Breaking the Mental Health Stigma in Entrepreneurship

i’ve been broken from top to bottom

literally broken from top to bottom

i’ve broken bones in my feet leg

hand elbow and shoulder

and i have to say that the days and

weeks after these breaks were some of

the most wonderful times i’ve

experienced

of how beautiful people can really be

it was like living in london in the time

of mary poppins

with the sight of crutches or a cast i

would have people coming up to me

to ask what happened how i was feeling

do i need help could they sign my cast

and i even got a seat on the train

when the injury is visible we instantly

get a reaction

and people step forward to show care and

compassion

unfortunately not all injuries

and pain are visible a few years ago

i was working for a fast growth startup

working for reporter the ceo and founder

after intense period i left

feeling tired and mentally crushed after

my time there

and contemplating what to do next on

friday afternoon

i started to shiver and sweat in my

bedroom

this was friday the 14th september 2018.

this was me having a breakdown i felt

emotionally and physically drained

i felt anxious depressed

tearful and irritable i was experiencing

something i’d never felt before

i called my wife upstairs and i couldn’t

stop shaking and crying in her arms

i felt totally broken i felt worthless

i felt like i’d let my wife down

i definitely didn’t feel like the

superhero my son thought i was

so this was how i ended up being broken

from top to bottom

my body and now my mind

it’s easy to take mental health for

granted

with physical health is tangible

visible and evident a bruise

a broken arm a heart murmur

but mental health well if we aren’t

talking about it

sharing or aware of the signs it can

easily slip under the radar

there was no bandage or strap interrupt

around my head

after my breakdown and with the stigma

attached to mental health

i suffered enormous silence only my wife

knew exactly what i was going through

because i didn’t want to show anyone the

vulnerability that i was going through

this pain was not visible i definitely

was not getting a seat on the train this

time

i felt a profound sense of shame i felt

embarrassed

i felt the weight of stigma somehow

when it comes to mental illness our

ignorance suppresses all empathy

oh you’re feeling depressed paul to

shake it off dude it’s all in your head

people will tell you now can you imagine

people saying that to me when i broke my

leg oh

just walk it off paul it’s all in your

leg

this doesn’t feel right i thought so

tacitly i became passionate about mental

health

inspired by listening to famous people

like prince harry

alistair campbell and ruby wax talking

openly about their own mental health

challenges

i decided to dedicate my life to helping

others

i turned my passion into my profession

i founded healthy returns the mental

health collective supporting fans and

entrepreneurs

who were struggling with their own

mental health

i now tell people every day that where

there is hope

there is life and where there is life

there is hope what i see is that we are

experts at surrendering to the demands

of the external world

and living up to the expectations of

others

we keep showing up and we keep getting

on with it

we keep showing up and we keep getting

on with it

and on with it and on with it

until until suddenly one day

much to everyone’s surprise including

our own

we break i broke

and this can take many forms we can no

longer get out of bed

we fall into deep depression we develop

social anxiety

we refuse to eat we retreat

we feel worthless and sometimes we feel

suicidal

according to the world health

organization one in four people in their

life are affected by mental health

problems

while these statistics are very

troubling for founders and entrepreneurs

they’re downright terrifying 72 percent

of them are affected by mental health

issues

according to the national institute of

mental health 72 percent

in a bit to grow their business too

quickly founders tend to neglect to take

care of their mental health

now we know that great farmers are great

storytellers

they have the ability to tell stories

that inform

engage persuade and inspire

however it is clear these great

storytellers are not telling us the full

story

they’re not telling us about the most

important chapter in that story book

but how they are really feeling inside

sadly founders often won’t talk about

their mental health

for fear of being judged by others their

partners

their investors their customers and

their employees

given the impact they have on our

economical world

it’s important that founders operate a

state of maximum emotional health

these founders and their businesses are

essential for economic growth

and future prosperity by creating jobs

boosting productivity enabling

competition

and introducing new technologies

products and services

unfortunately the current narrative

around entrepreneurship

doesn’t leave much room for

vulnerability it’s characterized by

machoism

the most successful companies are the

ones that work the hardest

grow the fastest and raise the most

money

the startup press also follows the money

with one headline after another

announcing who has raised what

founders that don’t adhere to this

formula as seen as simply not trying

we’ve seen from the start the human

sacrifice of driving value

and business success comes with a huge

psychological price

according to a famous study by michael

freeman

founders are two times more likely to

suffer from depression

six times more likely to suffer from

adhd

three times more light suffering

substance abuse

ten times more life so from bipolar

disorder

and two times more likely to have a

suicidal thought

all of these factors are actually

working to undermine a profounder’s

performance

and they will often contribute to

founder burnout

to co-found a conflict to a toxic

company culture to increased employee

turnover

an inability to hire top talent an

inability to show up for important

meetings and poor decision making in

general

we need to change the way we think and

act about mental health

promoting a culture of openness so

founders feel comfortable to ask for

help when they need it

so we can be there to support them to

become stronger

more resilient founders it is vital we

set a culture that is supportive of

self-care

if everyone from the receptionist the

founder

is willing to seek help and take care of

themselves

it creates a company-wide habit that

enables everyone to thrive

a healthy culture will pay for itself

many many times over

with happier more productive people

who are willing to sacrifice the company

when sacrifice is called for

we must be more vocal about the

importance of sharing mental health

struggles

normalizing the concept of seeking help

when we need it

and ultimately making mental health the

mainstream part of the staltup culture

rather than the niche we need to empower

founders to embrace

mental health issues today to thrive

tomorrow

in today’s highly pressured environment

we need a new approach

the startup culture may revolve around

innovations and new technologies

but behind every groundbreaking idea are

the humans

the heroes the founders who drag them up

we need to dedicate as many resources to

them

as we do to the products and services

we need to equip our founders become

more responsive

more resilient and self-aware

self-awareness is key to taking care of

your mental health

for founders being self-aware forces you

to slow down

and observe yourself like an outsider

when you become self-aware you become

conscious of your problems and emotions

start to understand who you really are

inside

as founders we get so caught up in our

actions

our tasks and our teams that forget to

take a step back

and dig a little deeper into who we

really are

we forget to ask ourselves important

questions

like how are you really feeling today

paul

why are you feeling anxious about what

you’re about to do today

are you ready to deal with your problems

i know from experience it’s hard to

admit the problem

so we need to break the stigma of

talking about mental health and start a

world

and the quicker we do it the better

now can you imagine what the world would

be like if everyone was mentally and

emotionally healthier

if there was less depression and less

isolation

if people knew how to overcome failure

better

if they felt better about themselves and

more empowered

if they were stronger and more resilient

i can because that’s the world i want to

live in

our goal as good kind people

and living in a caring loving society

must be to amplify the conversation

and to promote a culture of openness

about mental health

in order to preserve a founder’s talent

as a creator

an innovator a dreamer

an inspirer to help them overcome their

mental health challenges

to optimize their performance and to

deliver healthy returns

we have two hands want to help ourself

and want to help others we rise by

lifting others up

be brave be kind

be there we live in one world together

it’s more important ever to be a friend

to all

thank you and god bless

you