I'm Mora Aronsmeli, and this is the Anxious Achiever.

Each episode, we look at stories from business leaders who have dealt with anxiety, depression,

or other mental health challenges, how they fell down, how they pick themselves up, and how

they hope workplaces can change in the future.

We were all just like, again, like very high functioning.

So while he was talking to me, I was typing.

I was looking at him, but I was typing, which is something I did all the time.

And he looked at me and he's like, what's wrong with you? And I'm like, what do you mean?

He's like, well, you're typing things that aren't words. And I was like, what do you mean?

And I looked at the screen and I had typed like two paragraphs of gibberish. Last week, we spoke with Jerry Colonna, an executive coach who talked about radical self-inquiry

and how facing the demons of your past help you become the best leader you can

and tackle any big career transitions that come your way.

Today, we'll hear from Alyssa Mastromanico, who faced one of those

big career transitions. Alyssa grew up in politics, the White House, really. I met her back in

2003 when we were both working on John Kerry's presidential campaign out of a strange row house in Washington, D.C.

But since then, she went on to become the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations

in the administration of President Obama, the youngest person to hold that position ever.

And you might also know her from her best-selling books or her crooked media podcast hysteria.

Post-Obomaland, Alyssa became chief operating officer of vice media and then president of

global communication strategy and talent at A&E networks. Now, anyone who's a fan of politics or has

watched the West Wing knows the power of working in the White House.

But you could also imagine how profoundly it means giving up sleep, time, and even possibly your mental stability.

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