Small Business Tips: Don’t Ignore your Mental Health
SMALL BUSINESS TIPS: DON'T IGNORE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
Something new is looming over the horizon.
You’ve just purchased your awesome and witty domain plus the required hosting package. Your social media handles are all set and ready to go, and that incredibly hard-to-write Facebook post, where you officially announce you’re leaving your regular 9 to 5 is finally live… and people are rooting for you (even your cranky ex-manager has sent in some kind words!)
You feel energized and alive, almost as if you had been born again. Which, in fact, you kind of are…
Because now you’re an entrepreneur, a creative business owner, and you’re determined to not let anything stop you on your way to success and creative/financial freedom.
Except that, at some point down the road, the most unexpected thing does stop you, and quite abruptly.
The insidious culprit?
The exhaustion you feel in your body. The overthinking you experience when making small to large decisions. The stories and thoughts about yourself and everyone else creep in. For the first time since you left your day job, you’re starting to wonder if this overwhelm is all that there is to biz life.
Unfortunately, you’re not the only one who’s currently experiencing a serious case of business overwhelm. According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 45% of entrepreneurs are experiencing some form of burnout or mental exhaustion, and it's likely these alarming rates only rose over the past two years due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
However, regardless of how common it has become for business owners to experience perilous mental health and other derived conditions, some folks still resist the idea of openly talking about this huge issue. Yet, the harsh truth remains: going into business is hard and, if you don’t set in place strategies (and boundaries) to manage the pressure, your whole system suddenly starts resenting the toll.
Related article: “4 Limiting Beliefs Holding Back BIPOC Creative Business Owners”
Why mental health is important for small business owners
First of all, and before discussing ways to improve your mental health as a creative business owner, let’s highlight an often forgotten but crucial point: owning AND running a business at the same time implies that you’ll have to juggle several roles at once, which can lead to overwhelm and massive burnout.
As Michael Gerber has pointed out in his widely read ebook, The E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to do About It, most small biz owners tend to forget that they are the backbone of their enterprises and, consequently, they don’t prepare for the toll that such responsibility will inflict on their minds and bodies.
Because of this, when mental-health-related issues arise and you end up not being okay, your business and the employees/team members that rely on you also end up affected.
But that’s not all - even if you are not experiencing mental health issues, one of your employees or team members may still do. When this happens, productivity and work satisfaction rates plummet, creating a perfect catch-22 situationship: poor mental health issues lead to a damaging work culture, which in turn leads to more mental health challenges.
Interestingly enough, these facts reveal that poor mental health is not a business issue but a personal one that ends up bleeding into your business and other areas of your life. Of course, a hectic schedule and the pressure to grow your venture can create additional stress, but as long as you implement a good coping strategy, the chances that you learn to sustain a balanced business life will increase.
This last point is particularly important for creative, BIPOC business owners like so many of our members at You Belong Here. As folx with marginalized identities, BIPOC business owners tend to endure their mental health issues in silence due to fear of not being taken seriously. We not only have a hard time communicating our experience, but we also lack the appropriate resources to create and implement sustainable self-care and mental health practices.
As creative, BIPOC small-business owners, we need to have more conversations about the particular mental health challenges we are facing. One great place to start is by exploring topics and themes that have historically held us back, such as our lack of resources for keeping proper mental health, intergenerational trauma that has marked us in more than one way, and limiting beliefs.
Related article: “How to Reduce Overwhelm as a Creative Business Owner”
Please, don’t ignore your mental health
As much as the tiny voice in your head may want to believe that, somehow, you’ll be okay regardless of your current exhaustion, we want to invite you to reconsider that approach. When it comes to keeping your creativity and business acumen a flow, good mental health is almost a prerequisite.
If you have made up your mind and you’re up for caring for yourself and your mental health, here are some coping strategies that you might be interested in trying.
Awareness is key. Being conscious of the importance of maintaining good mental health is an essential first step. Once you develop this, finding the right coping strategy becomes so much easier.
Going to therapy. Naturally, frequenting a therapist is one of the best ways to cope with the ever-changing challenges of your business life. If you’re still not comfortable with the formality of these sessions, remember that there are online options out there too. We also recognize that therapy might not be accessible for everyone - check out other resources we’ve linked at the end of this post if you’re unable to go to therapy.
Holding space for experiencing complex feelings and emotions. Allow yourself to feel and truly experience the complicated emotions that come up through a typical day is one of the best ways to process them, without feeling drained.
Joining a support group or a mastermind for like-minded business owners, like yourself. There’s a reason why the popularity of mastermind and other business support groups has only skyrocketed over the past couple of years. Being surrounded by like-minded people that “get” your struggle on a deeper level is incredibly reassuring.
Engaging in nourishing activities. Going out with friends you love seeing, attending an event that interests you or enjoying an activity that relaxes you are good examples of other forms of self-care that may nourish your needs.
Adding play & pleasure to your life. This is one of our favorite coping strategies! When you add play & pleasure to your daily business life (it can be truly anything: from painting to dancing), your nervous system starts seeing the difference almost immediately.
Related article: “Fighting Burnout as a Creative in Business”
Wrapping things up
As a creative business owner, keeping a solid mental health is crucial if you want to keep your business venture well and alive.
Why?
One simple reason: when you’re not okay, your business feels the toll. Small-business owners tend to forget that over-exhausting themselves with work can only lead to burnout and loss of joy.
One of the best ways to maintain a good mental health is developing self-care and mental health practices so you can release everyday pressure in a way that equally nourishes and fulfills you. Here are some of the self-care practices that we love are:
Going to therapy.
Holding space for experiencing complex feelings and emotions.
Joining a support group or a mastermind for like-minded business owners like yourself.
Engaging in nourishing activities.
Here at You Belong Here, we’ve been trying to add more play & pleasure to our daily lives. After a month or so engaging in monthly play sessions and personal wanderings, we can say that play is definitely the way to go! It boosts our creativity and decompresses our overtaxed nervous system. What’s not to love about that?
If you’re interested in keeping up to date with the events that happen monthly at You Belong Here, consider joining our newsletter! And if you’re a fan of yoga and would like to give back to your community, consider joining one of our donation-based community yoga events the first Sunday of each month!
MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS
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MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS ❤️️
Additional Mental Health & Self-Care Practices:
Affordable Therapy & Holistic Practices in San Diego
Urban Restoration Counseling Center -Centers BIPOC
EMDR Trauma Therapy -Female-Owned
A Place of Growth -Female-Owned and Operated
The Growth Vigilante - Holistic Practice
Therapy For Black Girls - Private Practice
Courage Over Comfort Counseling - Collaborative & Holistic
Available to all who need via San Diego County: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/hhsa/programs/bhs/mental_health_services_eligibility/
Access and Crisis Line: 1-888-724-7240
Emergency Psychiatric Unit (Adults): (619) 692-8222
Emergency Screening Unit for Children and Adolescents: (619) 876-4502
Hospital Services: (619) 692-8200
MCRT - Mobile Crisis Response Team (Request No Police): 1-(888) 724-7240 (Best for a loved one, neighbor, or houseless individual in distress)
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Via 2-1-1: https://211sandiego.org/health-wellness/mental-health-services/
The San Diego Access & Crisis Line (ACL) offers immediate support and resources from an experienced counselor on all behavioral health topics including suicide prevention, crisis intervention, community resources, mental health referrals, alcohol and drug support services, and more. Confidential and free of charge, the line is immediately answered 7 days a week, 24 hours a day by Master’s-level and Licensed Clinicians.
(888) 724-7240
Live chat also available
Individual Counseling • Family Counseling • Outpatient Mental health Facilities • Chronic Severe Mental Illness
https://my211.force.com/s/search#keyword=Individual%20Counseling
https://my211.force.com/s/search#keyword=Family%20Counseling
https://my211.force.com/s/search#keyword=Outpatient%20Mental%20Health%20Facilities
https://my211.force.com/s/search#keyword=Chronic/Severe%20Mental%20Illness
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National Hotlines:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 to speak to someone if you or a loved one is considering harming themselves or experiencing emotional distress.
National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888 if you or someone you care about has been brought to the United States against their will or is being held against their will.
National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673 if you or someone you care about has experienced sexual assault or harassment and needs support, assistance, and advice.
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 if you or someone you care about has or is experiencing domestic or relationship-based violence and needs support, advice, and connections to a safe place.
Apps
Making professional therapy accessible, affordable, and convenient — so anyone who struggles with life’s challenges can get help, anytime and anywhere. BetterHelp offers access to licensed, trained, experienced, and accredited psychologists (PhD / PsyD), marriage and family therapists (LMFT), clinical social workers (LCSW / LMSW), and board licensed professional counselors (LPC).
Therapy for Black Girls is an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls.
Best overall: Moodkit; $4.99; Available on the App Store
Best for therapy: Talkspace; Often costs vary by region, but in-person therapy costs on average $75-150 per hour
Best for meditation: Headspace; $5.83/mo with yearly commitment or $12.99/mo
Through science-backed meditation and mindfulness tools, Headspace helps you create life-changing habits to support your mental health and find a healthier, happier you.
Best for suicide awareness: Better Stop Suicide
Better Stop Suicide has been designed to help tackle the growing problem of suicide, which takes the lives of over 800,000 people every year. This is a free app using world-leading psychological techniques and technology to stop people from committing suicide
Best for stress: iBreathe
iBreathe is a simple yet powerful app to help guide you through deep breathing exercises. Whether you are struggling with stress, anxiety, insomnia, or are trying to meditate and relax, iBreathe provides an easy-to-use, beautifully designed user interface.
Best for anxiety: MindShift CBT
Manage your anxiety, relax & be mindful. Break free from anxiety and stress using this free evidence-based anxiety management app. MindShift CBT uses scientifically proven strategies based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Best for boosting your mood: Happify
Our engaging activities and games can be used anytime, anywhere—on your smartphone, tablet or computer. Small slices of time can make big-time changes.
Best for OCD: NOCD
NOCD Therapy includes video-based OCD therapy and in-between session support, right in the NOCD platform. It offers exposure and response prevention, or ERP, the most effective OCD treatment. Our licensed ERP-trained therapists help you get better, we have 24/7 support to make sure you stay better, and we're covered by many insurance plans.