October is Mental Health Awareness Month, so I thought I would share my story because I know that many others are dealing with this challenge in these trying times. Whether you are running a small business, a large company, or your own family and life, I am sure you can relate. I was just at an event with a few friends in the health industry, and we were lamenting about the state of the world. Everything has a cycle, and these current times seem like a long-drawn-out down cycle. Riding the waves seems very challenging for us all, and for those who are sensitive, empathic, or connected, it’s a difficult time. Layer on dealing with mental health issues, and it gets heavier.
To the outside world, it may seem like I have everything together. But unless you’ve read one of my books, you probably wouldn’t know that I have struggled with depression, ADHD, and OCD for most of my life.
I recently returned from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses conference, where I met so many entrepreneurs and small business owners. My biggest takeaway was that the struggle is real – being a small business owner is a challenging and lonely road to walk. I am even more convinced that business owners need to embrace a love of physical and mental health and wellness – because that is success on its own.
For those challenged with our mental health, it becomes even more paramount that we take care of not just the physical body, which is an outward manifestation of our mind, but also our mental health and emotional wellness.
For over 25 years, I’ve been running the largest yoga school in North America. Fortunately, I have all the tools at my disposal to deal with my physical and mental health, and every time I do another radio show, I learn so much more. Much like intellectual pursuits, learning health is a lifelong process. I believe the process starts with committing to doing whatever it takes to take care of your body and mind, including your mental health.
My regime includes the following:
- Working out in different ways
- Yoga
- Meditation
- Positive affirmations & self-talk
- Healthy/clean eating
- Extreme moderation when it comes to alcohol and somewhat less to caffeine
- Sound healing and listening to Chants
- Supplements and intravenous vitamin drips.
But wait – there’s more!
During the first few months of COVID, I decided to give up my antidepressants. It was probably the worst time to do this as we had extreme business uncertainty, given that all our training courses, conferences, and events were live before March 2020. I was also pretty much alone in my apartment in New York City, and my mind left to itself is not always the best company. This time forced me to do intense self-study. Fortunately, I was teaching yoga to a group of women business owners and our YogaFit network about 4 to 5 times a week which really gave me a lift. Having had to sit with myself for the better part of 3 1/2 months, I gained a deeper understanding of myself and, for sure, a better relationship with myself.
After a particularly rough summer this year, I made the executive decision to start retaking my antidepressant. My rationale was that I knew what it was like to not be on the pills, so let me try 30 days of them again and see how or if I feel different. I have to say that, to a certain degree, I am feeling better 45 days in.
I share this story because I know that for those of us struggling with mental health and running a business, we are walking a tightrope constantly. Through this communication, I aim to empower small business owners to take control of their physical and mental health.
As we all know, 80% of adult disease is lifestyle-related, which means that no matter what our DNA or our genetics say, we can significantly improve our return on investment (ROI) with a healthy lifestyle and proper mindset. I’m here to help small business owners improve their ROI – which can only help the business ROI – and remember that “your health is truly your most valuable asset always.”
