Today I would like to touch on the issue of mental health in the wedding industry. I have been in business for 17 years but feel the last 2 years have been the most difficult for many. Instead of a happy beautiful industry it has become an industry of distress for so many.
Please also note: I am not a mental health professional , I am not a counsellor and I do not have a psychology qualification. The advice I am giving is from my life and business experience. It comes from helping hundreds of business owners over the years. My advice is suitable for low levels of mental health and anxiety but please recognise if you need greater support this this post.
What can cause depression, anxiety and a feeling of hopelessness?
- Lack of confidence in your abilities. Self doubting your skills and knowledge. Almost forgetting your proven track record of success
- Views and comments of others. Words hurt.
- Imposter syndrome, thinking everyone else is doing amazingly well. Believing what you see. Comparing your real life to a showreel of others.
- Unrealistic expectations. Entrepreneurship is encouraged, it is far easier to start a business now than it has ever been. People will read stories of get rich schemes, of making £100k in 24 hours. The truth is most successful businesses took time. They took time to build, they had a strategy and path to follow.
- Spending so much time on clients you forget to spend time on self care or running your business. You burn out and feel resentful. Especially if you are not charging what you should. This subsequently affects the business the following year.
- Panic about wanting to scale down or scale up. Lack of knowledge on how to make it happen
- Do you find that the people you hang around the most lift you up or weigh you down? Are they encouraging, supportive and positive? Or are they negative, overly pessimistic, unambitious– or shall I say TOXIC?
What can you do?
- Journal every day, use this to dump your thoughts but also a place to work through what is triggering you
- Unfollow / do a social media block out
- Build a community of positive people
- Set realistic goals and have a strategy to make it happen
- Don’t listen to negative opinions of others.
- Up your self care – exercise, eat well, book pampering sessions
- Increase your knowledge in areas you have self doubt in. This increases your confidence and negative thoughts
- Don’t believe everything you see – become generation x who are skeptical and don’t believe everything they see or hear
To hear more on this topic watch my facebook live over on my page.
If you would like to learn more about my services and how I work with business owners please do get in touch. And if you need something a bit different from what is on offer, its worth a call as sometimes I am able to create something bespoke for clients.