5 Ways to Protect Your Mental Health

Thelife of an entrepreneuris taxing in every way imaginable. Challenges are not lacking, between raising capital, inconsistent income, establishing a brand andweb presence、建立一个可靠的团队和o的挑战f growth and quality. Beyond your visionary mindset and ability to persevere is another key to your success that you may not be prioritizing: your mental health.

Mental health is easily one of the most underrated and overlooked keys toentrepreneurial success. A study out of UC Berkeley says a whopping72% of entrepreneurshave some kind of mental-health issue. Of the entrepreneurs they studied, 30% had a history of depression, 19% had ADHD, 12% had substance abuse issues, and 11% reported having bipolar disorder. Mental health is finally getting the attention it deserves, and the good news is that you are not alone.

Related:Why Selena Gomez Is Cofounding a Mental Health Media Company

A good deal of what makes a great entrepreneur is also what makes us vulnerable to mental illness, and ignoring your needs for the sake of your business is a choice you cannot afford to make. Let's look at some ways to take care of our mental health and our businesses.

1. Support

Having support is an important factor to yourmental and emotional health. Support also has a secondary affect on your physical health as well. Lack of social support islinked to depression, and loneliness has been shown to alter the function of our brains leading to issues like cardiovascular disease, depression, increased alcohol use and increased suicide rates. Social support can be a challenge during a global pandemic, but there are some very creative ways of staying connected. Social media has played a huge role in keeping people connected, and because it isn't limited by time or space, you can access support from people all over the world. Finding groups of entrepreneurs and small-business owners that share your struggles online can be a great way to get support.

One of the most important ways to find support is to talk about your mental health with those around you. This can be scary, but we have to see how imperative it is to share andbe vulnerableand allow people to walk with us in our times of need. You may not even know how your friends and family can help you right away, but just sharing and not carrying the burden alone can be incredibly helpful. Asking for help should be seen as a sign of strength and not of weakness.

2. Professional support

We now live in a day and age where professional help is as close as our back pockets.Telehealthvisits, mental-health apps, EBT/DBT and mindfulness apps are a great way to fit professional help into your daily grind. Professional help doesn't need to be just a psychologist or therapist; it can also be personal-developmentcoaches, therapists and healers. These professionals can see outside of our periphery and help us deal with the past and be able to move forward for the betterment of ourselves and our businesses. The truth is everyone needs professional help at some point, so do not be afraid to accept help.

Related:9 Qualities You Need to Look for in a Business Coach

3. Daily practice

Entrepreneurs everywhere can find the time to develop a daily practice for the benefit of themselves and their business. Daily practices can include meditation, gratitude, breathwork,yogaor even going for a walk. Daily practice is simply something you decide to do for your self, and it is non-negotiable. You don't need to carve out two hours a day or make it complicated, but do make it something you enjoy and that gives your mind and body some peace. As business pulls you in so many directions, knowing you have this sacred bit of time every day is priceless.

4. Outsourcing

Outsourcing in this context is not about sending manufacturing to another country; rather, it's about looking at your life and finding the things that are taking up mental space and depleting energy and finding someone else to handle it. As entrepreneurs, we wear so many different hats, and it can be a real challenge for us to relinquish some of that responsibility (and control) to someone else. Outsourcing could look like hiring someone to do your laundry or clean your house or getting a meal service. It could be finally hiring outside help forsocial-media management.

5. Radical self-acceptance

这种药可能需要一些糖来帮助它下降. Regardless of whether someone is an entrepreneur, CEO, librarian or retiree, we all need a healthy dose of radical self-acceptance. Seeing your struggles for what they are, and accepting them as part of you, makes it possible for us to move forward without shame and judgement of ourselves. This has a ripple effect beyond our mental life and allows us to then be open-minded and accepting of others and their struggles. If we are secretly hating and judging ourselves for having mental-health struggles, then we are more than likely doing the same to others. Most of us became entrepreneurs because we knew we could make a difference and bring about change, but we cannot do this effectively if we are also judging ourselves and others.

Related:The Self-Esteem Movement: Why Marketers Want You to Love Yourself

Lastly, if you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please reach out for help now.

• Contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat 1-800-273-8255 for support and assistance from a trained counselor.

• The National Alliance on Mental Illnessalso has a free hotline as well as support groups and education and can be reached at 1-800-950-NAMI.

• Crisis Text Lineis a global not-for-profit organization providing free mental-health texting service through confidential crisis intervention via SMS message. The organization's services are available 24 hours a day, every day, throughout the United States, Canada, UK and Ireland. Text HOME to 741741.

You are valuable and needed beyond how successful you are or how much profit you make. Your metal health is an integral part of your success,happinessand well-being, and you deserve to give it the attention it needs. Entrepreneurs today have amazing opportunities for innovation and solving the world's problems, but we also face many challenges as well. In order to go forward into a strong and prosperous future, we have to prioritize our mental health.