not sure what i have

[Steven75]

Hi,

I am completely new to this, i was hearing a podcast of an interview of Leanne Faulkner and she spoke about mental health issues of small business owners, suddenly i realised all the things she was saying was me. I know something is wrong but was not sure what, i have been running my business for nearly 3 years now and even though my business was and is struggling i was strong and positive in the beginning and brought my business a long way to where it is now, i am still not making money but nearly there, there are a few things i have to do to get it over the line but sometimes i feel i am carrying 100 kgs of weight in each hand and just give up. I have this constant pressure in my head, like actual physical pressure, like i have wrapped my head with a few rubber bands. I have noticed this goes away when i am happy. I have tried so many things to make me feel positive and happy but it gets harder. I know i can get through this but it gets tougher, i am not sure how to get through this, or am i being silly and this is nothing just suck it up and push forward. I run my business alone and cant afford to employ someone at this stage. I tried to speak about this to my wife but she doesnt seem to see i have a problem. So i dont really have anyone i can talk to. I just wanted to post on this forum to see if i do have a problem or i am being silly, if i do have a problem how should i go about getting better.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Steven75,

Welcome to the forums and thanks for joining us and reaching out.

Your question at the end of the post was if there's a problem or if you're being silly, and to that I ask - what would being silly look like? If you're struggling, you're struggling - you don't need a diagnosis of anything to make that valid. It matters just because you say that it matters.

Honestly I'm not surprised that you feel like you have bands wrapped around your head. Making a small business work is hard. I'm in the family of a small business and the pressure and work is often underrated. Unless people are part of a small business, it's often hard to understand how different and challenging it is.

Maybe instead of trying to 'suck it up', you could just toy with the idea of accepting it? Knowing that it matters, you're not silly and yet it doesn't have to stop you from running your business can help.