When I first started this podcast, there was one person I knew I wanted to interview ASAP: the incomparable Nina from Passion Squared. Nina was one of the first people I thought of because she was such an inspiration to me for learning to thrive with my anxiety .

I met Nina in person at a class she taught shortly after I moved to Calgary. Her story moved me and resonated so much that I had a minor emotional meltdown in the middle of the class. That was a big deal, because trust me, I do not usually cry in front of people. It was that powerful.

Nina’s been in beauty industry for nearly 30 years, leaving her executive career to coach creative entrepreneurs in the beauty space (more about that transition in the episode!). She’s also a recovering workaholic and perfectionist, dog mom, and total badass.

Here are a few topics we discussed:

• Nina’s harrowing journey with treatment for mental illness, medication, and suicidal thinking (an unfortunate side effect of the medication).

• Major, common causes of anxiety like comparison, feeling out of alignment with purpose, and being way too plugged in to what other people are doing. (I’m looking at you, Instagram!) Plus, Nina shares some great tips and resources for reducing the time we spend online.

• Her decision to talk about mental illness in her business and what that brings to her work.

• Nina’s favorite anxiety-busting activities, like boxing!

• Meditation. Neither of us are experts (Nina and I have 15 and 10 days of experience on Headspace, respectively. Woot woot!), but we share our observations and takeaways from our experiences in this episode.

• Rational vs Irrational Fears, and how it’s so hard to tell the difference with an anxious brain.

I absolutely loved talking with Nina, and I got so much out of this conversation. I hope you find it as valuable as I did! You can find more out about Nina on her website, Instagram, and read her blog here!

You can also listen and subscribe to The Anxious Creative on iTunes and Google Play.