There’s an unspoken high prevalence of mental issues in entrepreneurs. It’s time to talk about it. 32% of people in the US have been diagnosed with one or more mental disorders compared to the 49% that exists amongst entrepreneurs.
If we look at the data further, 3 in 4 people who are entrepreneurs have either been diagnosed with one or more mental disorders or have a family member(s) that has been diagnosed with a mental disorder. This 3 in 4 number is higher than the 2 in 4 that exist among the general population.
Within the general population, 50% have either been diagnosed with one or more mental disorders or have a related family member that has been diagnosed with a mental disorder.
Mental disorders are a lot more prevalent than most people think. It impacts many of our lives. In fact, 50% of us who aren’t entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly impacted by it.
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Some stats about entrepreneurs and mental health
- 49% of entrepreneurs have at least 1 mental disorder
- 33% of entrepreneurs suffer from 2 or more mental disorders
- 72% of entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly impacted by mental disorder(s) (either they have a mental disorder or they have a family member with a mental disorder)
- Entrepreneurs have a 2x higher chance of depression
- Entrepreneurs have a 6x higher chance of being diagnosed with ADHD
- Entrepreneurs have a 10x higher chance of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder
Some of the most common mental disorders in entrepreneurs
- ADD
- ADHD
- Bipolar disorder
- Addiction
- Depression
- Anxiety
Why are entrepreneurs more likely to suffer mental health disorders?
Entrepreneurs are more likely to suffer from mental illnesses due to some reasons:
Stress
Many entrepreneurs report feelings of heightened stress. When we’re exposed to stress for a long period of time, it could easily lead to mental issues down the road.
Isolation
It’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to isolate themselves as they are deep in their work. Some people work better in groups and some people work better by themselves. Many entrepreneurs like to work at things by themselves, essentially completely isolating themselves from the rest of the world as they devote all their time and energy to their craft.
Not resting enough
It’s easy to forget to eat, sleep, pee, or take care of yourself in other ways when you’re deep in your project. Hours would go by before you realized that you haven’t taken any bite of anything the whole day. You may have also heard of Elon Musk talking about how he didn’t sleep much at all and would sleep at his workplace. Humans can’t continually function on four hours of sleep each night. Something will break either physically or mentally.
Trying to get more done in less time
It’s the feeling that you’re against time and you must do a lot of things within a short window of time. Sometimes it’s a necessity but other times it’s just a challenge to undertake.
Personality
Many entrepreneurs have feisty personalities. They are determined, hard-working, conscientious, and maybe even perfectionistic. These personality traits are associated with success more but are also more likely to cause some mental issues along the way.
Genetic
Entrepreneurs are 7% more likely to have a family member with mental issues than the general population. They are also 17% more likely than the general population to be diagnosed with mental disorders themselves. There is a genetic component that makes one more likely to be an entrepreneur but at the same time exposed them to all kinds of mental health risks.
How to prevent mental health issues
In order to prevent mental health disorders, there are a few things you can do:
Dedicate time to rest
You can dedicate time to rest each day so that you won’t feel guilty when you do. Many entrepreneurs have this idea that when you’re resting, someone else is getting ahead of you, and therefore, resting is a bad thing. When in fact, resting is a part of being productive. Without any rest, your productivity and the quality of your work will decrease, you must take a break sometimes. Dedicate a time each day to do what you want without feeling guilty. It could be every day from 7 pm to 8 pm, you’ll play video games because you like it for instance.
Go get some sunshine
A lack of vitamin D has been linked to mental health issues so go get some sunlight.
Spend time with family and friends
Isolation can be dangerous. It can make you lose track of reality and make you develop mental issues such as depression. Go hang out with your family and friends once in a while. Humans are social creatures. We aren’t designed to be completely alone for a long period of time.
Eat a healthy balanced diet
Another thing you can do is to eat a healthy nutritious balanced diet. This will make sure you cultivate good bacteria in your gut which is highly correlated with how your brain functions. You are what you eat after all.
Journal
I’m a big fan of journaling. I write down my thought and feelings without any restriction. No one will read it and I can throw it away anytime I wish. Sometimes all we need is to explain how we feel. If you don’t have anyone to talk to at that specific moment, writing it down is the next best thing.
Don’t do anything for a while
This sounds like resting but for a lot of us, resting means watching a show we like or playing video games. In those cases, we may still be doing something so we aren’t really giving our brains a break. When you don’t do anything for a while, you let your brain relax and rewire. You give your brain a chance to unwire and unlearn some automatic tendency in thinking that may be negative and not conducive to your overall wellbeing. Just take some time to sit there in silence. It could be 5 minutes, it could be 10 minutes and if you end up falling asleep, so be it. Just remember to set an alarm.
Look around the room focusing on a specific color
I learned this strategy from a teacher from school when I was feeling particularly stressed about exams. Look around the room you’re in or if you’re out in public, look around your surroundings. Now, pick out a color you like. Now mentally pick out those colors in your surroundings. This will help calm you down. All of a sudden, your mind is focused on something else.
Do things slower
I know this will cause a lot of you to feel repulsed. “How do I have time to do things slowly?”. You’re now mentally running down your to-do-list for what you should do next rather than reading this article. It’s a typical thing for entrepreneurs to do things as fast as they can to save time.
Many entrepreneurs suffer from bipolar disorder which is characterized by a period of a manic episode and a period of a depressive episode. When they’re in manic mode, they can get a lot of things done very quickly, they feel energetic, they feel positive, etc. However, then, the depressive episode arrives and they may feel unproductive and slow. Not everyone experiences bipolar the same way but many would experience the manic phase where they feel unable to take things slow.
Some of history’s greatest minds may have been suffering from manic episodes when they produced the greatest works of art, literature, and scientific discovery at the time.
You may need to acknowledge the potential for bipolar disorder if you’re an entrepreneur. You should also try and take things slow deliberately to ensure you don’t run into mental issues as a result of an overworked brain.
The stigma surrounding mental health issues
Unfortunately, there is still a lot of stigmas attached to mental illness. There are many countries around the world that do not recognize mental disorders making those who need help unable to seek help.
Even in countries such as the United States and Canada where people openly admit to going to therapy and being diagnosed with certain mental disorders, there is still quite a bit of stigma that remains attached to having a mental disorder.
Thankfully we do see a lot of improvement in this area. More and more people are recognizing that mental issue is something most of us will experience at least once in our lifetime. It’s a very normal occurrence.
Embracing the normality of mental issues will encourage those who need assistance to seek out help.
The underdiagnosis problem
All the data in this article are of fully-diagnosed individuals. There are those who are mentally ill but haven’t been diagnosed yet or refused to get diagnosed. The true figure of how many of us are mentally ill is more than the data suggests. And the true number of entrepreneurs suffering from at least one mental disorder is also more than what the data suggests.
My own fears
I’m an entrepreneur myself I do sometimes wonder if I have an undiagnosed mental disorder. I haven’t been diagnosed with any mental illness nor am I seeing any therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist for such a potential.
At times I work late into the night. I’d be awake for the whole day since 10 AM and I’d work the whole day only to pull an all-nighter until 4 or 6 AM. I’d then take a break to sleep until 10 or 11 AM the next day. I also have maybe 3 hours of break in total throughout the whole day where I shower, eat meals, and take bathroom breaks.
I obviously can’t do this day after day but I’ve done this enough to notice a change in my brain functionality every time I do it.
I’d be more emotional than usual. I’d have brain fogs where things seem confusing to me (rereading the same sentences because I forgot what I read or deleting a sentence because I suddenly lose my ability to write). I’d have sudden memory loss. I’d be typing a sentence and as soon as I heard a busy noise outside (I live in a busy city), I’d forget what was on my mind and I’d stop dead in the track.
It really is scary to think of the ramification as an entrepreneur. I have tight deadlines I set for myself and in my mind, I must accomplish it. So far I’m on track and I’d like to stay on track.
If I can accomplish what I set out to achieve by the end of 2022, I’d take a vacation and get away from the busy city life. For now, I’ll monitor my mental health once in a while, have an introspective mental check-in every day, ask myself how I’m feeling, write my thoughts down, all the while making sure I stick to my daily schedule.
Final thought
Being an entrepreneur is a wonderful thing. Entrepreneurs build the world we see around us. Think about the laptop or phone you’re reading this from, the food you just got from your grocery trip, the services like Uber and Skipthedishes, the chair you’re sitting on now, etc. Everything has an origin and it requires entrepreneurs to make it happen.
All the people in the world that has a job, many of them owe their jobs to entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs take an idea and make it happen, they create a livelihood for people who depend on their jobs to feed their children and clothe themselves. Without entrepreneurs, we’d still be living in prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies.
Entrepreneurs are heroes! If you’re one, please be proud of it. I know it can be hard to stop and rest without feeling guilty but taking proper rest is a must.
Remember it takes a few seconds to ruin a brand you took years to build up. Not taking proper rest when you should mean you could easily lash out at somebody who rubs you the wrong way. Maybe someone said something a bit hurtful in the comment, if you lash out, your brand could be damaged. You may lose affiliate marketing opportunities or an entire following of active readers.
When you think you need it, go take a break. You deserve it. It’s okay if it takes you a bit longer to achieve your goals. As long as you get there in one piece. 🙂
Click here to read 15 signs you may be burnout
Click here to read secret guide for how to stop being a perfectionist
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