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My journey with anxiety -Lily Malekyazdi
Let’s start with what people rarely admit.
I’ve lived with persistent anxiety for most of my life. Not just nerves before an exam, but the kind that keeps you awake for days, makes your heart race when a manager’s tone shifts, and convinces you that you’re failing even when things are going great.
At first, I didn’t recognise it as anxiety. I just thought I was falling short. I didn’t get into my top university choices. I didn’t meet the expectations my parents, two hardworking immigrants, had set by investing everything into my education. I felt like I was wasting the very opportunities they had sacrificed so much to give me.
That sense of pressure was relentless. And because no one around me talked about anxiety at the time, I assumed the problem was me. I wasn’t lazy. I wasn’t unmotivated. I was overwhelmed. That unspoken anxiety followed me into my LPC and right through to partnership.
The Impact on Life and Wellbeing
Mental health challenges do not disappear with a six figure salary or a senior job title. I worked at top firms. I had global clients and high-stakes projects. From the outside, I was exactly where I had dreamed of being. But inside, I was still anxious. Still overcompensating. Still trying to prove I belonged in rooms I was more than qualified to be in.
To be completely transparent, my journey to partnership was not easy. I lost my training contract when the firm was shut down by the SRA. I have been fired. Rejected. Passed over. I have been called too much, too outspoken, too confident.
As a result, my anxiety would creep in silently. I would over-apologise in meetings and emails, stay quiet even when I knew I was right, overthink, and say yes to everything just to be noticed. I tried to fit into a system that, deep down, never really embraced me.
The corporate world had a way of chewing me up and spitting me back out, especially as a naturally confident woman. But what saved me, again and again, was that I did not let it break me. I didn’t always bounce back right away, but I kept going.
So, what kept me going?
I started to see my strengths beyond a salary amount and job title. I am confident. I am good with people. I can read a room. I build trust. I hold space. I communicate clearly, especially under pressure. These are not things you get graded on in school, but they became the foundation of my career.
How I Manage Now
Managing anxiety does not mean eliminating it. It means learning to live alongside it. I stopped waiting to feel accepted or ready. I focused on being consistent rather than perfect. I made peace with the fact that I will probably always care a little about what people think, but that fear does not get to drive anymore.
Eventually, I took the parts of me I loved and built something of my own. I founded LMY Global, a white-glove legal immigration consultancy. I wanted to work directly with people. I wanted to give them all of me, my attention, my personality, my care. I wanted to connect, not just advise.
After a decade in corporate, learning from wise mentors, working alongside incredible businesses and hard lessons alike, I knew I wanted more. I wanted to wake up every day doing what I love, being me, fully and without apology.
Some days are still hard. But now I have tools, boundaries, and support. Most importantly, I have clarity. I know who I am. And I know what I want.
Six pieces of advice..
1. Not being happy in corporate life does not mean you are broken. Do not let the world convince you that there is only one way to find success.
2. Rejection will happen. Learn from it, embrace it, and make it your ally. Every time it happens; it teaches you something. It is at the heart of growth.
3. Spend your time and energy getting to know yourself. What do you love? What makes you feel alive? Who are you outside of the job title? Every day, move closer to what aligns with your values.
4. Find your own rhythm. Not everyone’s journey needs to be fast or attention-grabbing. There are no fixed timelines, no matter what society or social media says.
5. Your career will be shaped more by how you respond to setbacks than by how well you avoid them.
6. Never let anyone tell you that you cannot do something. You are capable of far more than you think. If you want it, and you are willing to work for it, you can find a way. Where there is a will, there truly is a way.
And remember, no one does this alone. Not really.
Build your community. Find your people. The ones who support you, who understand you, who cheer for you without condition. The ones who see you clearly, who lift you, and who remind you to stay true to yourself even when it feels difficult. The ones who guide you gently back when you lose your way.
Every turning point in my career came from connection. A conversation. A recommendation. A quiet moment that opened a big door. Not because I was the smartest in the room, but because I had built real, human relationships.
If you are navigating your mental health while building your future, let this be your reminder. The path does not need to be perfect. It just needs to be yours.
I have made mistakes. I have struggled. But I kept showing up.
And that, more than anything, is why I am where I am today.
Lily Malekyazdi
Founder & Principal Immigration Lawyer
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-malekyazdi-4518275a/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/lmy-global/