87.7% of entrepreneurs struggle with at least one mental health issue
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and at FounderReports.com, we’re taking this opportunity to cover important topics that impact many entrepreneurs and business owners.
Last month, we conducted a global survey of entrepreneurs to learn more about the most common issues. Here are some of the key findings:
- 87.7% of entrepreneurs struggle with at least one mental health issue
- 50.2% of respondents said they struggle with anxiety (the #1 issue according to our survey)
- More entrepreneurs said they were concerned about mental health than physical health
- Female entrepreneurs are more likely to struggle with imposter syndrome (41.2%) than males (27.8%)
- Male entrepreneurs are more likely to face burnout (36.1%) than females (30.9%)
- Male entrepreneurs are also more likely to have poor work-life balance (29.1%) than females (22.1%)
- 70.6% of female entrepreneurs said they have a support system in place to communicate openly with others about mental health struggles, compared to only 52.5% of males
👉 See the full mental health survey results at Founder Reports
Only 18.5% of survey respondents said they were aware of mental health resources specifically tailored for entrepreneurs and business owners. We want to change that. We’ve worked with industry experts to create free resources to help entrepreneurs with issues like anxiety, burnout, work-life balance, perfectionism, and mindset.
The resources below are in-depth guides that offer practical, realistic advice from expert therapists and coaches.
- How busy entrepreneurs can create a healthy work-life balance
- How to prevent and overcome burnout
- Just do nothing: how entrepreneurs can handle anxiety
- A roadmap to entrepreneurial growth mindset
- How entrepreneurs can overcome perfectionism
- The self-care blueprint for entrepreneurs
In the entrepreneurial community, mental health issues are often overshadowed or pushed to the side, but the reality is, most entrepreneurs and business owners face some sort of mental health challenge. If you struggle with any of the issues covered in the resources above, please take a few minutes to check them out. And if there are other mental health topics that are important to you, leave a comment and let us know. This is an on-going project and we'll be adding more mental health content, so we'd love to know which topics matter to you.
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Need to do breakdown by those who are ramen-profitable vs. those who aren't yet.
Bet there's a huge variation in the data.
+1, also between those with safety nets vs those without. While bulging and running a business is stressful by its nature I think it comes down to if your livelihood depends on it
I have mixed feelings about that. Of course, it makes sense that issues like anxiety and financial worries would impact people differently based on how much money they make or how much they have saved, but that's often not the case. I didn't struggle with mental health issues when I was in the early stages of my business and money was tight. It wasn't until I had a seven-figure net worth and a nice financial cushion that anxiety and worries about money hit. For me, the more I have, the more I have to lose and the more I worry about losing it. The closer I get to my goals, the more I worry about not hitting them because it would feel like a bigger failure. And I know many people who are extremely successful and struggle with depression, anxiety, and other issues that you'd think someone in their position wouldn't struggle with.
True. Older researches represent the same sad picture, for example, Dr. Michael Freeman's research:
Founders are 2X more likely to suffer from depression.
They are 6X more likely to suffer from ADHD.
They are 3X more likely to have substance abuse problems.
They are 10X more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder.
Founders are 2X more likely to have suicidal thoughts or psychiatric hospitalization.
The entrepreneurial brain, it seems, is wired for a tempest of conditions: depression, ADHD, substance abuse, bipolar disorder, and harrowing thoughts of suicide.
exactly, I have also ADHD.
Yeah, the numbers from our survey are eye-opening but not necessarily surprising because we know these issues are common.
Mental health is one of those things, Marc, we can’t neglect. I’m glad we’re bringing this to the attention of the entrepreneurial community!
Agreed. I didn't pay much attention to it for a long time, but anxiety hit me pretty hard several years ago. Thankfully, I was able to work through it with help and advice from others. I hope the resources at Founder Reports will provide the same type of help for lots of entrepreneurs.
most entrepreneurs have some sort of ocd, u need that obsession to build the best product possible
Thank you for this report 🙏🏻 really valuable data.
I’m interested to know what digital tools do people here use to help manage mental health.
Meditation apps? An AI companion? Online courses? Online communities?
Very concerning. As entrepreneurs, it's important to understand that as much as we'd like to control the future, we can't. Making peace with that will bring a lot of calm into this journey.
Thank you for bringing this insightful topic up, Marc!
You're right. There's always a lot that's out of our control. I've been self-employed for 15+ years and I still struggle with that.
The statistics that you shared are eye opening and the free resources look pretty excellent
Yes, the statistics are eye-opening. Thanks for your compliments on the resources. I'm glad to hear that they're helpful.