Let’s End the Stigma Around Mental Health
by Jenny Lawton
At Techstars, we talk about the mantra ‘founder first’, but being advocates of founders means we can’t only focus on the health of their companies — we must also focus on the health of the founder.
May is Mental Health Awareness month and Techstars is driving to end the stigma that surrounds mental health. Let’s open up the conversation around it and what it means to our community and industry.
When my first son was a teenager, he was challenged with depression and bipolar disorder. During his high school years, May meant the time of year when he really struggled. I found that being open and honest with my friends and family helped me, my son and others.
We encourage everyone to become educated on mental health and important issues around it. To kickoff the month, we put together a list of resources for anyone who thinks they may be suffering from mental health issues, or anyone who wants to learn more about the topic.
Throughout May, you will also be able to find insight on this topic from other founders and mentors on the Techstars blog.
You can’t #givefirst if you don’t put your own health first.
Do you have resources to add that can help others? Let us know here.
Mental Health America: Download this free Mental Health Toolkit and check out these mental health screening tools
AA: International fellowship of people who have had a drinking problem
Al-Anon: Network providing resources, strength and hope for families & friends of problem drinkers
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration(SAMHSA): Locates mental health resources by city
NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness
Ginger.io: A mobile platform with 24/7 care for stress, anxiety, and depression
Mental Health Works: Free monthly publication focused on mental health in the workspace. Includes ideas + tools to successfully implement mental health strategies
Failcon: Conference for startup founders to learn from and prepare for failure, so they can iterate and grow fast
TED Talks: Common TED Talks that focus on the topic of mental health
Fully Rich Life: A free toolkit for 21 ways to reduce stress and anxiety
Founder Stories: Suicide, Entrepreneurship and the Road Home
Female Founders: My startup failed and this is what it feels like
Fortune: Depression and Startups: The Emotional Toil of Entrepreneurship
Wired: One startup’s struggle to survive Silicon Valley’s Gold Rush
Paralign: Making mental well-being data driven, intelligent and personalized
Workit Health: An online addiction care program
TWLOHA: Find a list of local resources and a help hotline
Koko: Koko offers services that help social networks manage crisis, abuse and bullying.
Crisis Text Line: Free, 24/7 line with trained crisis counselors
Support Groups Central: Video Conference-based Support Groups
Depression Recovery Groups: Support for depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety
SonderMind: Network of over 250 licensed therapists in the Denver-Boulder area
The Founder Institute Or How It Helped Me Stand Up To A Bully:Depression: A post about what it was like to be diagnosed, but also how it wasn’t the end of the world… actually, it was the start of a new journey — the best one yet!
ZendyHealth: We can arrange a session with a credentialed, reputable therapist who provides affordable services at a practice near you. Our professionals will work with you to evaluate and develop a treatment plan to help manage your depression and/or anxiety.
Sigmend: Helping employees with brain (mental) disorders self advocate.
Impact Founder: An independent multimedia movement and community to reduce the feelings of isolation experienced in entrepreneurship.
Journey Meditation: Leads guided meditation programs in the workplace in a way that’s simple and approachable.
This post was originally published on Techstars’ blog.
