Balancing business and mental health
On World Mental Health Day, discover how to thrive amidst the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship and prioritise wellbeing and rest.
When you’re running your own business, it is often feels like a rollercoaster ride filled with incredible highs and demanding challenges and can impact our mental health if we’re not intentional about building in practices to boost our resilience and wellbeing.
Today is World Mental Health Day and it is an opportunity for people and communities to unite behind this year’s theme ‘Mental health is a universal human right’ to improve knowledge, raise awareness and take action to safeguard everyone's mental wellbeing.
Good mental health is not just a luxury. It's essential for overall wellbeing. Shockingly, one in eight people worldwide grapple with mental health conditions, affecting their physical health, social connections, and livelihoods.
People with mental health conditions should never face human rights violations or exclusion from healthcare decisions. Yet, globally, they continue to experience discrimination and limited access to necessary care and still holds a stigma in many cultures.
This deeply personal for me, as I lost a family member to suicide nine years ago due to depression, a loss that might have been preventable with proper healthcare and support. This tragic experience fuels my mental health advocacy within the workplace.
I share more on how leaders and organisations can become agents of change for mentally healthy workplace in this Bluebird Leadership post.
Over the past few months, my life as a business owner has been a whirlwind of activity and mental health has been front of mind.
There's this invisible pressure (mostly self-imposed) to be constantly productive, fill your calendars to the brim, and keep hustling 🏃♂️💼 as you never know when it’s all going to stop.
At the beginning of this month, I was physically drained, mentally fatigued and my creative well was running dry.
I recognised that I needed more than just a good night's sleep… I craved rest on multiple levels – mental, creative, social, and sensory. So, I made a conscious decision to step back and recharge. 🧘♂️
Even though I managed to get a solid 8 hours of sleep most nights, the next day I would still feel tired or struggle to perform at my best during my gym session. 💪 It was a l reminder of the importance of holistic rest in maintaining our overall wellbeing and productivity.
To boost our mental wellbeing, I’ve been practising the 7 types of rest by Saundra Dalton-Smith MD. Here’s her TEDx Talk The real reason why we are tired and what to do about it.
These forms of rest are essential to help us maintain our energy levels, especially as we sprint towards the invisible finish line that marks the end of the year. 🏃♂️🥇
I hope this was helpful and sparked some insights. I would love to hear your thoughts!
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Thank you Cherry, you're right it's so important to check in on our mental health as as business owner. It can be so tempting to never properly switch off. I'm grateful for the reminder and the awareness.