The Anxious Achiever Hiding In The Bathroom: Social Anxiety And You with Dr. Ellen Hendriksen & Arvind Rajan
Mar 12, 2026
Dr. Ellen Hendriksen, clinical psychologist and social anxiety expert who wrote How to Be Yourself, and Arvind Rajan, entrepreneur and former LinkedIn executive who led Cricket Health, discuss social anxiety. They explore avoidance, how social anxiety shows up at work, strengths that accompany it, practicing to build confidence, leadership challenges, and practical strategies for navigating networking and team roles.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Social Anxiety Versus Generalized Worry
- Generalized anxiety is broad worry across topics; social anxiety is specifically fear of being judged in front of others.
- Ellen uses the car-in-the-mud metaphor for generalized worry versus fear-of-reveal for social anxiety.
How Social Anxiety Shows Up At Work
- Social anxiety at work often shows as imposter syndrome, fear of being found incompetent, or wearing a professional mask to conceal perceived flaws.
- Ellen notes presentations can be easier with structure, while uncertainty fuels anxiety.
Social Anxiety Comes With Professional Strengths
- Social anxiety often comes with strengths: high conscientiousness, empathy, listening skills, and strong memory for faces.
- Ellen frames these traits as reasons socially anxious people can be superstar employees when they leverage strengths.
