The Anxious Achiever

CVS Health’s Cara McNulty on Fighting Mental Health Stigma

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Much about mental health care in this country is pretty broken. In her role at President of Behavioral Health and Executive Vice President at CVS Heal...

How to Channel Anxiety Into Positive Work Outcomes, According to Research

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Work can be stressful and downright anxiety-inducing; but we also know that bit of anxiety that comes from bumping up against a deadline or having to ...

Managing With Intention Can Help Us Fight Toxic Work Environments, Burnout, and Anxiety

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Being intentional about how we spend our time and how we treat others is sometimes easier said than done. But it’s an essential piece of how we keep...

The Anxiety of Money, University, and Raising Mentally Healthy Kids

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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’...

Finding the Right Work Fit When You’re Neurodivergent

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Digging Deeper on Perfectionism

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Many high performers go through their working lives struggling with perfectionism and not even realizing it - or not understanding why they have such ...

Using Achievement - and Exercise - to Cope

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Emi Nietfeld is one of those people who looks great on paper. Raised in tumultuous circumstances and facing mental health challenges in her early teen...

Dealing with Grief While Dealing with Work

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 r...

Why Giving Up Control at Work Can Improve Your Emotional Health

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Aaron Dignan is founder of The Ready - an organizational transformation and coaching practice. He focuses on how to prioritize adaptivity and autonomy...

Surgeon General Announces Framework on Mental Health and Work

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

Scary Mommy’s Founder on When Life Throws Curveballs

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 foun...

Why Difference is a Superpower with Christopher Lochhead

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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

Burnout and Mental Health: Perspectives from Human Resources

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 Offi...

Gretchen Rubin on Expectations, Pillars of Habits, and Understanding Why You React the Way You Do

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Before many others, podcast host and author Gretchen Rubin found a way to create her own brand, run a remote company, and think carefully about mental...

A CEO on Strengthening Leadership and Facing Childhood Trauma

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Adam Baruh is CEO and founder of the consulting agency SuiteCentric. But he’s also on a mission to talk with servant leaders and normalize conversat...

Your Questions, Answered: How to Get What You Need at Work

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We set out in every episode to share a story, reframe a perception, or even change your mind about mental health. But listeners are always writing in ...

Questioning and Understanding Our Need to Achieve

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of the core tenets of this show is about examining our motivations to achieve (and even overachieve), especially because those needs can contribut...

The Hidden Mental Anguish of a Successful Tech Investor

22 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Andy Johns has had a nearly two decade career as an investor - working on companies like Facebook and Twitter when they were in their early stages. To...

Lori Gottlieb on Writing as Therapy, the Mind-Body Connection, and What to Do When You Need Help

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lori Gottlieb found her life’s work later in life, but she then built her career around therapy and writing - helping herself and countless others a...

Changing Your Relationship With Email and Phones

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

 Sometimes you just need a little extra inspiration to remind you how to draw the right boundaries and make sure you relationship with work remains h...

Lessons in Mental Health and Leadership from History

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mental health seems to be all the rage in the corporate world today. But the reality is that great leaders, great creatives, and great innovators thro...

Why We Need to Understand Our Emotions Around Money

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Even if you don’t suffer from more generalized anxiety, money is something that causes almost everyone some stress and strain. Buffie Purselle, an e...

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (And Work)

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of us still think of mental struggles as something to push through. Or we think we need to “cure” ourselves from anxiety and that will be th...

Why Managing Is the Hardest Job She’s Ever Had

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Building a positive, mentally healthy workplace isn’t a one-time feat. It requires work day in and day out - which makes managing an even harder job...

Bonobos Cofounder on the Highs of Success and Lows of Mental Struggle

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Andy Dunn is the cofounder of Bonobos, a innovative retail company he helped start out of business school in 2007. And while the company reached incre...

Managing Anxiety When the World Feels like a Scary Place

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For many of us, anxiety is about the day to day - whether that’s from social interaction, managing all of our work, or a more serious disorder we mi...

Imposter Syndrome, Work, and Mental Health

27 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

So many of us experience imposter syndrome - the idea that you feel like a fraud in your job; that you’re faking it until you make it and that any m...

Miss America on the Suffering We Can’t Always See

20 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

So many people struggle with mental health issues in part because, unlike many physical ailments, you can’t always know that someone is suffering, o...

Racial Trauma and Work: “I Hear From Broken-Hearted Women Several Times a Day”

13 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s guest is someone who experienced the racism in the corporate world. After years of constantly being triggered at work, she had enough, and w...

Understanding “Good” Anxiety

06 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Wendy Suzuki is a neuroscientist at NYU who studies neuroplasticity. She’s the author of “Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misun...

Does Negotiation Give You Anxiety? Here’s How To Approach It.

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Preparing for and managing a negotiation can be hard for anyone, but for people who suffer from anxiety and tend toward rumination, it can feel near i...

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms On Mental Health In And Out of Office

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A career in the public eye is not for the faint of heart. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms didn’t start out knowing she would enter a career in politics, ...

Learning Compassion for Your High-Achieving Self

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What if we all were a little nicer to ourselves? In this episode, we hear from lawyer Mark Goldstein about his own journey with depression, OCD, and b...

A Mini Meditation When You Need It

11 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hear mindfulness leader Sharon Salzberg walk you through a short meditation you can use at work or any time you feel anxious.

A Career in Mindfulness, Mindfulness for Your Career

09 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Meditation and mindfulness have become household concepts, especially in the wake of the global pandemic. But it wasn’t always that way. In this epi...

Why Ambition Can Make You a “Terror” - And How to Fix It

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When we get jobs that seem impressive to the outside world - and get sucked into a corporate, competitive culture - we don’t always end up displayin...

On Being CEO - and Living with Bipolar Disorder

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Many leaders succeed and thrive not just in spite of anxiety, depression, or other mental health struggles - but because of them. They make leaders mo...

Psychological Safety in Theory and In Practice

20 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What does psychological safety at work mean for people with anxiety and other mental health challenges? Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with Amy Edmonds...

Why the Workplace is Actually a Good Place to Heal

13 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with Susan Schmitt, co-author of Healing at Work: A Guide to Using Career Conflicts to Overcome Your Past and Build the ...

Anxiety Is a Habit

06 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with Dr. Judson Brewer, author of “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to H...

Huma Abedin on Private Pain and Public Struggle

24 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a political staffer for Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin was under immense pressure to achieve, while staying out of the public eye. That all changed w...

Neurodiversity at Work

22 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with Danny Lakes, a Procter & Gamble employee who is on the autism spectrum, as well as Todd Ballish, a neurotypical man...

What You Want Matters

15 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Anxious achievers are often hyper-attuned to other people and how to please them. New York Times bestselling author Julie Lythcott-Haims argues that m...

How Family Dynamics Play Out at Work

08 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with Kathleen Smith, an associate faculty member at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, about how family syste...

Even Public Figures Have Social Anxiety

01 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with New York Times bestselling author Lindsey Pollak about how she maintains a public speaking career while dealing wit...

Understanding Our Roots to Find the Path Forward

25 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with Anu Gupta, founder and CEO of educational tech company BE MORE with Anu, about immigrating to the U.S. with his fam...

Why Conflict Is Necessary and How to Manage It (with Amy Gallo)

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks to HBR contributing editor and podcast host Amy Gallo about why conflict is so hard and how to make conflict a force for...

Handling the “Mental Fire”

11 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For many of us, the world can feel like too much right now – a never ending cascade of anxiety-inducing news. It’s something that Christina Black...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt on the Anxiety of Unfulfilled Dreams

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to Season 5! Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with the actor, writer, and director about media and film portrayals of people with mental health i...

Bonus: Talking about Self-Awareness and Anxiety (with Hello Monday’s Jessi Hempel)

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There’s another podcast we love: "Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel." The show explores how to make work happier, healthier, and more human. In this sp...

The Great Re-Norming

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jessi Hempel is constantly thinking about the state of work. She’s senior editor at large at LinkedIn and host of the podcast Hello Monday. In the f...

ADHD, Neurodiversity, and Bias

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a stereotype that most people who struggle with ADHD are white, male, and often young. In this episode host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks to Step...

Anna Sale on Money, Shame, and Tough Work Conversations

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Podcast host and author Anna Sale has built her career on difficult conversations. On her podcast, she focuses on the hardest topics we deal with as h...

Mental Health and Media

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Chris McCarthy, president of MTV Entertainment Group, speaks with host Morra Aarons Mele about the role TV shows can play in changing how people view ...

Creating Boundaries in Our Everyday Work (with Roxane Gay)

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When you’re struggling with mental health, the day-to-day routines of a work environment can be a lot – even for a famous author and academic, lik...

How Kayak Co-Founder Paul English Manages and Thrives Through His Bipolar Disorder

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Paul English is an entrepreneur, founder, and philanthropist. But throughout his many career successes, he’s battled internally with his mental heal...

Why Therapy Can Make You Better at Your Job

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Investor and philanthropist Vikas Shah has been an entrepreneur since he was a young teenager. And throughout much of his career, he struggled with an...

Social Anxiety and Work

01 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How do we listen to ourselves and know when to address our social anxiety, especially when it comes into play with colleagues? Host Morra Aarons-Mele ...

Back to Work: Post-Covid Social Anxiety

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As offices in the U.S. begin reopening after more than a year, many people – especially those of us with social anxiety – are feeling uneasy about...

Shopify President Harley Finkelstein on Anxiety and Entrepreneurship

17 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For Harley Finkelstein, president of Shopify, anxiety has always been his super power – even when he didn’t know how to put a label on it. Host Mo...

The Power and Peril of Working on a Video Screen

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The nature of work is changing, and more and more of us have been working behind screens even before the pandemic. That brings both downsides – and ...

Back to Work: Calm Body, Calm Mind

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This last year has been rough on everyone, in so many different ways. But as we look toward recovery and adjust to life after the pandemic, it’s imp...

Bonus: Finding a New Balance with Esther Perel

19 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After a year of collective trauma and private losses, stress, and heartbreaks, how do we even start to think about returning to a more normal working ...

Bonus: How to Stop Remote Work Burnout

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with the TED Business podcast about how she protects her energy and boundaries while working remotely.

Succeeding with ADHD

04 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A military pilot, an entrepreneur, and a business professor discuss how they cope with their ADHD, how it’s helped them be successful in their caree...

Understanding Envy Part 2: Facing Professional Envy

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tanya Menon, a professor at Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University, says envy comes up a lot in the workplace – though it’s often misun...

Understanding Envy Part 1: How Envy Impacts Anxiety and Leadership

14 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Executive coach Nihar Chhaya explains how envy, FOMO, and the illusion of scarcity can contribute to anxiety and depression, and how leaders can cope....

Lessons in Uncertainty, Anxiety, and Resilience

07 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist and author Aarti Shahani tells host Morra Aarons-Mele how she managed overwhelming uncertainty during her father’s 14-year legal battle a...

Anxiety, Depression, and Working Moms in a Pandemic

30 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sociologist Jessica Calarco has been studying women struggling to balance work and parenting during the Covid-19 pandemic – and how workplaces can h...

Why Start-Up Culture Still Hides Mental Health Struggles

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with veteran tech journalist Catherine Shu, of TechCrunch, about improving mental health culture in Silicon Valley. And ...

Kevin Love on Trying to Achieve His Way Out of Depression

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For a long time, the NBA star hid his battle with mental health. But after a very public panic attack in 2017, he started speaking out. Love talks wit...

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the Stress of Creativity

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Aaron Harvey is a successful advertising industry executive – but for many years of his life, he struggled with a form of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive ...

Finding the Funny – and Embracing the Pain – of Depression

02 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

John Moe took a bold step when he decided to start a podcast featuring frank, but funny, conversations about depression. Moe was recently laid off, an...

Success, Stress, and Money: Lessons from a Financial Therapist

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Amanda Clayman, a psychotherapist specializing in financial wellness, helps her clients uncover the motivations and roots underlying their money anx...

Why Learning to Label Your Feelings Makes You a Better Leader

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many managers and leaders misunderstand what emotional intelligence really means, despite the trendiness of the phrase. Marc Brackett, director of the...

Notes to My Future Manager Self

12 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Priska Neely, the new Managing Editor of NPR’s Gulf States newsroom, has always wanted to manage people, and she’s long thought about the best way...

Art Critic Jerry Saltz’s Reckoning with Trauma and Anxiety

05 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Early on in the pandemic, Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz wrote a piece about his unusual eating habits that grabbed the attention of ma...

How a Rising Political Star’s PTSD Fueled His Addiction to Work

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jason Kander was on track to be a major force in American politics. But for him, working – and succeeding – was a way to escape the pain of PTSD a...

How the Cult of Sleep-Deprivation Affects Work and Mental Health

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many high-powered jobs require people to work long hours and give up sleep. But for people who suffer from anxiety and depression, lack of sleep can a...

How to Stop the Cycle of Overachieving

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many people who end up in prestigious careers choose their professions, consciously or subconsciously, in order to seek the approval of others. But th...

Facing Reality, Modeling Positivity

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For managers struggling with anxiety and stress right now -- or worrying about their employees feeling that strain -- it can be hard to find the right...

Millennials, Gen Z, and Generational Anxiety

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we hear from two young professionals. Both of them have worked hard and carefully planned their careers, but now they’re confrontin...

Discomfort, Anxiety, and Grief: Confronting Racism with Colleagues

05 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Amelia Ransom, Senior Director of Engagement and Diversity at Avalara, offers advice for how people of color can get what they need from their employe...

When Leaders Model Openness About Their Mental Health

01 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who used meditation to address the trauma and anxiety he experienced while w...

Managing Mental Health When Working for a Mission

25 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Poppy Jaman OBE struggled with postpartum depression after the births of her children. Now she’s on a mission to promote mental health awareness to ...

Substance Abuse, Success, and Self-Realization

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We speak with MIT’s Seth Mnookin, a writer and ex-addict who has been clean for 20 years, about the connection between substance abuse and underlyin...

Goop’s Chief Content Officer on Balancing Self-Care at Work

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What’s it like to lead a team when optimizing self-care and emotional wellness is the point of their work? Goop, a company founded by actress Gwynet...

How Vulnerability Can Be a Leadership Superpower

04 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jason Rosario discusses his own journey with depression and anxiety, and the lessons he’s learned about vulnerability, masculinity, and leadership. ...

Leading Through Grief in Life and Work

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout our lives, we will all experience grief in one form or another. It can also translate into depression, anxiety, and other emotional strain....

Wading Through the Imperfect Mess of Parenthood

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with organizational psychologist Stew Friedman and tech entrepreneur Sehreen Noor Ali about the ways pa...

Freelancing, Self-Employment, and Mental Health

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Working for yourself – and working outside an office – can have a lot of benefits for people struggling with mental health issues, including flexi...

Gabrielle Union on Toxic Workplaces, PTSD, and Social Anxiety

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With great success can come even greater stress and anxiety. But Gabrielle Union is using her success to stand up for her truth. A sexual assault surv...

Managing the Stress and Uncertainty of Coronavirus

16 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The rapid onset of the coronavirus is changing our work – and our lives. For those who own businesses or work in the gig economy, the stress and fin...

Strategies for Managing Day-to-Day Anxiety

30 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Anxiety can affect so many aspects of our work – from how we make decisions to how we receive feedback and behave in meetings. In the final episode ...

Designing the Mentally Healthy Workplace

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In earlier episodes of this show, we’ve talked about how to open a dialogue about mental health and work, and how both employees and leaders can nav...

Mental Health in the Office: Difficult Conversations

16 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How should you approach difficult conversations about mental health with your colleagues and boss? In this episode, host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with...

Building Mental Resilience While Building a Business

09 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Anxiety shows up in all kinds of business situations — especially when you’re starting your own company. In this episode, host Morra Aarons-Mele s...

Tackling Leadership Struggles, Burnout, and Performance Anxiety

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Leading a group of people can produce chronic anxiety, but many leaders who suffer from anxiety don’t even realize it. In today's episode we explore...

What No One Tells You: The Emotional Strain of Startup Life

25 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We hear the stories of successful Silicon Valley startups all the time. But entrepreneurship can also have a dark side, especially when it involves go...

Battling Depression from the C-Suite

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

For most of his life, Paul Greenberg suffered from severe depression -- depression so bad that he had near constant thoughts of suicide from the age o...