How To Maintain Mental Health as An Entrepreneur...
Entrepreneurship and business ownership is not easy. It is very frustrating sometimes and can cause a lot of people to go through depression and/or anxiety.
So imagine what it does to those of us who already suffered from depression and anxiety.
This blog post will go into my basic tips for maintaining your mental health as an entrepreneur, but to get a deep dive, you'll want to get my e-book "Depression, Anxiety, and Entrepreneurship", where we will take a deep dive into my journey as an entrepreneur and how my mental health REALLY impacts it, and also how I manage to overcome it to still be a multi-passionate entrepreneur.
How To Maintain Mental Health As An Entrepreneur
Learn how to separate work from home (even if you work from home like me)
Learn how to detach yourself from work things so that when you're home, you're home. You can be focused on work during work hours, but that separation will keep your mind from being too cluttered and full which can quickly lead to depression.
Take in positive content
Whatever kind of content you enjoy, be mindful of whether it is positive or negative. If you watch a lot of things with negative vibes such as drama or anger, it will feed negative energy into your mind as well. I spend a lot of time watching drama (I love Messy Mondays with Zo), but I also spend MORE time bringing in things that inspire me such as Erin Henry's YouTube videos or Amy Landino's podcast. But even moreso, I watch things that make me laugh and smile such as anime and it makes me feel good.
Eliminate negative things from your environment (In-person and virtual)
I don't know why, but us as people tend to continuously allow things and people in our lives that make us feel negatively. There are people in my life who I spend less time with intentionally because I know that they make me feel negatively. Not because they are a bad person, but maybe I am constantly comparing myself to them. Maybe I am consistently feeling put down by them. Or maybe they hurt me in the past and being around them is a constant reminder. You don't HAVE to spend time with anyone who makes you feel bad no matter who it is.
Be real with yourself and listen to your body
If you feel yourself needing to slow down or even stop.... then SLOW DOWN OR STOP. Stop trying to force your way through. There are times when I feel extremely productive and excited to get things done, but when i feel a tug like I am starting to reach my limit, I take a step back and I rest because I know that I won't be any good for anyone while I am like this.
Join a community of like minded people
Find people who do what you do and you'll find yourself consistently inspired and pushed to do more things in your niche or field of work because you've found your tribe. You'll learn new tips and tricks and make friends with people who can completely understand the stresses you go to.
Get active
I do yoga and I like to walk, plus soon I will be getting in the gym and starting kickboxing. I try to stay as active as possible (despite hating physical activity) because I know that it promotes positive mental health and you want to be constantly nurturing your mental (and physical) health if you want to be successful in business and in life in general.
Learning productivity over being busy
My last blog post busted some myths about being productive versus being busy. Being productive is how you create the space to rest if you need to. Being busy is how you overwork your brain and burn out or sink deeper into depression and anxiety in your business.
All of these are basic tips to prevent depression and anxiety, but sometimes it comes anyway because that is real life.