LinkedIn Presents.

Why open your computer in the morning? If it's making you anxious, there's some kind of value

that's showing up. Why does it matter to you? Like the job, the role, what is important to you?

Because that's also kind of like going to be what motivates

you, right, to do what's very challenging and to take action. So it's important that we

tap into values as a way of motivating ourselves and also supporting ourselves to approach really, you know, what can be

very challenging or overwhelming situations.

I'm Maura Aronsmili, and this is the anxious achiever. We look at stories from business

leaders who've dealt with anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges,

how they fell down, how they pick themselves up, and how they hope work will change in the future.

My guest today, licensed clinical psychologist and author Dr. Carissa Gustafson says,

please know that whatever you may be struggling with, you are not broken. You are fundamentally,

unconditionally whole, and in possession of everything that's needed to build a meaningful life.

So, let's talk about how to take action. There are real steps that can take the sting out of

anxious thoughts and unhook us from our anxiety. But first, you might need to accept that

distressing feelings and thoughts are part of life.

Enter acceptance and commitment therapy, or act, which is different from a lot of other kinds of therapy because it says, accept your bad feelings. Let yourself be uncomfortable.

You are not your thoughts, which means you can have a negative thought and then take action

so it doesn't trap you. Today we'll

learn some real tactical approaches to doing that. I started by asking Karissa Gustafson

why she chose this work and why she herself was drawn to act.

So... to act. So kind of like in my personal life and then also in my training as a as a licensed clinical

...