Have you ever questioned whether your physical health exists? Or whether you need to eat right or exercise to maintain it? It’s common knowledge that a lot of factors contribute to your state of physical health—your diet, your sleep habits, your exercise routine (or lack thereof), your genetics, your life experiences—and no matter where you land on the physical health spectrum, we can all acknowledge our physical well-being at play. 

Why, then, is it so hard to acknowledge that we all also have mental health? Just like physical health, mental health exists on a spectrum. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health “is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.” It exists on a complex continuum, ranging from states of ideal mental well-being to states of debilitating pain, isolation, and challenge. 

You can experience poor mental health without necessarily experiencing a mental illness, and vice versa. While individuals with a mental health condition are more likely to experience poor mental well-being, it’s not always the case. Again, much like your physical health, a number of factors contribute to our state of mental well-being. Throughout our lives, multiple individual, social, and structural factors combine to impact our mental health (in both positive and negative ways).

By thinking about your mental health on a continuum or spectrum, you can move away from thinking about mental health in the black and white, as in, you have it or you don’t. It’s far more nuanced than that. Sometimes we have good days, sometimes we have bad days, and sometimes we’re somewhere in between. We fluctuate. Recognizing the importance of checking in with yourself and acknowledging where you might be on that spectrum at a given time or on a given day is a huge first step.

For many founders, the “hustle and grind” culture is part and parcel with entrepreneurship. There’s this idea that if you’re not grinding it out—and struggling while you’re at it—you’re not doing entrepreneurship ‘right.’ Think about where that leaves you on this mental health continuum. Are you thriving or barely surviving, and what’s that doing to your business? 

Sources:

https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/world-mental-health-report

https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response

https://theworkingmind.ca/continuum-self-check