A Mental Health Guide for Girl Bosses

By: Jessica Garcia

Mental health is a very important pillar to one’s success in every area in life. Our emotional well being affects our day-to-day life, whether or not we are aware of it. As entrepreneurs, overworking becomes second nature, which, in turn, leads to burnt out, high stress levels, and anxiety. One study from FLIK illustrates just how common mental health issues are among female founders: “52% of women and non-binary respondents experienced mental health conditions, with depression (36.6%) and anxiety disorders (33.3%) being the most common”.  

Knowing this, the best way we can better manage our mental health is by implementing healthy tactics in our lifestyles. Here are some tips and practices every girl boss can use to help enhance her mental well being: 

Be intentional about carving some time for yourself

So often our days can seem overwhelming. We want to do everything and be there for everyone, which creates frustration and stress. While we spend our days putting out fires, training, and serving others, we often forget about ourselves. Remember that you matter too and to be effective and fulfilled you need to first pour into yourself. Your best work requires your best self. Schedule in “me time” every day to give yourself time to relax and do things you enjoy. Sometimes this may even look like doing absolutely nothing; just simply being and enjoying stillness.

 Honor your journey

This one is especially for the overachievers. Here’s a friendly reminder to you: You aren’t falling behind because someone posted a filtered picture of their win and you aren’t there yet. Comparison is unproductive and it’s a perspective blocker. It doesn’t allow you to see how far YOU have come and makes you feel discouraged. Your journey is something to enjoy no matter how hard it gets. You never know how or who you can help along the way based upon your experiences. So be kind to yourself!  Don’t beat yourself up for the things you can’t control. Instead, embrace your strength of resilience and celebrate your journey.

Create a morning routine

Create a morning routine that you look forward to. How exciting is it to know that you can choose how you get to start YOUR day? Take advantage of this by creating intentional habits every morning that empower, energize, and excite you for the day ahead. Having an intentional morning routine lowers stress levels, increases productivity, boosts your energy, and influences the rest of your day.

Journal

Journaling enables you to further explore your emotional health and to be honest with yourself about your thoughts and feelings. It encourages you to pause, reflect, obtain perspective, and make sound decisions. It is also proven to  reduce anxiety. Journaling is a powerful practice because through that you are able to process your emotions in an effective manner as well as dig deep to the root of the issue. Next time you are feeling sad, overwhelmed, angry, etc… Try journaling. There is not one right way to do it simply put your emotions on paper.

Women carry a heavy burden juggling many hats all at once; business owner, housework responsibilities, and childcare to name a few. If our mental health is not well managed, it can take a heavy hit on our ability to successfully manage and grow our businesses. This Mental Health Awareness month, let’s commit to prioritizing our mental health so we can be the best version of ourselves for our career, community, family, and friends.