Firstly, despite the common treatment as if it is an ordinary thing of people’s lives, stress can be considered as a disease having serious effects on human health. In the life of an entrepreneur, stress is more constant since the intense routine of work, and there are countless responsibilities and concerns that follow the business.
However, the big question is: what are the signs of excessive stress in entrepreneurship and how can we prevent this situation from getting worse? Find out by reading this post!
After all, what is stress?
Stress is the reaction of the body to threatening situations. In a natural response, humans experience fear and, as a mechanism of defense, the body releases hormones like adrenaline, in order to keep the person alert and ready to react.
In this sense, there are many contexts in which stress can manifest itself: traffic, financial problems, conflicts at work, traumatic accidents, emergency situations, various illnesses, among others.
Despite being a word used to define higher levels of irritability in people’s daily lives, stress is an illness and should be treated as such, preventing it from causing further harm to health.
Stress caused by entrepreneurship
Others would say that owning their own business and not having a boss at work who could give orders was more peaceful and less stressful, but reality shows the opposite.
As an entrepreneur, responsibilities triple because it will take a lot of dedication to keep your business in the black. Thus, the entrepreneur finds himself under constant psychological pressure and needs to be aware of the risks that the business may face in the market.
The impacts of stress on the entrepreneur’s routine
Nowadays, it has become increasingly common to come across stressed entrepreneurs, due to the accumulation of tasks, financial problems, among other situations that have appeared in a business.
The fear of professional failure increases stress levels in entrepreneurs , who need to constantly deal with all the administrative issues related to their company, preventing it from failing.
So, in most cases, the entrepreneur remains in a constant state of alert, without prioritizing time to rest to replenish energy.
It is during this process that stress becomes more intense, causing a drop in productivity, fatigue, irritability, insomnia, concentration problems and other symptoms. This situation tends to worsen as the entrepreneur realizes that he is not achieving his goals at work.
The main impacts of this stressful routine for entrepreneurs are on the individual’s own mental and physical health, resulting in burnout syndrome, anxiety, depression, panic syndrome and other psychological disorders.
How to identify signs of extreme stress in entrepreneurs?
Extreme stress can trigger serious illnesses, such as burnout syndrome, which is total exhaustion (physical and mental), normally resulting from an intense work routine, directly affecting your professional life.
However, before worrying about the risks of being affected by extreme stress, resulting in burnout syndrome, know that your body gives several signals until it reaches its limit.
Therefore, get to know them and look for alternatives to avoid the worst:
• loss of concentration;
• memory problems;
• irritability;
• frequent mood swings;
• social isolation;
• pessimism;
• loss of appetite;
• insomnia;
• tremors and palpitations;
• headaches;
• muscle pain;
• skin and hair problems;
• unsatisfactory sex life;
• reduced productivity;
• digestive problems.
Although these are symptoms that are quite common in most people’s daily lives, they cannot simply be ignored, as “pushing everyday stressful situations under the rug” will certainly only make your situation worse, until you reach your limit.
How to prevent stress in entrepreneurship from getting worse?
There is no need to despair before it is time, after all, stress in entrepreneurship is a reality that needs to be controlled day after day. By starting to make an effort now, you will be preventing more serious illnesses from harming your health.
Check out some tips on how to avoid stress in your entrepreneurial routine!
Set your working hours
You may love your job, but without a set schedule, your health will certainly suffer the consequences sooner or later. Therefore, set a time to start and finish your workday and stick to it.
Set achievable goals
It is true that entrepreneurs are driven by their achievements and that is exactly why you must set achievable goals for your business, respecting limits and being committed to what is achievable at the moment.
Try to balance your professional and personal life
Just as an entrepreneur’s routine is quite intense, so should their rest period. So, invest in moments of well-being and relaxation to compensate for all the time spent working. Some activities such as watching movies, reading books , hanging out with friends and family, and practicing a hobby are good options.
Outsource services and delegate functions
It is humanly impossible to handle all functions within a business or in any context in life, which is why it is important to rely on outsourcing services as a favorable investment for the smooth running of your company.
A good example of this is adopting a control system to handle all financial management activities in your business. With it, most of your concerns will be in “good hands” and you will have more time and energy to deal with other areas of your business.