Mental Health in a Startup

Mental health is such a taboo topic, especially in the startup world. However, it is one of the most important factors to consider in everything from personal life to business. Due to the immense pressure to reach a goal, most employees of a startup develop mental health issues, especially the founders. The level of stress from the fast-moving pace can affect their mental health.​

What Is Mental Health?
The mental health of an individual is the psychological and mental well-being of the concerned individual. It can also be used to categorize the collective condition regarding the psychological and emotional well-being of an organization.
Having a positive mental health condition in and around a startup is one of the best things you can hope for as better mental health can lead to better products and better work. Taking care of mental health should be an active investment as poor mental health has its consequences. Poor mental health conditions often lead to a drop in the creativity and productivity of employees and the startup itself.

Symptoms Of Negative Mental Health In A Startup
Various symptoms manifest in the employees of a startup that must be monitored. Due to the high pressure, mental health can deteriorate quickly. 
Often time, these people suffer from some of the highlighted symptoms below

• Trouble concentrating
• Irregular and disturbed sleeping pattern
• Anxiety and mood swings
• Carelessness around details
• Forgetfulness
• Inability to organize task
• Easily distracted

One can imagine how hard it would be to run a startup when these symptoms are experienced. 

Effect Of Negative Mental Health In A Startup
Venture capitalists who invest in startups are most times just interested in the returns of their investment. They are not interested in the sweat and turmoil went through by the founders and the team in getting the agreed results. Hence, there is immense pressure on the startup team to get the result or face the consequences. But startups are run by humans, not robots, and humans have emotions. It is ok to experience emotions. 
Some mental health issues have been linked to the pressure developed through the tough conditions found in startups to reach set targets. Some of the known effects of these negative mental health condition in startups include

• Depression

Most of the people not able to meet the target often time go into a serious depression of some sort. This is due to the pressure that has accumulated and the undermining result. This contributes to the burnout of founders and employees of a startup

• Anxiety And Mood Disorder

This is another mental health issue that develops in employees and founders of startups. This could be caused by a variety of reasons ranging from inability to turn up or reach targets. It could also be caused by the toxic company culture surrounding such employees.

• Reduced Productivity

Mental health-related issues are well known for causing a reduction in the usual productivity of either an employee or the founder. The mental health conditions usually lead to a string of wrong decisions which reduces the productivity of the person in question

• Treatment And Prevention

The negative effect of mental health condition is usually telling in the lifecycle of a startup. It reduces its ability to perform to its optimal capacity. The cost of keeping a good mentally healthy startup is less than the negative effect it produces.
Starting up a business can be hard but it is important to pay careful attention to the mental health condition of its employees. A healthy working environment and a wellness program should be in place for companies for productivity. 

To Wrap It Up
It is important to monitor the mental health of a startup and its employees. This can be monitored by taking note of symptoms that could be manifesting in its employees. Startups need to keep the mental health condition positive for a more productive environment.
References
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/30/investors-and-entrepreneurs-need-to-address-the-mental-health-crisis-in-startup-culture/
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/327795