“The fact of the matter is this: if you’re driven, an entrepreneur, a type-A personality, or a hundred other things, mood swings are part of your genetic hardwiring. It’s a blessing and a curse.” – Tim Ferris

Entrepreneurship is no easy road to take especially for women. Sure there are rewards worth the journey but sometimes the obstacles along the way can wear even the strongest of spirits down. Entrepreneurs are more prone to stress than other workers due to the very nature of their work. Running a business, though rewarding, involves a lot of difficulties and pressures. Both established businesses as well as startups have their own challenges that bring with them significant stress. Without healthy ways to manage stress, entrepreneurs can face adverse effects on their health. 

The relationship of entrepreneurship with stress

Starting and running a business is tough. You’re in charge of making big decisions, leading your team, managing a number of things that affect the fate of your startup or business. You may also have invested your personal savings or taken loans from friends and family. Then there’s the pressure of reaching certain milestones at certain times. There is always a high risk for failure and setbacks are common. You may face hiring issues, rising competition, disagree with partners, or lose precious customers. All this creates a lot of stress in an entrepreneur’s life. The difficulty of entrepreneurship is evident from the following quote from Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and Space X.

“Running a start-up is like chewing glass and staring into the abyss. After a while, you stop staring, but the glass chewing never ends.”

Entrepreneurs happen to be passionate individuals who put their heart and soul into their business. While they’re excited about making their business succeed they are also afraid of disappointing their investors and partners. Many will go to any length possible to realize their dream business. The situation is even more difficult for women entrepreneurs who are also managing the responsibility of managing the home and caring for kids.  

This often involves sacrificing sleep and comfort, ignoring healthy diet and exercise, and neglecting family and friends. It may sometimes be important to push yourself to meet deadlines but making this a lifestyle can cause chronic stress and take a toll on your physical and mental wellbeing. Research suggests that entrepreneurs are more prone to mental health issues including anxiety, depression, loneliness, and self-doubt. 

Why it’s important to manage stress

With the demands and challenges of entrepreneurship you’re bound to get stressed at some point. While a little bit of stress may not be an entirely bad thing as it can drive you forward if dealt in the right way, being stressed constantly is unhealthy and dangerous for you. When you’re stressed your body produces stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol through the adrenal gland. These prepare your body for a fight or flight response. This causes physiological effects like increase in heartbeat, high blood pressure, and high blood glucose. 

Chronic stress can weaken your immune system over time. Prolonged stress is also more dangerous because you don’t even notice that you’re stressed as you’re used to being in that state. However, it can cause serious damage to your health. Adverse effects of stress on health can range from acute and treatable problems like stomach ulcers and flu to more serious irreversible problems like strokes and heart disease. 

Moreover, stress impacts your brain health. When you’re always in a state of stress your brain cannot function at its best because a lot of your brain power is utilized for dealing with the stress. It drains your cognitive fuel leaving behind limited mental resources for important business activities. Stress also diminishes your focus and limits your ability to analyze situations properly. This can prevent you from making good decisions for your business. Your productivity and creativity is hampered by continuous unmanaged stress. 

In addition to the effects on the body, stress also has negative effects for mental health. Constant and chronic stress can lead to many mental health issues such as panic attacks and emotional problems like irritability and mood swings. With chronic stress your ability to handle stress also diminishes over time, which can bring even more stress creating a loop of stress. 

How you can manage stress

If you’ve ever envied other entrepreneurs who have it all figured out and always seem happy and positive, there’s good news for you: You can do it too! Those happy entrepreneurs are also human and experience stress in their lives. They’re just better at dealing with it! By adopting some healthy stress management strategies you’ll be able to effectively handle stress and channel it in a positive way. Your ability to handle stress will become your most valuable tool for becoming a successful entrepreneur. 

Effective stress management involves taking care of both your body and mind while keeping a healthy work life. 

Destress your body

We actually store a lot of stress in our bodies. If you want to better handle stress, having a routine where you move your body is very important. It can include exercise, yoga, sports, or even dancing. When you exercise it forces you to reconnect with your body and leave your stressful thoughts aside for some time. The negative energy of stress leaves your body allowing space for a more positive energy. When you exercise you burn out the excess blood sugar produced because of the stress hormones. Another reason why exercise is so effective in reducing stress is that it releases endorphins or the “feel-good” hormones” in the body which can counter the effects of the stress hormones and actually improve mood. 

Regular physical activity can help you not only deal with stress but also improve your overall health which is necessary if you want to run a successful business. It can improve your heart health, maintain a healthy weight, and reduce your risk of developing conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Moreover, it can boost your immunity so you’ll be able to spend more time on your business and less time recovering from flus. At the same time, it can positively impact your mental health and reduce anxiety and mental stress.

Another wonderful benefit from regular physical activity is that it improves your brain function. It helps improve focus and concentration, enhances your memory, and allows you to learn and process new information faster. All these mental strengths are essential for entrepreneurship where you have to keep your mind sharp. 

All successful entrepreneurs include some form of physical activity in their day whether it’s playing golf, taking a morning walk, or doing some yoga. All you have to do is find a physical activity you enjoy and practice it consistently. 

Destress your mind

In addition to connecting with your body you also need to take care of your mind to be able to handle stress effectively. Successful entrepreneurs adopt strategies to keep their mind fresh and stress-free. To do that you also need a positive outlook on your work and life. Because stress can be detrimental to your mental health, you should make it a habit to do a mental check in regularly in order to notice any symptoms and to handle them effectively. Try out some of the suggestions below. 

• Appreciate the good: When we’re stressed we often forget to look at the good things in our life. Reminding yourself of all the positive things and things you’re grateful for can break the pattern of stressful thoughts and help you feel instantly better in the moment.
• Get a healthy diet: Maintaining a balanced healthy diet is good for both your body and your brain. It can give you more energy and help you feel happier while junk food can actually make you feel more stressed.
• Practice meditation: Meditation is proven to reduce stress, ease anxiety and depression, and help you feel calmer and relaxed. Try to meditate for just a few minutes and focus on your breath. It can be easily incorporated into your day and there are many great apps you can use. 
• Spend time with friends: Socializing can be an effective stress buster especially if you’re more extroverted. You can share your problems or share a few laughs. It can help you feel more energized and fresh. So the next time your friend invites you for a cup of coffee, accept the invitation without hesitating because chances are you might be more productive afterwards.
• Go to bed early: Sleep helps us heal and recover. So even if you have a lot of work pending, try not to compromise on your sleep. A good night’s rest will refresh you for the next day and you’ll be better able to handle any stresses that come up through the day. 

Maintain a healthy work life

As an entrepreneur it’s important for you to set a healthy work routine so your work day involves as little stress as possible. This will free up time and mental energy to focus on important tasks.

• Address the problem

Whenever you are in the grip of stress, take some time out to actually think about what’s causing the stress for you. Sometimes we avoid the immediate problem and distract ourselves with work. It’s alright if you need to take a break from it but always go back to actually address the issue. Write it down, put your thoughts down on paper or your phone. Identify the problem, find out what you need to do, and then break it down into small chunks that you can handle more easily. Then start tackling it one micro task at a time. 

• Take breaks

Often if we have a lot on our plate a natural reaction is to try to power through to finish every task. It can work sometimes but if it becomes a habit it can slowly diminish your productivity. You can become fatigued and find it harder to focus. Try to take breaks through the work day, perhaps between tasks or if you feel stuck on any one task. It can help clear the mind and help you recharge.

• Learn to say no

Many entrepreneurs find it hard to say no. You might be in the habit of saying yes to every new project, client, or request. This can actually crowd your schedule and you end up feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. So it’s important that you say no more often, especially if you’re stressed out. Be more protective of your time and energy and be more selective about your work.

• Progress is better than perfection

The pursuit of perfection has burned out many entrepreneurs. It’s important to understand that progress is so much more important than perfection. As long as your business is moving forward, you’re making progress. You can continue to improve and things are never perfect on the first go. This also means that you set realistic goals about your business so you don’t stress yourself out trying to achieve something impossible. 

• Embrace failure

As an entrepreneur you will experience many setbacks and challenges along the way. You may fail at many things. It’s important that you have the right mindset about failing. Try to see them as opportunities to grow and improve. Learn from mistakes and move forward with courage. Albert Einstein said, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”