Dear startup founder, Are you taking care of yourself? What about your mental and behavioral health?
Startups are grueling. Even as an employee. For founders? They’re exponentially more of a grind. With the pressure. And the people relying on you. And the investors. As such, founders go through any number of ups and downs. Which often result in burnout. And depression. And those feelings can lead to substance abuse. Or ignoring the problem. Yeah. It’s tough. Really tough.
Day in and day out, any number of founders go through this whole stress fest without any form of support, professional or otherwise. And that sucks. Others have peer support. Others have mentors or coaches. But even with that support, it’s still a lonely, stressful, hair tearing experience.
But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if professional healthcare was on par with professional mentorship? What if we could get founders the same level of mental and physical health support that we try to provide for their businesses? What if founder health and wellness was as critical as a healthy bottom line?
It’s possible. But we have to start normalizing physical and behavioral health as part of the startup experience. And treat it effectively. And to do that? We need a baseline to figure out where to start.
So if you’re an early stage startup founder, I’d love to hear more about how you’re taking care of yourself. Do you have health insurance? Are you taking advantage of it? Are you taking care of yourself holistically? Or are you letting stuff slide?
Here’s a short survey to capture your thoughts. It shouldn’t take more than a minute or two. And it would be super helpful to hear how you’re doing.
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Originally published at siliconflorist.com on February 6, 2019.
