Farewell 2021

Let’s talk about mental health.

There’s this stat I came across:

72% of entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly affected by mental health issues compared to just 48% of non entrepreneurs.

Why Entrepreneurs Need To Talk About Their Mental Health – Forbes Dan Murray-Serter

That’s not just a number. That’s most of us.

I used to think I could power through anything. Build a company, solve the problems of the world, keep the engine running. And for a while, I did exactly that. Until I couldn’t anymore.

I started my first venture in 2016. Around the same time, my mother’s mental health started to decline. In truth, the signs had always been there. But back then, it became very clear.

So there I was, trying to grow a company while quietly falling apart at home. Torn between a mission I believed in and the helplessness of not being able to support someone I loved. The guilt came in layers: for not doing enough for my family, at home, for not doing enough at work, for feeling like I was constantly failing at both.

So I did what a lot of founders do:
I threw myself into work. I took on multiple jobs to keep the business afloat, pay my team, and maintain some sense of control. Work became the safe zone: predictable, structured, measurable. Everything life wasn’t.

Then, in July 2018, my mother committed suicide.

There are no words for that kind of loss. So I didn’t use any. I shut down. I went back to work. Until three months later, my body and mind forced me to stop. A first panic attack. Anxiety say call it. Easily one of the scariest moments of my life. And the wake-up call I didn’t know I needed. 

I tried to make changes. Helped my team land new jobs. Quit two roles. Went full-time into a third. I gave myself the one thing I had refused for years: space.

I cooked. I travelled. I focused on the people who mattered. I rebuilt.

And then I came back.

I launched HACK YOUR CLOSET and have been running it for 2 years now. I now live with anxiety but I’ve learned how to work with it, not against it. I’ve made peace with the fact that being sensitive isn’t a flaw, it’s a strength. It makes me more intuitive. More aware. More alert.

I don’t take long holidays, but I try to recognise when it's time to take a break. I know when it’s time for friends, family, food, sleep, and silence.

2021 was the year I finally started talking about all of this.
Not for attention but because it feels like someone has to?

If you’re building something while holding it together (mentally, emotionally), just know:
You’re not alone. You don’t have to pretend you’re fine. And you won’t always feel this way. 

Here’s to 2022. To honesty, healing, and doing things differently.

Lisa

72% of entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly affected by mental health issues compared to just 48% of non entrepreneurs. That’s according to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health. 49% of entrepreneurs deal with mental health issues directly while only 32% of others experienced them. Similarly, 23% of entrepreneurs have family members who face these issues compared to just 16% of others with family members who face these same types of issues.