about people with neurodivergent conditions… were all wrong? In this episode, host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks to two people living…
- The Anxious Achiever
When Your Job Revolves Around The Tumultuous U.S. Election
The news is overwhelming, and thinking about the upcoming election makes many of us anxious. Political veterans know how to get things done in a never-ending…
- The Anxious Achiever
A Former Olympic Rower on Grit, Heartache and Success
In 2012, Michael DiSanto graduated from a prestigious university. But instead of following the path of his peers, he set out to achieve a lofty goal: make the…
- The Anxious Achiever
ADHD Expert (and Diagnosee) Dr. Ned Hallowell on Unwrapping Our Gifts and Changing Labels
Dr. Ned Hallowell has ADHD himself, and is a well-respected doctor who focuses on counseling people of all ages with similar disorders. But he’s quick to point…
- The Anxious Achiever
Dan Ariely on Resilience as the Antidote to Stress
Dan Ariely is a famed behavioral economist who looks at the irrational, upside-down ways that humans think and act. His recent interests include resilience -…
- The Anxious Achiever
Is People Pleasing Hurting Your Career?
If you fall into certain people-pleasing behaviors at work, we have news: it’s not just an individual problem. Kathleen Smith, therapist and author of the new…
- The Anxious Achiever
More Than Breadwinners: The Mental Health of Working Fathers
Just as working mothers increasingly feel pressure from all sides to achieve and be the best family members possible, expectations for fathers have shifted in…
- The Anxious Achiever
Tools and Tricks for Neurodivergent Leaders
Clayton Lord breaks the mold of what you might expect someone’s career to look like if they are on the autism spectrum. He’s Director of Programs at the SHRM…
- The Anxious Achiever
Burnout, Balance, and Why Work From Home Isn’t Working
Shirley Leung is a columnist at the Boston Globe and host of the podcast Say More, and in 2020, she hit “rock bottom.”Being stretched on all sides for years…