8 Practical Tips to Overcome Founder's Depression.

Do you feel hopeless, anxious, stressed, overworked or even numb since starting your business? You might just be experiencing Founder's Depression.

One thing we can all agree on is that entrepreneurs/founders are some of the chronically stressed people on the planet. Getting a business off the ground and making sure it that way, especially with limited funds, is no small feat.

You may argue that everybody else is stressed, why then do founder's have a form of depression named after them?

The reason is this - No other employee has a mental stake in the business like the founder does.

A founder's identity is so closely linked with the company's identity that founder's suffer physically and emotionally when the business is struggling.

For people who are driven by passion and conviction such as entrepreneurs, when things don't go as planned in the company/start-up, it can be particularly hard on their perception of themselves and their capabilities.

Forget the brave, trail-blazing persona that entrepreneurs put on and the media's portrayal of founder's as geniuses or boy/girl wonders, in reality, a great deal of founders have absolutely no idea what they're doing and are scared to death that the rest of us would find out.

So my question is this - Why do founders feel the need to put on a mask? Why are they so afraid of sharing their truth?

Here are a couple of reasons:

• The Start-up space is cut - throat: The first thing investors want to see is a company's financial projection for the next couple of years. Investors need to feel like they're backing the right guy/gal. Nobody, and I mean, nobody, want's to hear that you're just winging it and hoping this will work. And this is so f*&cked up because start-ups are notoriously unpredictable and require rigorous tweaking and testing before finding the magical fit. When successful people make money, they easily forget how unpredictable and daunting starting out in business can be.

• The Entrepreneur Myth: Founders typically discover only after venturing out on their own, how truly difficult being their own boss is. From the outside, it looks like the perfect deal - work on your terms, choose your hours, pay yourself whatever you want, answer to no one.....does it get any better than this??? Unfortunately, it doesn't. In fact, being a founder is the exact opposite of the dream position it is often presented as. Believe it or not, a great deal of entrepreneurs aren't driven to end global hunger or provide clean water to lacking communities, many of them venture into entrepreneurship for the seductive allure of money, fame and power. When they get in and see how demeaning and scary being a founder is, they struggle internally but adopt a different persona to match the entrepreneur myth...and we wonder why founder's depression is an actual thing!

What exactly predisposes founders to depression anyway?

While everyone is susceptible to depression, some people have certain personality traits ( Passionate, Ambitious, Competitive, Controlling, Perfectionist, Narcissism to the nth degree) engage in certain behaviors ( unhealthy diet, excessive drinking, smoking, staying up all night most nights, lack of exercise) and experience unique circumstances ( unplanned pregnancy, childbirth, financial problems, marital problems, highly stressful events) that increases their risk for developing mental health issues.

News Flash! Founders tend to tick all of these boxes or at least, most of them!

How can entrepreneurs prevent and even overcome founder's depression?

• Separate your identity from the company's identity: You are not the company. It doesn't get any simpler than this. This means separate everything... bank accounts, social media pages...e.t.c

• Take the Mask Off: Feel free to share your truth. It's okay to be broke and struggling. There's no need to pretend like you're crushing it when deep down you aren't. It is this pressure to put on a mask that leaves us feeling isolated, causing mental problems eventually. People need to know that being founder is so much more than professionally taken portraits yourself and world-class bio's. They need to know that it is sweat and blood for a while and nothing more.

• Limit Performance Porn: Ahhhh....Forbes 30 under 30... what warm-blooded entrepreneur doesn't dream of a spot on the Forbes list of trailblazing entrepreneurs under 30? I know I did, until I told myself that it was okay to never make it to the list. Another thing I stopped doing was obsessing over the profiles of "trailblazing" entrepreneurs. I realized that instead of feeling motivated, I felt unaccomplished because I couldn't help but wonder why I was struggling in my business and everything seemed to be working out for them. I hated feeling like I wasn't doing enough or hating myself for not seeing the results of my effort. This is a bad feeling, so just limit how much of these kinds of information you receive. There's a thin line between admiration and self-loathing, trust me!

• Practice Cleaning Out Your Mental Closet: Every now and then, founders need to hit the reset button. It may seem like a lot of time "wasted" on "unproductive" activities, but I'm telling you, never underestimate the power of sleep, exercise, a healthy diet and leisure-time activities. Personally, I love to end a rough week hanging out with my favorite people over food, drinks and karaoke. Nothing soothes the mind like a good round of laughter with friends and loved ones. I advice every founder reading this to take time out to relax and be unproductive. You're not wasting time; you're replenishing your mental tank.

• It Really isn't All or Nothing: Entrepreneurs tend to see only one path and it's near impossible to get them to see another. This laser focus is probably what drives founders to create something truly revolutionary, yet, it's also what drives a lot of entrepreneurs to their financial, mental and emotional ruin. I believe that if entrepreneurs can keep an open mind and understand that starting and scaling a company is the most unpredictable venture anyone could ever embark upon, they'd be able to pivot ahead of time and be a lot less destroyed when things don't go as planned.

• Get Support and then Some More: You know what happens when you try to do and be everything for yourself? Yup, you guessed right - Burn out! It's like lighting a candle at the ends and then placing the middle over another flame. I don't know if you get the picture, but we can agree that things will go very bad very quickly. I'm a big believer in getting help, whether it's from coaches, personal trainers, nutritionists, therapists, personal assistants, nannies, chauffeurs..... basically, anything and anyone that makes my life easier and frees up time for me to do the things I'm really great at. And that's called focusing on your genius!

• Duplicate Yourself: Founders often feel they are irreplaceable. Turn's out, we're not! There comes a time in every founders life when they realize they do everything on their own. Even then, founders are scared to death that no one else can deliver results half as good as they can and so, they would rather stay on top of everything. But for a company to scale effectively, there needs to be more hands on deck. Hiring the right people with the right attitude who fit the company's culture, reduces the challenge by over half. Whereas, creating systems for effective transfer of knowledge takes care of the other half.

• Learn the Subtle Art of not Giving a F#ck: I read a fantastic book by a fantastic author and it changed my life. Following the philosophy of the book, I learnt to make peace with disappointments and not take them too seriously. Right now, If my business shut down, I'd definitely feel sad but I wouldn't let it affect my psyche and self-worth. While I don't hope to for the worst, It really is okay for bad things to happen to me, I'm not special and these things happen to everybody else. Kpom Kwem! (Ibo for full-stop). Living by this ideology saves you a lot of grief and heartache. It teaches you to be grateful for the things you have and buffers you against challenges when they arise.

In conclusion, as humans we literally have no control over anything except our choices and decisions. Make those choices count bu focusing on what makes you feel healthy, happy and whole. Be sure to never, ever forget that challenges are nothing more than opportunities for growth.