Today I would like to focus on something almost taboo in India.
Mental Health, specifically, Founders' Mental Health.
We all know that the process of building a company requires a tremendous amount of hardship, risk-taking, and intense ambiguity. Founders make countless sacrifices, both professional and personal, that come at the expense of their mental health. Yet, founder mental health struggles remain stigmatized and are rarely discussed.
Today, I came across Founder Mental Health Pledge created by Naveed Lalani & Brad Baum and signed by 445 & counting institutions and individuals comprising 22,262 portfolio companies.
I deeply support this initiative.
Do you know that as per a study by Michael Freeman, MD, University of California founders are:
➡ 2x more likely to suffer from depression
➡ 6x more likely to suffer from ADHD
➡ 3x mode likely to suffer from substance abuse
➡ 10x mode likely to suffer from bi-polar disorder
➡ 2x mode likely to have psychiatric hospitalization
➡ 2x more likely to have suicidal thoughts.
Also, Michael Freeman wrote:
"Mental health is as essential for knowledge work in the 21st century as physical health was for physical labor in the past. Creativity, ingenuity, insight, brilliance, planning, analysis, and other executive functions are often the cognitive cornerstones of breakthrough value creation by entrepreneurs."
Nevertheless, anyone who is feeling that they are under tremendous pressure which is detrimental to their mental health, should:
🙏 Indulge in self-serve mental fitness Resources: This is the first step, given everyone is hesitant to seek external help. However, self-help resources and apps are an excellent way to seek help anonymously.
🙏 Join a Peer Group: Group therapy can improve mental health and well-being by providing a sense of hope and optimism.
🙏 Seek Professional Help: One can seek the professional help of a coach or a doctor. Mental health improvement therapies are important none of the above works.
Everyone should have someone like Wendy Rhoades of Billions, an in-house performance coach, on their team to bring the best out of team members as long as they can find one and afford to have one.
Regarding the pledge, the VCs have pledged to be supportive of founders treating the direct cost of caring for their mental health as a legitimate, worthwhile, and encouraged business expense – including therapy, coaching, group support, and app-based solutions. Founders should look at their mental health as a business priority.
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