Ep. 501: Small Changes That Can Transform Your Happiness

About this episode

JJ Flizanes and Dr. Nafisa Sekandari discuss the root causes of anxiety and burnout, particularly among high-achieving women, and explore pathways to lasting happiness.

In this powerful conversation, JJ Flizanes sits down with clinical psychologist Dr. Nafisa Sekandari to explore the deeper truth behind anxiety, burnout, and what it really takes to create lasting happiness. This episode goes beyond surface-level solutions and dives into the root causes of emotional and physical imbalance , especially for high-achieving women navigating stress, hormonal shifts, and overwhelm. From Trauma to Awareness Dr. Nafisa shares her personal journey of immigrating to the United States from Afghanistan as a child, navigating trauma, and developing debilitating shyness and anxiety. Through intentional self-work—facing fears, studying psychology, and exploring holistic healing—she transformed her challenges into a framework that now helps others do the same. The Hidden Anxiety Behind High Achievement Many high-performing women don’t realize they are being driven by anxiety. Instead of presenting as dysfunction, anxiety often shows up as: Overachievement Perfectionism Burnout and chronic stress Emotional reactivity or overwhelm Dr. Nafisa emphasizes that true healing requires addressing the root cause , not just managing symptoms. The Happiness Project…

People in this episode

Hosts: JJ Flizanes, JJ

Guest: Dr Nafisa Sekandari

Topics covered

• anxiety
• burnout
• happiness
• emotional imbalance
• high-achieving women

Keywords

• trauma
• self-work
• holistic healing
• perfectionism
• emotional reactivity

Mentioned in this episode

Places: the United States, Afghanistan

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