According to a study from the University of Berkeley, 72% of entrepreneurs suffer from mental health problems. In addition, the study reveals that they are twice as likely to commit suicide and the cases that have occurred have not been publicly disclosed. As for example the case of Aaron Waltz, which greatly affected the sector. Since then, other high-profile entrepreneurs have taken their own lives (or have been suspected of taking their own lives), including Unfiltered founder Jake Millar; antivirus software pioneer John McAfee; Zappos founder Tony Hsieh; Chef Anthony Bourdain; designer Kate Space, etc.
Another US study published on Hubspot mentions that of all founders with mental health problems, 63% suffered from burnout, 59% suffered from anxiety47% depression, 24% attention deficits, 14% abuse substances and 3% are bipolar. In addition, 8 out of 10 mention that there is a stigma in society around mental health and 70% that there are not many help resources for mental issues.
“The entrepreneur is required to always be strong, serene, with a smile… And available. The opposite shows weakness and that does not match his figure, inside and outside the company. Often, he is presented as an invincible hero, a rockstar. But your startup is not you and the reality behind “the character” to which you are a slave can be completely different if you are not aware of the havoc that undertaking can wreak on the person, sometimes silently”manifest Alejandro Artacho, CEO and founder of the startup Spotahome.
“For me, 2019 was the most stressful year of my life: hundreds of hires, new office openings, pressure to double billing, improving margins, almost daily flights, working on holidays… A hectic pace with a tremendous impact on my physical and mental health . And, suddenly, the Covid ”, narrates the founder of Spotahome. “In March 2020 our entire billing dropped to €0, in addition to having to return hundreds of thousands of euros in cancellations. I fell into one deep depression. After 7 years sacrificing everything for the company (family, friends, partner, etc.), everything went down for something that I didn’t even control.” concludes.
However, after the darkest moment, Artacho indicates that he found the light in personal development and self-care, thanks to prioritizing and taking charge of his mental health. Thus, with the aim of making others visible and helping, he created Ancla.life together with other entrepreneurs (Acceptance, Neutrality, Cooperation, Freedom and Learning). In addition, thanks to these changes, Spotahome not only recovered, but is currently stronger than ever and with good future prospects.
Mental health in entrepreneurs
The truth is that the mental health it has become an increasingly commented and exposed subject, in the face of years of obscurantism and a reason for social shame. Although we must not forget that it still retains many taboos, especially among certain sectors of the population, as well as in professional settings.
The entrepreneurial ecosystem suffers from ratios of very high mental conditions since it is subjected to a continuous pressure and uncertaintyfear of failure, constant comparison, and an extreme bond between the individual and his company.
In addition to prioritizing meditation, sports, food, and sleep; here some Artacho’s tips to improve mental health among the collective:
- Reset your value system and prioritize them, redefining what success is.
- Invest in the permanent instead of the temporary.
- Living more in the present, since the startup world creates anxiety since it lives most of the time in the future in longing.
- Control your calendar and not the other way around.
- Less compulsion to use social networks and more awareness controlling what you consume reading.
- To be a good leader, you must first lead yourself…be a conscious leader.
- Be calm as calm brings clarity and clarity brings confidence.
“Trust without clarity is a disaster. Thanks to this you are more compassionate, you delegate more to your teams and you empower them to be great leaders. And, most importantly, as a consequence your energies are positive and naturally contagious to the organization. And it is there, as if by magic, that everything improves”, sentence Artacho.
