The cognitive distortions of a high achiever
All In The Mind
ABC
4.4 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 17 January 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Over years of practice, clinical psychologist Dr Mary Anderson started to notice a peculiar pattern across her many clients.
Despite being impressive high achievers on the outside, inside they were struggling with burnout, imposter syndrome, anxiety and self-criticism.
So she set out to develop a guide for these high achievers. A framework to support their success ... without sacrificing their mental health.
You can catch up on more episodes of the All in the Mind podcast with journalist and presenter Sana Qadar, exploring the psychology of topics like stress, memory, communication and relationships on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.
This episode first aired in May 2025.
Guests:
Dr Mary AndersonClinical Psychologist; Author, The Happy High Achiever
Credits:
- Presenter/Producer: Sana Qadar
- Producer: Rose Kerr
- Senior Producer: James Bullen
- Sound Engineer: Tegan Nicholls
You can find the transcript for this episode on its original webpage here.
Extra Information:
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | ABC Listen, Podcasts, Radio, News, Music and more. |
| 0:07.8 | He was the man who stole the plans for the atomic bomb. |
| 0:13.7 | A brilliant physicist, a devoted communist. |
| 0:17.3 | A spy, hiding inside the most secret project on Earth. |
| 0:22.3 | This is the story of Klaus Fuchs, |
| 0:24.8 | a man who believed he could serve two masters, science and the Soviets. |
| 0:30.2 | To hear it, search for The Bomb on the ABC Listen app. |
| 0:37.1 | Hey, it's Sana here. Host of All In The Mind on ABC Radio National, and I wanted to let |
| 0:43.1 | you know that over summer, we are replaying some of our favorite episodes from 2025. |
| 0:48.4 | And this week, we are tapping into something that many of you are probably thinking about |
| 0:52.4 | right now, which is goal setting. |
| 0:55.1 | Because when you are passionate about your goals, it's really easy to fall into the trap |
| 0:59.1 | of comparing yourself to others, asking questions like, why aren't I further ahead in my career? |
| 1:05.2 | Why is everyone else more successful than me? |
| 1:07.8 | These thoughts aren't exactly helpful, even though they're very common, and they're not |
| 1:12.3 | going to build your self-confidence either, right? So in this episode with psychologist Dr. Mary Anderson, |
| 1:18.5 | we go through a bunch of self-care techniques that are designed for high achievers, people who |
| 1:23.8 | want to excel, who are excelling, but aren't looking after their mental health in the process. |
| 1:29.7 | So here's the episode now. Good luck with the goal setting. |
| 1:34.4 | You are self-critical, often thinking about what you should have done or should do in the future. |
| 1:40.7 | You worry about your performance and others' perceptions of your performance. |
| 1:45.7 | You like to feel special instead of like most people. |
... |
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