World Mental Health Day
World Mental Health Day.
Dear Foodie Fam,
While I’m not ashamed by the mental health illness I have lived with all my life, I refrain from addressing it a lot because I very much don’t want to be labeled “afflicted entrepreneur.” I also don’t think discussing one’s inherent condition applies to all blogging situations although my mission as a social media micro-influencer is to operate on honesty.
However, I want to state the following clearly:
Mental health is just as important as physical health
Mental health shapes physical health and vice versa
Mental health disorders and physical disorders do not deserve to be shamed but do deserve to be treated
Individuals living with mental illnesses can access help and programs
Individuals living with mental illnesses can recover and/or be in a better place/thrive. They can can achieve wellness and health.
Individuals living with mental illnesses are not alone and do not deserve to be alienated for their very real symptoms
Individuals living with mental illnesses can achieve their dreams
Stigma, though often rooted in culture, is rooted in miseducation
Those who refuse to learn about mental illness when a loved one is living with it are showing fear, ignorance and sometimes even childishness
Though situations and symptoms may be out of one’s control, one is always responsible for their own mental health
I recently learned Amy Porterfield, my OG Social Media Queen, struggled with depression in the first few years of (and at times, throughout) amassing her empire. She’s been killing the social media game since 2004 and has in fact spearheaded so much of the navigation of this Wild West of social media marketing. As Porterfield created her influence of businesses, brands and influencers, she built her own brand on her persona as a whole. She is respected as so much more than a diagnosis. Her diagnosis just happens to be there, adding to the dimensions of her human portrait and to her very normal list of every day business-owner concerns. I want to be known like this.
It’s also significant to mention that owning and running a business -especially on your own- is immensely lonely. You own your Ls (and there are more Ls than successes), defend your vision and invest more than you get for so long (and for the entire life of your business). You may not have a lot of time to rely on the people or activities which usually get you through your negative emotions. Even if you weren’t born with a mental health condition, you will take a mental beating at some point. The sleepless nights, alone will change your biology and add to your stress. This is a very normal thing for business owners to experience.
While it’s not the only type of mental health disorder, depression is probably the disorder most people should understand at some point. I am not a psychologist or a psychiatrist but situational depression, specifically, is a human experience. Everyone goes through some level of situational depression in their lifetime. This can be a familiar point of reference when approaching the issue of mental health illnesses.
If you want to understand how living with mental illnesses uniquely changes the landscape of entrepreneurship and social media influencer work, please