{"id":12910,"date":"2018-01-17T08:00:27","date_gmt":"2018-01-17T15:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/honeybook.site.strattic.io\/?p=12910"},"modified":"2018-01-17T08:00:27","modified_gmt":"2018-01-17T15:00:27","slug":"entrepreneurship-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbb.dev.reliablepenguin.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship-mental-health","title":{"rendered":"Entrepreneurship & Mental Health: Breaking the Silence"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a bit of a new post for me. It\u2019s also one of the most important.\u00a0Quite recently, Instagram released a new campaign called #HereForYou. The goal of this campaign is to bring together stories from Instagram users around the world who struggle with mental health. I love this campaign because it gives those of us who are affected by mental illness a space to share real, honest, stigma challenging stories amongst the barrage of those beautiful-sunset-live-authentic-unicorn-perfect-life posts.<\/p>\n

Mental health is a very personal topic to me. While I\u2019m not going to share my story here, I do want to talk about how our mental affects our lives as entrepreneurs \u2013 and how the entrepreneurial life affects our mental health.<\/p>\n

As an entrepreneur, I help businesses tell better stories through simple and beautiful content. This means I spend a significant amount of time on social media developing content, managing comments and researching best practices.<\/p>\n

However, this isn\u2019t always the most positive thing.<\/p>\n

I often find myself comparing my work to other social media managers, picking apart my own writing and expertise and ultimately believing the lie that I am not good enough. Throw in some interesting characters and life\u2019s curveballs and things can get messy \u2013 quickly.<\/p>\n

The nature of entrepreneurship is a turbulent experience. We\u2019ve all been there: we are sitting on the mountain top one day and trudging through the valley the next day.<\/p>\n

\"mental<\/p>\n

Silence around entrepreneurship and mental health<\/b><\/p>\n

We are so good at talking about the mountain tops \u2013 the business developments, partnerships, successful markets. But we aren\u2019t so good at talking about the valleys \u2013 the financial stress, loneliness, long hours. And often, we struggle to find the balance between all of this.<\/p>\n

Think about your last conversation. It probably started something like this:<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m good! Busy, but good. How are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery busy, too. But good.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s always a flurry of activity in our daily life as entrepreneurs. There is a never-end list of to-dos, tasks, and it\u2019s very easy to get caught up in all of it. And when we do, we risk missing out on the beauty of life and we catapult towards burnout. I don\u2019t know about you, but I find that when other people tell me I\u2019m #killingit, I usually respond with an internal \u201cyeah, #killingit is probably going to #killme.\u201d<\/p>\n

What we don’t talk about is entrepreneurship and mental health.<\/p>\n

Executive coach and author, Ali Worthington shares her struggles to find balance among her business, family, faith and herself in her book,\u00a0Breaking Busy<\/a>. In a society that tells us to be more, do more, know more, we can feel like we are \u2013 and will never be \u2013 enough. If you are living in this space where you feel like you are running around trying to keep up with all the demands of life, I highly suggest you read this book.<\/p>\n

We undercut the concept of \u201cbusyness\u201d. There\u2019s still a narrative out there that promotes the \u201chustle attitude\u201d, where you work, work, work, work until you get what you want.<\/p>\n

But what we don\u2019t talk about in the hustle is how this attitude negatively affects our health \u2013 physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0<\/b>Why Self-Care is Good for Business<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Since 2009, workplace stress has more than doubled. (Source, 2014<\/a>.) When you are starting up and running your business, the stressors increase. Not only do you have to think about doing excellent work, you have bills to pay, people to hire and IT issues to solve.<\/p>\n

In this collaborative study by University of California and Stanford University, researchers found that mental health issues affect\u00a072% of entrepreneurs<\/a>\u00a0compared to the study\u2019s control. What\u2019s more is that they found it is 30% more likely that entrepreneurs will suffer from lifetime depression.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0<\/b>Are Entrepreneurs Touched by Fire?<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

These stats are staggering and scary.<\/p>\n

So why don\u2019t we talk about it more?<\/p>\n

Some of us are scared. Some of us believe that we will be rejected if we say that we are not okay.<\/p>\n

The social stigma attached to mental health and the discrimination that comes with it can cause those who deal with it to stay silent.<\/p>\n

I know this because I\u2019ve been here \u2013 recently, in fact.<\/p>\n

I never talked about it because I didn\u2019t want to burden anyone. I didn\u2019t want to bring anyone down. I didn\u2019t want to be a stressor in someone else\u2019s life. And that attitude of self-sacrifice to serve others was preventing me from truly serving the people around me and I ended up feeling isolated.<\/p>\n

The truth is that we NEED to talk about it. We need to talk about it often and in-depth. Because we aren\u2019t just dealing with a little sadness and stress here and there. We are dealing with entire lives.<\/p>\n

And it doesn\u2019t matter how mental illness appears. It could manifest in anxiety disorder, severe panic attacks, chronic depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n

However, it manifests in your life, it\u2019s important to know that you are not alone. You are human. You are allowed to express how you feel and be honest about your mental health.<\/p>\n

Why we need to\u00a0break this silence<\/b><\/p>\n

Learning to live with mental illness is a struggle. But it isn\u2019t shameful.<\/p>\n

It starts with honesty. I didn\u2019t realize I was experiencing mental health issues in various forms until I mustered enough encourage to talk to my best friend about it. It gets easier the more you talk about it. The more you talk about it, and the more honest you become, the more we can all make the world a better place for those of us who struggle with mental health on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

And as entrepreneurs, it\u2019s particularly vital that we are honest about our mental health. Not only is our mind and body at stake, but our business is at risk, too. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people (aka other entrepreneurs) can help you cope with mental health issues.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s support each other<\/b><\/p>\n

Here are a few strategies you can use to get connected and supported in your mental health journey:<\/p>\n