The Anxious Achiever

Latest Episodes:

The Anxiety of Money, University, and Raising Mentally Healthy Kids Nov 30, 2022

Show notes

It’s the time of year when so many young adults and their parents are thinking about a major achievement in young life - getting into college. It’s easy for overachieving parents to put that stress on their kids to go to the perfect school. But the process comes with such a roller coaster of emotions, not just about self-worth but also the value of education and the cost of that education today.

Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with New York Times Money Columnist Ron Lieber about the mental health issues around parenting, college, and our definition of success.

Finding the Right Work Fit When You’re Neurodivergent Nov 23, 2022

Show notes

For all the negative stuff that social media and our online world can put out there - a lot of which we talk about in this show - there are also some pretty wonderful things. Being online can help us build community, which is something Amanda Morin spends a lot of time and energy on. She’s a mission-driven author, speaker, and advocate for issues around neurodiversity.

She speaks with Morra Aarons-Mele about her own anxiety, struggles, and decision to try entrepreneurism.

Digging Deeper on Perfectionism Nov 16, 2022

Show notes

Many high performers go through their working lives struggling with perfectionism and not even realizing it - or not understanding why they have such a need to achieve. In this episode, we continue the conversation around the roots of perfectionism, how to know if it is a problem, and what we can do about it.

Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with licensed psychologist Thomas Greenspon about the research around perfectionism and how it starts when we are young.

Then we hear from Eleanor Beaton, an author, leadership expert, and founder of SafiMedia, who shares her own story of perfectionism, deeply rooted in her childhood, and her relationship with her parents and her own identity.

Using Achievement - and Exercise - to Cope Nov 09, 2022

Show notes

Emi Nietfeld is one of those people who looks great on paper. Raised in tumultuous circumstances and facing mental health challenges in her early teens, she went on to get into Harvard and work at Google. Now as an adult, she’s an author and has faced the unhealthy reasons behind her perfectionism.

She shares her story about overachievement, overexercise, and overwork as a method of control and emotional survival, and what she hopes our society can learn about relying too much on personal excellence.

A note that this episode includes discussion of sensitive topics like eating disorders and self-harm.

Read her op-ed here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/08/opinion/exercise-depression-anxiety-trauma.html

Dealing with Grief While Dealing with Work Nov 02, 2022

Show notes

Grief is something we’ll all experience in our adult lives, and we all experience it differently. But it’s not something the modern workplace is really built to deal with well. How do we move beyond our current system -- which often involves clear cut bereavement days but not much else?

Rebecca Soffer is the author of The Modern Loss Handbook: An Interactive Guide to Moving Through Grief and Building Your Resilience. She talks about how to use storytelling and helpful conversations as a way for workers, colleagues, and managers to manage through loss and the feeling of grief and build healthier organizations.

Why Giving Up Control at Work Can Improve Your Emotional Health Oct 26, 2022

Show notes

Aaron Dignan is founder of The Ready - an organizational transformation and coaching practice. He focuses on how to prioritize adaptivity and autonomy over efficiency and control - which you can pretty quickly extrapolate into upsides for mental health of workers and leaders. He’s also the author of the book Brave New Work - and cohost of the podcast of the same name.

Host Morra Aarons Mele speaks with him about he helps organizations and individuals realize they need to change, and how he guides them through that transformation.

Learn more about Aaron Dignan here: http://www.aarondignan.com/

Surgeon General Announces Framework on Mental Health and Work Oct 20, 2022

Show notes

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has never shied away from talking about emotions, and their impact on our health. On his own podcast he brings forth topics like loneliness, the pressure of achievement, meditation and stress reduction, facing crisis when everyone wants you to stay positive, and the big questions like, what is happiness. And as mental health has come into the foreground… regulators and health leaders are also thinking about the best practices to recommend.

That includes the Surgeon General’s office - which today released a new framework around mental health and work, to help leaders and workplaces become healthier. We speak about what they see as five essential building blocks to better mentally healthy workplaces: social connection, meaning at work, opportunity for growth, work life integration, and protection from harm.

Learn more about the framework here: https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html

Scary Mommy’s Founder on When Life Throws Curveballs Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

We’re told again and again in the business world that the way to be successful is to follow your passion and to be authentic. Jill Smokler, the founder of the infamous mom blog Scary Mommy, achieved entrepreneurial success doing just that. But she has also faced some darker times, especially after selling her company.

She speaks with host Morra Aarons-Mele about how your mental health can suffer when you achieve your dreams, and where she is today.

Why Difference is a Superpower with Christopher Lochhead Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

Many people who are neurodivergent have to figure out a way to succeed outside the rules and regulations of traditional institutions.

Christopher Lochhead, startup advisor, podcast host, and author, is one such person. Growing up with dyslexia, he found his way in the world and now encourages others to find their different, as the way to find their superpower.

Burnout and Mental Health: Perspectives from Human Resources Sep 28, 2022

Show notes

Every wonder what your manager or HR leader is really thinking?

In this episode, host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with Vice Media’s Chief People Officer Daisy Auger-Dominquez about mental health, the great resignation, burnout and more.

We’ll hear what worries her most right now for workers, managers, and HR leaders, and what she hopes for the future.