How Owning a Business Can Affect Your Mental Health

In this article, we explore how owning a business may be having a negative impact on your mental health. Take a look…

For a huge number of people, owning their own business is the ultimate goal, bringing with it dreams of freedom and an escape from the shackles of the 9 to 5. Unfortunately, the reality can be very different, with one in five new businesses failing within the first year. While exploring the impact of owning a business on mental health, it’s vital to understand that proper planning and organization can reduce stress significantly. One of the early stages in starting a business is forming an LLC, but figuring out how to do this on your own can contribute to stress and anxiety. Using llc formation services can streamline this process, providing one less thing for new business owners to worry about and helping to keep mental health in check.

While there are some great benefits to owning your own business, there are also some significant downsides. These may include stress, having to deal with things like business litigation, and working long working hours, resulting in a negative impact on mental health.

In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the ways in which owning a business can affect your mental health. We’ll also explore some ways you can avoid this.

How Can Owning a Business Affect Your Mental Health?

Financial Worries

When you choose to get off the treadmill of the daily grind and go it alone, you’re discarding a steady salary along with the shackles of being an employee. Whether you fund your new business yourself or borrow from a financial organization like Space Coast Credit Union, getting a new business up and running usually takes a fair amount of cash.

Piling more pressure on top of this is the fact that your business is unlikely to start making money immediately. So, you might find that there’s a lot going out and nothing coming in for a while. If you have commitments, such as a mortgage or children, the pressure to generate an income can be overwhelming.

Financial hardship is one of the most common causes of mental health problems, with sufferers finding that the subject of their finances occupies their every waking hour – and some of their sleeping ones too. Many people attempt to buy themselves time by borrowing more which, unfortunately, only exacerbates the problem.

Instead, it may be a good idea to speak with a financial advisor who may be able to point you in the right direction in terms of stretching your finances until your business starts to turn a profit.

Having to Consider the Laws

A business is made up of a lot of moving parts and, occasionally, business owners may find themselves faced with legal action brought by a client or supplier. While these actions may be resolved in your favour, business litigation can be time-consuming and extremely stressful, involving invasive scrutiny and negative media attention.

For those who are unaccustomed to being at the sharp end of legal action, this can be overwhelming and can lead to depression and anxiety. With any kind of business litigation, you should always make sure that you secure the services of a specialist solicitor to guide you through this and to minimise stress.

Fearing Failure

Fear of failure affects most of us at one time or another, however, when it’s your own business at stake, this fear is amplified and can often lead to mental health issues such as anxiety. This can be a very real problem for business owners; even when there is no evidence to suggest that the business is likely to fail.

Anxiety can be debilitating, and a sufferer may end up proliferating the myth of failure as their fear will often lead to inaction. To tackle this, start by listing examples of times that you have succeeded, as well as your achievements in your current business. This will help to put the fear of failure into perspective, and you can then tackle the symptoms of anxiety by taking regular time out where possible and performing daily relaxation exercises. Taking an anxiety test may help you with this common fear.

People Power

One of the biggest headaches for business owners is that of staffing. The moment that you begin to employ people, you take on a whole set of responsibilities in terms of payment, discipline and staff welfare, and these responsibilities can weigh heavily on your mind – particularly if you don’t have enough people to help you.

Juggling personnel issues along with trying to run and grow your company can be exhausting. Unfortunately, many business owners find themselves turning to alcohol or drugs to help them to keep going.

As well as leading to harmful addictions, this can, if left unchecked, result in a mental breakdown which may leave you unable to effectively run your business. If you’re unable to afford a full time, dedicated HR professional, it’s worth looking at outsourcing this.

Often, you can find professional HR agencies offering full and part time services at very reasonable rates. These may provide a solution to the endless juggling, leaving you free to do what you do best – run your company.

Experiencing Setbacks

Even the most successful companies in the world have suffered a setback at one time or another. For example, between 1985 and 1997, the popularity of Apple plummeted due to the departure of the brand’s innovator, Steve Jobs; so much so that the company came close to collapse. Apple’s international business is now worth a staggering $3 trillion as of the first trading day of 2022.

While setbacks are part and parcel of any business, they can be extremely demoralising, and can often lead to depression for business owners as they picture everything they’ve worked for going down the drain. Mental disorders affect around 1 in 6 UK adults, and are thought to be a major contributor to UK suicide rates.

When your company has suffered a setback, it’s a good idea to take a step back – even take a break if you can – to gain perspective on what went wrong and why. Armed with this information, you can then start the process of bouncing back and, once again, moving your business forward.

You can begin to consider other options like a side hustle or buy bitcoin cash.

Tackling Mental Health When Owning a Business

Setting up and running your own business is an incredible achievement, but also one which requires your constant time and attention. It’s little wonder then that so many business owners suffer from mental health problems at some point.

With any kind of mental health issue, it’s incredibly important to seek help to prevent the problem spiraling out of control. In 2023, there’s plenty of help out there and, appointments are usually available in person, by video or by telephone to suit your schedule.

Please be advised that this article is for general informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for advice from a trained medical professional. Be sure to consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you’re seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. We are not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Images:

1 – https://pixabay.com/photos/mental-health-wellness-psychology-2019924/

2 – Sora Shimizaki, https://www.pexels.com/photo/judges-desk-with-gavel-and-scales-5669619/

3 – https://pixabay.com/photos/youtuber-blogger-screenwriter-2838945/