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.

Today we're going to talk about boundaries.

Boundaries are like a secret magic ingredient once you understand yours. And they're so crucial, but think about it. When is the last time that you checked in to make sure yours were being at least partially respected at work?

Whether it's a boss who always bothers you after hours or mine,

people always in my physical space. Once you know your key boundaries and you apply limits

to try to maintain them at work, your life will change. Today's first guest, psychologist Dr. Rebecca Harley, is here to help us understand our

boundaries and set limits. She told me that the people who come into her practice often just

have one question. How the bleep did I get here? Harley thinks it's because they tuned out a lot of messages

that their boundaries were being violated in so many ways.

And then later, HBR's Amy Gallo will join me to practice some tricky conversations

and answer your questions around setting boundaries, considering if you should

come out to your boss about your anxiety, depression, or other struggles, how and when to tell,

and more. Why am I obsessed with boundaries? Well, this show is about anxiety, but it's also about excellence.

And if I told you that your anxiety was actually a secret to your effective and authentic

leadership, you might look at me funny. But if you can manage and negotiate with it, your anxiety will enhance your skills as a

leader, like your focus and your passion and your drive. You want to be excellent and you can be,

but you're never going to get there if you ignore your anxiety or resort to old coping mechanisms.

Or let your boundaries get trampled over like grass under a herd of wildebeest.

Rebecca and I met almost 11 years ago in our new mommy group when our sons were six weeks old,

and we were weepy and overwhelmed new moms.

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