3 MENTAL HEALTH TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
May is Mental Health Awareness Month so I am dedicating a lot of my content towards shining a light on mental illness in hopes to encourage healthy conversations around mental health and to end the stigma.
At the end of last year I was breaking down daily, crying for no reason, and just not happy for no particular reason….
and after this had gone on for months - I knew something was off.
I decided to go to my doctor to try to get a better understanding of what was happening and why I was feeling this way. Was it my hormones, am I going crazy, like what is it??? Since then I have been seeing a therapist and psychiatrist who have been prescribed medication for depression and anxiety….and am finally feeling better.
Through my own journey and struggling silently (for the most part) has made me want to speak up in regards to mental illness and be a proud advocate in hopes of helping someone else who may be struggling - even if it is just one person 🖤.
At first I was ashamed that I had to be on medication to make me “happy” I am happily married, have a wonderful daughter, thriving business..from the outside there is no reason I should of felt the way I was feeling but I still was. Now I am thankful that I have medication that allows me to get back to living my life and running my business.
Being a business owner on top of having a mental illness presents even greater challenges.
Entrepreneurs are 50 percent more likely to report having a mental health condition
72% of entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly affected by mental health issues compared to just 48% of non entrepreneurs. That’s according to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health
This study by Michael Freeman also noted that entrepreneurs were significantly more likely to report a lifetime history of depression, ADHD, substance use and bipolar diagnosis.
We wanted to share our top 3 mental health tips for entrepreneurs who may be struggling with a mental illness.
We are not doctors in any way but these are a few things that have helped us keep our depression and anxiety a little more under control while running a successful design business.
Boundaries
Being able to set work boundaries is something that we are still working on but there are small changes that you can make that can improve your mental health. One of the best things that we could have done was turn off our email notifications. Anytime I would get an email my anxiety would sky rocket until I opened it, but, I didnt want to open it when it was out of working hours. So it was a constant battle in my head until I finally looked at it. Having my notifications off allows me to be fully present with my family and friends and not have the increased anxiety about what could potentially be in the email.
Create longer timelines
If you are a creative or you tangibly deliver something to your clients you could think about creating longer timelines. I do this so that I can buffer the days when I just dont have the mental capacity to be creative. I want to deliver something that represents my work and my clients - if that means having a longer timeline so that I can ensure to do that then thats okay with me (and my clients).
Patience
Learning to have patience with yourself is hard, I really struggle with this and am working on getting better at it daily. The days that I am struggling and am not creative I tend to have a habit of horrible negative self talk that then spirals out of control into a full blown state of depression and/or anxiety. Learning to have patience with yourself and understanding that you are doing the best that you can right now is important. I know you’re probably rolling your eyes right now but it is so true.
Running a business is challenging - running a business with a mental illness is extremely challenging but it is doable (for me) with the help of medication, support from my family and clients.
If you are looking for more information on mental health you can check out our mental health highlight on Instagram here.