"For 20 years I just pretended like there was nothing wrong with me." How this CFO Stopped Hiding His Anxiety and Depression with Adam Nemer

The Anxious Achiever

Morra Aarons-Mele

Careers, Management, Mental Health, Business, Health & Fitness

4.7 • 600 Ratings

🗓️ 23 September 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if the key to better leadership wasn’t just strategy, but self-awareness? In this episode, I am joined by Adam Nemer, Founder of Simple Mental Health. We talk about why self-awareness is the ultimate leadership tool, how daily practices shift anxiety into focus, and why normalizing conversations about mental health makes teams more engaged and more productive. Adam shares how years of hidden depression and anxiety nearly broke him, what changed when you finally get a diagnosis, and how embracing self-care makes you a stronger executive. Tune in to learn about tools that help you rise stronger, lead better, and live with more purpose every single day. In this Episode, You Will Learn 00:00 Adam’s daily self-care list. 05:45 Advice when work doesn’t feel joyful or fulfilling. 12:00 How do depression and anxiety show up in your leadership? 19:00 What therapy really looks like when healing deep loss and trauma. 23:00 Techniques for meetings and high-stress moments. 31:00 The training every company should adopt so employees can respond to panic attacks. Resources + Links Get a copy of my book - The Anxious Achiever Watch the podcast on YouTube Find more resources on our website morraam.com Follow Follow me: on LinkedIn @morraaronsmele + Instagram @morraam Follow Adam: on LinkedIn @adam-nemer

Transcript

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0:00.0	When we're struggling with our mental health, a lot of us still function. We show up at work,
0:14.2	we produce. And yet, it's kind of like we're play acting. We're a little bit of a shell.
0:23.6	My guest today, Adam Neamer, is going to share his own journey as someone who rose to the very top of a huge company
0:32.5	while hiding anxiety and depression for decades.
0:40.0	Finally, a shift.
0:42.9	Getting diagnosed with anxiety and depression,
0:46.4	acknowledging the history of his trauma,
0:49.3	stepping away from work,
0:51.6	starting antidepressants and cognitive behavioral therapy, which he calls the best
0:56.5	executive coaching he's ever gotten. And along the way, learning from great leaders who were
1:03.9	present and who were psychologically safe. I'm Maura Aaron's Mealy, and this is the anxious
1:10.4	achiever, the show that looks at the intersection of mental health and work and leadership, and asks, how can we do it all better?
1:19.7	When Adam came back from his leave, he didn't just return to the same job.
1:25.3	He returned with a new outlook on leadership. And today we get deep
1:29.7	into the intersection of leadership, emotion, and dealing with mental illness. Adam turned his new
1:40.0	awareness into a vocation, pioneering a mental health first aid program at Kaiser Permanente
1:46.7	where he worked, which has now become his life's work. Now, Adam tries to be a leader who
1:54.6	listens first, who can regulate his emotions in the moment, and who doesn't explode or play act? And above all, he is on a mission
2:04.5	to normalize mental health at work. This story is about more than recovery. It's about
2:10.5	redefining what strong leadership looks like when you stop hiding. My conversation with Adam Neamer.
2:23.8	It's funny.
2:24.7	I actually have been at conferences recently with some really charismatic CFOs.
	...

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