The Untold Mental Health Challenges Faced By First Time Founders.

First-time entrepreneurship exposes an individual to unprecedented business challenges, learning experiences, and also, risks. With that, comes pressure, stress and other mental health challenges. So what are these challenges exactly that are faced by first-time founders?

Entrepreneurship is a common business trend in the modern world, as many young leaders are finding development opportunities in distinctive industries.

As promising as it seems, entrepreneurship is also accompanied by struggles, some of which are mental health-related. First-time founders may find it overwhelming to cope with all the sudden changes and different circumstances they are subjected to, leaving them with diminished cognitive capacity and work performance. Challenges like decision-making, business management, customer service, and daily operation can lead to compiled stress factors, and possibly, affect their mental well-being. 

Research shows that “72% of entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly affected by mental health struggles compared to just 48% of non-entrepreneurs.”

Read on to discuss these challenges.

Anxiety Due To Uncertainty

Fear of the future and what is coming is what stresses out most entrepreneurs. Uncertainty spikes up their anxiety levels, as entrepreneurs have no control over several economic, social, business-related, and personal factors that could alter their business. The decisions they take could impact their whole professional future, leaving them confused, scared, and hesitant.

Depression and Low-Self Worth

Research shows that entrepreneurs are more likely to suffer from depression (30%) compared to other individuals. The extreme passion of some entrepreneurs and first-time founders to devote every minute of their lives to developing their idea makes it difficult for them to distinguish between themselves as individuals and their work. And thus any failed attempts may be translated as personal failures in their minds, eventually leading to depression, decreased confidence, and low self-worth.

Hopelessness and Burnout

First-time founders face huge loads of work and pressure with relatively undermined value and appreciation in return. The weight of their daily responsibilities- handling a new business, dealing with deadlines, taking charge of administration, and having insufficient rest periods- leaves them completely consumed. This will eventually lead to a sense of low purpose, drained energy, and ultimately, burnout.

Social Isolation

Investing time and money in a project will properly leave first-time founders overwhelmed with all the deadlines and business requirements. As a result, they may neglect their personal life and social connections, shifting their entire focus to the business! This will develop into a partial or complete social withdrawal.

Countless factors contribute to making the life of first-time founders harder and emotionally exhausting. Tangible actions should be taken to focus on the importance of mental health issues, and therefore, enhancing the trajectory towards success!