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
Craig Robinson on Following Your Passion, Forgetting What Others Think, and Bringing out the Best in People
Craig Robinson, brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama, is a basketball legend, former NBA executive, coach, and Executive Director of the National…
- The Anxious Achiever
Coming Soon: Season 10
Starting June 5th, the Anxious Achiever is back to celebrate its tenth season. We’ll be diving into the topics and challenges you’ve asked about most: How to…
- The Anxious Achiever
Thinkers50: The Limits and Responsibilities of Leaders
Leaders of organizations have a large responsibility when it comes to their own mental health, and of those in their organization. When they speak up about…
- The Anxious Achiever
Thinkers50: Can We Banish Burnout?
Burnout doesn’t come on because of weakness, and it doesn’t come about overnight. Many of us are walking around with some degree of burnout! On the flip side…
- The Anxious Achiever
Thinkers50: Stop Being Your Own Worst Enemy, Start Being Your Best Friend
As part of a month long series with Thinkers50 and The Silicon Guild, in this episode host Morra Aarons-Mele explores constructive ways we can improve our…
- The Anxious Achiever
Thinkers50: Improving Work, Improving Mental Health (For Everyone)
What are some of the most important management ideas out there in today’s world? Thinkers50 is an organization that aims to identify and share these important…
- The Anxious Achiever
When Anxiety Sneaks Up on You, Try Something Different
Imagine you are having an anxious moment at work. Instead of letting yourself slip into old patterns of negative thoughts or self-criticisms, today’s guest…
- The Anxious Achiever
Are You And Your Employer In An Abusive Relationship?
Burnout culture is everywhere - case in point, a lawsuit brought against Goldman Sachs earlier this year by a former employee claiming that the relentless…
- The Anxious Achiever
Mental Health Literacy Can Change Lives - and Careers
There was a time when everyone masked their mental and emotional struggles at work; or worse, didn’t even know that what they were experiencing might be…
- The Anxious Achiever
Think Your Family Background Doesn’t Affect You At Work? Think Again
Just as members of a family have different roles to play and different patterns of behavior they keep, so too can our family dynamics play out in the…
- The Anxious Achiever
Are You Harnessing Your Anxiety for Good?
Anxiety rarely feels good, so it might feel counterintuitive to think about it as a positive thing. But in this episode, we revisit a conversation with Wendy…
- The Anxious Achiever
Trauma-Informed Leadership: Is it Right For You?
In the quest to be a more empathetic and effective leader or manager, the lens of trauma-informed leadership might be helpful for you. It’s the idea that all…
- The Anxious Achiever
Accent Bias: How It Impacts You and Your Work
Heather Hansen challenges the notion of "good" and "bad" English. Good communication is about getting the message across. She’s based in Singapore and helps…
- The Anxious Achiever
Are You Good at Embracing Uncertainty?
Uncertainty and anxiety are highly linked in our brains: when we aren’t sure what will happen, we often go into planning, defensive mode, trying to come up…
- The Anxious Achiever
Dan Harris: 10 Percent Happier, 10 Years Later
We all have big moments that shift the course of our life - and our relationship with those moments also change over time. Dan Harris was a long time TV…
- The Anxious Achiever
Toxic Bosses, Mean Girls, and Trusting Yourself
You know the feeling when you know that something is off with a relationship at work, but feel like you can’t speak up? Many of us have felt this feeling but…
- The Anxious Achiever
The Toll of Selling Your Business: Two Entrepreneurs Share Their Stories
We put so much of ourselves and our identity into our work; that’s especially true for entrepreneurs. It can be hard to deal with the emotions of selling the…
- The Anxious Achiever
Is Your Anxiety a Habit You Need to Break?
For many of us, anxiety is a partner on our journey of life: it is always there. But a helpful reframe could also be the idea that anxiety is a habit. And the…
- The Anxious Achiever
Former Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing at Google on Why Teams and Culture Matter
How far have we come in terms of mental health at organizations, and how far do we still need to go? Kristin Maczko leads Strategic People Programs for…
- The Anxious Achiever
What You Still Don’t Understand About Imposter Syndrome
Studies show that over 70 percent of us feel imposter syndrome at one time or another. But there’s a lot we still don’t know about the why, the how, the what…
- The Anxious Achiever
“I Have Always Cared a Lot What Other People Think of Me”
Congressman Adam Smith spent years quietly struggling with both anxiety and physical pain, while serving the people of his state and the entire country in…
- The Anxious Achiever
Micromanaging, Mental Health, and Breaking Free
Leaders out there who are guilty of micromanaging might not immediately realize that it comes from a need for control, and probably a bit of anxiety. On the…
- The Anxious Achiever
LinkedIn Live: From Digital Transformations to Personal Transformations
Charlene Li is someone who has spent her career focusing on digital transformations and disruptive leadership. And she practices what she preaches - she even…
- The Anxious Achiever
“You See Flashes of Really Deep Emotion in the Heat of These Competitions”
What can we learn about performance and mental health from professional athletes? As we start a new year off, Morra Aarons-Mele revisits her conversations with…
- The Anxious Achiever
Pressure, Perfectionism, and Passion: What Medical Professionals Face
The limelight - and appreciation - given to medical professionals early in the pandemic has largely faded, but the stresses they face continue. In this…
- The Anxious Achiever
The Loneliness Epidemic and Work (with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy)
Do you feel lonely, even when you’re almost never alone? It’s a common feeling for many workers in the U.S. right now - with around 50 percent of Americans…
- The Anxious Achiever
We All Experience Class At Work (And Why We Should Talk About It)
Ever been at work and everyone starts talking about their recent trip to Italy, or their Ivy League college reunion coming up… and you just feel left out?…
- The Anxious Achiever
Want To Run A Good Company? You Can’t Ignore Menopause Anymore
The working world has gotten a lot more open about a lot of things, from mental health challenges to the realities of being a working parent. But a topic that…
- The Anxious Achiever
How Your Family History - and Tensions - Affect You At Work
Many in the U.S. this week are celebrating the holiday of Thanksgiving - which, unfortunately for many, can mean difficult conversations with family about…
- The Anxious Achiever
Building Your Career When You Have Borderline Personality Disorder
Today’s guest always seemed to seek out chaos in his career. It wasn’t until a diagnosis that he learned to manage his emotions, stay still, and practice…
- The Anxious Achiever
Farnoosh Torabi on Fear, Money, and Career Success
Farnoosh Torabi is a veteran journalist and personal finance expert who has spent much of her life trying to help others have a healthier relationship with…
- The Anxious Achiever
LinkedIn Live: How to Speak Up
Speaking up is an essential skill in work and in leadership, but it can be scary and anxiety-inducing for many of us. This week, Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with…
- The Anxious Achiever
Leadership, Burnout, and Breakdowns (and Why Coaching Can Help)
Everyone needs support at work, whether that comes in the form of coaching, therapy, some combination - or something else. In this episode we look at the…
- The Anxious Achiever
Mood and Food: What You Need to Know About Gut and Mental Health
While information about the connection between food, gut health, and our overall well-being has come into the spotlight in recent years, it can still often be…
- The Anxious Achiever
The Israel-Hamas War and Managing Grief
It was an emotional and scary week for millions of people around the world following the horrific attacks in Israel and subsequent ramp up of war. In this…
- The Anxious Achiever
20 Minutes a Week Devoted to Culture Building Can Improve Mental Health for Grocery and Retail Workers
Anthony Sartori knows just how overlooked the mental health of retail workers can be. After finishing college in 2018, and seeing the plight of frontline…
- The Anxious Achiever
Mindfulness to Be A Better Colleague - and Stop Being Passive-Aggressive
We bring ourselves to work - or to our Zoom calls - every day with the desire to be professional and to achieve. That often means trying to put whatever else…
- The Anxious Achiever
“He’s a Jerk Who Got Rich and Now He Hates Everybody”
Gabe Howard had a successful tech career when, at the age of 26, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. To the outside world, many people thought it was…
- The Anxious Achiever
"I Have Everything to Gain and Nothing to Lose, and I Have a Responsibility to Use My Voice"
A huge part of breaking down stigma around mental health challenges at work is about being open and honest about our experiences. Mita Mallick is head of…
- The Anxious Achiever
“When I Was Diagnosed with PTSD I Was Treated Like Damaged Goods” (Part II)
We continue the conversation with Dean Yates, a Tasmania-based mental health advocate, former journalist, and author of the book Line in the Sand.
- The Anxious Achiever
“I Wanted to Cover War Without Having Any Clue What War Was Like” (Part I)
Dean Yates was a foreign correspondent and worked for Reuters for decades until the traumatic events he witnessed took their toll. Over time, he realized he…
- The Anxious Achiever
“I Didn’t Know What the Word Burnout Meant”: One Teacher’s Mental Health Journey
The public school system in the U.S. lost at least 300,000 public school teachers and administrators between February 2020 and May 2022, according to the…
- The Anxious Achiever
Behind the Scenes of Meditation and Mental Health with the CEO of Headspace
The first time that Russell Glass tried meditation, he wasn’t really sure what to make of it. Flash-forward several years and lots of practice later, Glass is…
- The Anxious Achiever
LinkedIn Live: Weight-Loss Drugs, Food Noise, and Mental Health
Host Morra Aaons-Mele has an informal chat with author and entrepreneur Meredith Arthur about how Wegovy - a drug similar to Ozempic - has changed her life…
- The Anxious Achiever
This Leadership Expert’s Experience Managing Autism Can Help Everyone Enjoy Work More
Tara McMullin was diagnosed with autism at the age of 38, and it put her previous struggles with work and the structures we have around work in a new light…
- The Anxious Achiever
LinkedIn Live: Am I Too Old for This Role?
Do you ever wonder if you are “aging out?” This week, Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with executive coach Nihar Chhaya about the realities of age bias, expectations…
- The Anxious Achiever
Best of Anxious Achiever: Pressure, Achievement, and Self-Compassion
High achievers and those who struggle with mental health often find it hard to give themselves compassion. We revisit one of our favorite episodes about…
- The Anxious Achiever
“I Could Work 16 Hours a Day and Not Have It Affect Me… I Thought”
We don’t always immediately see the ways that anxiety, trauma, or institutional inequities show up for us - and our bodies - at work. Deepa Purushothaman began…
- The Anxious Achiever
Real Leaders Get Emotional: Cloudfm CEO Jeff Dewing
Today, Jeff Dewing runs a successful facilities management technology corporation. He’s had a dramatic career. Mark began his career in refrigeration repair…
- The Anxious Achiever
LinkedIn Live: Is Mental Health at Work a “Gen Z Thing”?
Older generations have heard the stereotypes, and maybe seen anecdotal evidence that supports these biases: Gen Z, newish to the workforce, is a bit too aware…
- The Anxious Achiever
How MLMs Hurt Women’s Mental Health
Multi-level marketing businesses, or MLMs, offer people - often women who don’t work outside the home - the chance to be entrepreneurs, face new challenges…
- The Anxious Achiever
The “Goal Conqueror” Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder During the Pandemic
Natasha Bowman always thought of herself as a goal conqueror: someone who could seemingly take on any project, multitask any number of things, and come out on…
- The Anxious Achiever
LinkedIn Live: How to Handle Envy, FOMO, and Jealousy
Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with executive coach Nihar Chhaya about what Morra calls the "triangle of doom" - envy, shame and scarcity - as part of their regular…
- The Anxious Achiever
Best of Anxious Achiever: Can Workplaces Help Us Heal?
With all of the issues in corporate America, in startup culture, and in workplaces biases and inequalities, it can be easy to forget the ways in which work can…
- The Anxious Achiever
When High-Powered Careers Come to Define Us
Have you ever daydreamed about quitting your stressful job and hitting the open road? It isn’t something everyone can afford to do with their time and money…
- The Anxious Achiever
I Get This Question a Lot: Should I Try To Make My Corporate Job Work?
For many people, the choice between a corporate job or entrepreneurship comes down to the freedom and flexibility they might get on their own… versus the…
- The Anxious Achiever
The Relationship between Ambition, OCD, and Culture
Many high achievers have a complicated relationship with their own health, and their own ambition. Things like anxiety can fuel us but also wreak havoc in our…
- The Anxious Achiever
Do Entrepreneurs Need Specialized Mental Healthcare?
Michael Freeman is a psychiatrist and professor looking to better understand and better support the mental health of entrepreneurs. A fourth generation…
- The Anxious Achiever
LinkedIn Live: I Get This Question A Lot
In this new series, host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with executive coach Nihar Chhaya about some of your most pressing questions around mental health, career…
- The Anxious Achiever
Marketing Expert Dorie Clark on Being Yourself and Being Valued For It
Does your career path feel uncertain, or at the very least, unsteady? In a world where jobs aren’t guaranteed, we increasingly need to advocate for ourselves…