Enter your contact information below to download the Nexus Managed IT Services buyers guide.
In this episode of TechBeat, hear how Levi Lindsay learned to discuss, address and deal with the stress and mental health consequences that come with running a business.
Nexus CEO Earl Foote was recently joined on TechBeat by Levi Lindsay to talk about mental health, dealing with burnout, and more. Discover a few simple tips for managing your mental health in relation to your work.
Levi is both an active entrepreneur and an advocate for more meaningful and open discussions about mental health in the business world. He makes TikToks for a living at Neighbor.com, works to change the mental health narrative as co-founder of We Are Mind, and spends the rest of his time with his daughters.
Levi began his life as an entrepreneur shortly after getting married. At first, as his business grew and succeeded, he found he greatly enjoyed the lifestyle as a business owner. However, it wasn’t long until the stress set in.
“I started realizing that having a business is crazy hard, and having panic attacks,” says Levi. “I started sharing about that and realized I wasn’t alone.”
“There have been some pretty archaic ideas about mental health,” says Earl. “What [Levi] is doing is being seen on a national level, and changing the narrative nationally.”
There remains a strong stigma around mental health in any given setting, but especially among business owners, managers, and anyone who would consider themself a leader. It can be easy to assume that whoever’s in charge needs to put on a brave face, be the rock of a given team, and bear the full weight of the business, but that’s not really the reality.
On the contrary, the stress that can come with running a business and employing and managing a team of employees can do a lot of damage if it’s not handled properly. It wasn’t until Levi was at that pressure point that he recognized something needed to change.
“I was raised to just ‘suck it up’,” says Levi. “Owning a business, in that crux, my mental health started declining.”
Levi shared that a key step in how he achieved a more stable work/life balance was in recognizing that he couldn’t do everything himself. While he has certain strengths that fall under more creative aspects of the business, he’s not as suited to sales or HR work.
Just because you’re the business owner doesn’t mean you have to have a hand in every single process. By hiring the right people to manage tasks you’re not suited to, you can both lower your workload, and develop a more effective workplace and business as a whole.
Levi also spoke very candidly about how beneficial the right medication has been for his mental health. Medication still carries a lot of stigma, but it’s important to recognize that it can often be the right strategy for mitigating stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
A key moment in Levi’s mental health journey was when he spoke to his wife about his struggles. She was able to lend an important perspective, and give him the push he needed to make a change in his life.
The same can be true for you. Whether it’s a spouse, your co-founder, a therapist or a good friend, you should talk through what you’re struggling with.
To learn more about managing mental health, make sure to check out the complete recording of this TechBeat episode with Levi Lindsay.