[Boss] "Hey, Roberta. Got a minute to talk about your report?
I've been thinking that ..."
[Roberta thinks] "I bet he thinks it's terrible ...
Why didn't I send it to Jo for feedback?
She always tears everything apart ...
Oh boy, is he looking at my hair?
I'm such a mess."
[Boss] "I'm really happy with how it looks.
You bring so much knowledge and experience to the team. So, thank you."
[Roberta thinks] "I think I may really need to talk to someone.
I can't hear the good things at all anymore."
[Voice of Roberta] "That was me before I got some help ...
overwhelmed by constant worries that I couldn't stop."
"I told my best friend about the talk I had with my boss.
I was sweaty and nervous.
When I finished, she asked me ... in a very kind way ..."
[Roberta's friend] "Roberta, what would your life be like if you didn't worry so much?"
[Voice of Roberta] "After thinking about it, I decided to call my doctor and find out what I could do about my constant anxiety."
"Now that I'm getting some help ... when my boss comes by to check in ...
I don't immediately assume it's because I'm doing something wrong.
And I can actually hear most of what he says."
[Boss] "Think about what kinds of training you'd like to do next year.
There are some good ones ..."
[Roberta thinks] "Oh great, I need more training ...
I'm clearly not qualified ...
Whoa ... wait ... He's always telling me how valuable I am.
He's probably just trying to be a good manager."
[Roberta] "That's great. You know I'm always interested in learning new things.
I'll watch for something."
[Boss] "Excellent."
[Voice of Roberta] "It was really hard for me to accept that I needed help.
But because of treatment ... for the first time I got it ...
I'm not a bad person or a failure ..."
"I just needed some help to be the person I really want to be."
