Self-Employment Stress: 3 Things You Need to Know
Here are tips to help you deal with self-employment stress
Self-employment is stressful. However, self-employment stress is not necessarily a bad thing.
I feel like there are two ways to approach stress: learn how to cope with it or let it run your life. If you choose the former, you can manage stress before it hampers your self-employment success.
What Have I Learned About Self-Employment Stress Thus Far?
I feel like I’ve learned a lot about stress during my time as a self-employable — and here are three things I’d like to share:
1. Stress is common.
In a recent study of 4,619 individuals, 74 percent of participants said they “have felt so stressed they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope,” according to the Mental Health Foundation. So, if you feel overwhelmed by stress, you’re not alone.
2. Stress is exhausting.
Stress affects your body and mind — despite the fact that you won’t necessarily feel its impact right away. So, you need to be able to identify stress before it gets out of hand. Because once stress reaches its boiling point, it can cause headaches, anxiety, overeating and other problems that impact your body, mood and behaviors.
3. Stress is ongoing.
Stress is a problem that won’t go away. So, you need to learn how to cope with it. The sooner you learn how to identify stress, the sooner you can develop strategies to manage it.
How to Manage Self-Employment Stress
Here are tips to help you reduce your stress levels:
- Take a break. If you feel stressed, take a five- to 10-minute break to grab a snack, go for a walk or do something you enjoy.
- Reward yourself. Use rewards like a cup of coffee from your favorite coffee shop or going to a movie after work so you have things to look forward to throughout your workday.
- Prioritize your health. Visit a doctor if stress feels too tough to manage so you can develop a healthy, effective stress management strategy.
I admit it: I still have lots to learn about stress. But my hope is that spreading awareness about the dangers of self-employment stress can help you cope with this problem. And together, we can reduce our stress levels and succeed as self-employables.