Jen Gotch is OK...Sometimes

In this episode, I am going to talk about my good buddy, anxiety. This is a mental health issue that I have struggled with for a large portion of my life and one that has been on my mind a lot lately. Over the last eight months or so, I have been actively trying to understand and reduce it—and I actually think a lot of my efforts are paying off. So, here’s what i’m going to do: I'll tell you a bit about what anxiety feels like for me (and probably for a lot of people), and then I’m going to talk you through identifying your own anxiety. Plus, I'll share some tips on how to manage it. If you’re suffering from anxiety (and 40 million of us are), this one's for you!

Two years ago, I was at one of the lowest points in my life. I was getting a divorce, self medicating with food and alcohol instead of proper medication, digging ~deep~ into my anxiety, and fueling toxic relationships and toxic work behaviors. I generally felt like...a mess. Thanks to a ton of work (over months and years), focus, patience and a true desire to heal, I am in a much better, healthier place today. Having come out on the other side of that experience, I wanted to share what I did and how I did it. If you’re in a low place and need some guidance on how to find your way back to yourself, definitely give this episode a listen!

PSA: You can suffer from mental illness and still maintain good mental health. (I mean, look at me!) That’s not to say that every day is going to be amazing; after all, we need bad days to recognize the good ones. But it does mean that your illness and even the circumstances that might be getting you down don’t have to limit on how good you can feel. You are in control here. And there are a ton of things you can do right now—like right now, starting today—to help you begin to feel better. Let's do this.

So this is an episode about perfection . . . and imperfection.

The pressure and anxiety we all feel to be perfect and the idea in our head that perfection is actually a real thing, that can be achieved. It’s not.

I’ll be honest, I’m gonna cry a little during the episode. But that’s me. That’s all of us. And if you struggle with feelings of imperfection and not being enough this episode will have value for you.

Hi. Welcome to an episode about having emotions in the workplace—also known as crying at work. As a C-level work crier, I wanted to share some of my most emotional experiences with you. I also want to discuss how we can regulate and manage our feelings as both employees and bosses, without making work a cold-hearted place where emotions are non-existent. I'm not crying, you're crying. JK, we're all crying.