Depression Among Entrepreneurs is an Epidemic Nobody is Talking About

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This right here is the definition of depression

Edible catering or not lol, it is a serious issue. I have had my bouts of depression with no choice but to get back up.

We don’t even recognize depression for what it is here in Nigeria and a lot of Nigerians are depressed. Sometimes I look on the face of Lagosians and I get depressed, you can feel the hollow, hopelessness and the just getting by curse of many. The repetitive failing government issue alone is enough to make you go berserk, no safety nets, no social security, no known plans or glimpse of hope.

Entrepreneur or not, depression is all too real in this country and for the entrepreneur it gets very real because you put in effort and even savings, so when an inevitable failure shows up, its wrecking ball madness.

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I think we should be careful not to embrace depression when we are only but low in spirit and expectations. Which may have been presided by a rather ‘harsh’ event; disappointment, loss …etc.

Suffering from Depression means waking up depressed all the time. No immediate culprit.

Not something you waste time sampling cases on Radar, get help ASAP.

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Depression and suicide is Western world. Sadism is Africa. A lot of entrepreneurs live false lives to cover up their troubles. A lot take it out on women, wives, girlfriends, children. Being honest to oneself is very important in life. Most businesses fail or don’t make much or take a very long time to get off the ground. Going into business with that low expectation and letting your partner know at all times the state of finances is the best protection against self delusion and dishonesty.

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nice, i disagree with going into business with low expectation though, why would I bother?

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Ahh!! The ups and downs. Learning this lessons along the way:

  1. Entrepreneurship is what you do. It is not who you are. You are a lot of different things. You are a son, a daughter, a husband, a wife, a father, a mother, a great friend possibly.

Separate what you do from who you are. If you business fails it doesn’t mean YOU have failed.

  1. Failure is part of the success process. See it for what it is, learned from it and you will only get better. Most successful people have failed several times before succeeding.

  2. Understand that success with entrepreneurship takes time. A medical doctor spent 7 years in Nigeria to be qualified to earn about N200,000 to N300,000 starting salary. 7 years of training, of moulding to be qualified to earn that amount.

What makes you think you will start making million in a month or year without putting in the time or getting moulded in entrepreneurship?

It’s true some succeed so fast with entrepreneurship in a very short while. But those are the exceptions. Not the norm. Don’t believe most of the sexy stories. Most are not giving you the full picture.

  1. Never compare yourself with anyone. It’s either you get proud or arrogant if you feel you are ahead or you get depressed if you feel you are behind.

Run your own lane. Besides, you are only racing against yourself. Decide what you want and go for it. Be happy for others don’t compare.

  1. As @Nwabu said, be true to yourself and to others. No need forming what is not there. Be real. Be yourself.

Don’t associate with people that don’t encourage you to be real, to be yourself even as you strive to get where you want to be. Especially someone you wish to develop a close relationship with.

If you are already in a committed relationship. Make the person understand why it is important to be real with yourselves. If the person doesn’t get it well… It’s your decision to make.

  1. Don’t be a gambler. Understand that entrepreneurs are not gamblers. While it is true they assume risk, true entrepreneurs only assume calculated risk. Even when such risk appears huge to an outsider.

Calculated risks are risks that are well weighted. You have checked the worst case scenario and have seen that you can comfortably live with that compared to the potential upside.

Always have the mindset of… Can I survive this? If yes, then further ask what the potential payout is. if no, then the deal is not worth taking irrespective of the potential payout.

  1. Understand that there are several routes to Rome. If one way is not paying off, Try another. The goal is still the same i.e. to get to Rome.

Don’t close your mind to options.

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Yo dude !!! why did you retract this

This was masterpiece !

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I didn’t want the story to be in plain view. Because it is quite personal but I know it can still be read.

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@lawwyy; Being depressed is not the same as feeling hopeless or an abstract conviction that life’s assets do not square. The person in whom an invisible agony reaches a certain unendurable level will kill him/herself the same way a trapped person will eventually jump from the window of a burning high-rise.

Ever wondered why death suddenly seems appealing for the depressed?

Make no mistake about people who leap from burning windows. The terror of falling from a great height is still just as great as it would be for you or me standing speculatively at the same window just checking out the view; i.e. the fear of falling remains a constant.

The variable here is the other terror, the fire’s flames: when the flames get close enough, falling to death becomes the slightly less terrible of two terrors.

Well nobody down the sidewalk, looking up and yelling ‘Don’t!’ and ‘Hang on!’, can understand another persons depression. One would need to have personally been trapped and felt flames to really understand a terror way beyond falling.

A man once said;

Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.

Since we’re all sharing. I’m feeling depressed. I haven’t had light for 42 days now. I’m tired of buying fuel at N140/ltr. :grinning:

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This is not true and more importantly, an unhelpful statement. Trying to localise depression is like saying only people in the west suffer from broken limbs, cancer etc.

To break it down in a simple way, depression is an illness of the mind. The mind, just like the body, breaks down. However if you’re not the sufferer, It’s hard to see it, unlike seeing someone who has a broken limb. But that doesn’t make the pain any less real. Or the suffering.

But why is your statement unhelpful? Because it trivialises their illness (like some exotic affliction), which makes it even harder to seek help. There shouldn’t be any stigma to mental illness, just like any illness.

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Wow, I know nothing about depression then and thankfully so, your description sounds to me like a demon spirit.

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@akindolu I just read your post and I love it. I have had my own fair share of being stuck in a dark place, and wrote about it last December.

Personally, I was a mess. My financials was pretty much below zero. My career was as good as non existent. Physically, I was withdrawn from almost everyone. I think I also got a little angrier than normal. There were days I would be driving home from work and literally just start shedding tears. I didn’t want anybody to tell me it would be alright. No. I just wanted everyone to stay clear, and in more appropriate terms, fuck off.

My fantasies became my escape. I love gadgets. But I couldn’t afford to buy myself the things I wanted. I could only dream. And I preferred to continue living in the dreams. Reality was a bitch, and there was absolutely no reason to wake up to it. In my depression, I tried to maintain a somewhat positive outlook. I watched tons of TV shows. I smoked a ton of cigarettes. I was almost always stoned. And I accomplished little.

For those who want to read more, here’s the link. 2015 roundup

That thing you said about keeping a notebook, a thousand times YES.

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Frank Ocean doesn’t have time for Frank Ocean. That’s the problem. But he has time for Kanye and Beyonce. He wants us to beg him. He was almost nabbed in his last public appearance during Kanye album launch, he ran, like actually running. Like, Frank give us the damn album. Lol. :disappointed:

I’m not in hurry because I know he is coming with his best art yet. Gods don’t like to be rushed. And I know the day “boys don’t cry” comes out, the world(not just the Internet) would crash.

It is likely the world’s most anticipated album right now. Nostalgia, ULTRA.

End. Before I turn this thread to my Frank Ocean obsession rant.

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Depression is real. Irrespective of the causal factor, maybe we should have a forum on this.

Hey think i should buired my ass in here​:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye::stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Not trivializing the illness but generalizing. I have seen it up close including a family friend who committed suicide in college. Strong social ties and communication helps.

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Deep…Thanks for Sharing

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Hahahahaha😂

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Like i will always say, I MISSED THE PARTY, Never thought these thread will bring these much comments, personally sometimes i get depressed or whatever the F it is called, i just feel empty inside, been seriously broke @ my 20’s, sometimes i just feel like i should just quit the entrepreneurshit stuff with my african parents currently tingling to my ears (GO AND GET A JOB) or when my dad will say udeme you are always inputting where is the output?.

These are what keep me going in this game of building my Rome online

THE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY (The next oil money)
This opportunity is for young people and young people only, imagine your dad starting an online company will you not urinate in your body when he discloses it to the family (I mean what does he knows online?)

THE COST OF STARTING & RUNNING A STARTUP
When i was 15 i never dreamt i will run a small enterprise, my dream was i will work for some oil company, starting a company then was something your dad (rich) and some partners (Very rich) will say they want to venture into not a 20 - 30 year old youth. starting an online company is relatively cheap if you know your way around it even running at the early stage except for cases of NEPA and cost of internet.

THE LADIES (including my mum)
Thank God for the ladies, they can be comforting sometimes during those times and my mum supported too. Depression is a constant phenomenon, for us as entrepreneurs whether you try to hide it or say you don’t feel it at all, maybe your mind is made with concrete but mine is built with tissues so it is soft.

I AM A NIGERIAN
Hustle,Hustle,Hustle that is my fuel i might not be an Igbo man but am i am an akwa ibom man, I may not have it now but i will have it that is my hope, "besides we no dey carry last"

DREAMING BIG
The thought of if i succeed i can be independent @ 40, that is enough for me to be undepressed, have that lovely vacation @ the beach @ bahamas with my wife and skydiving and going to the most quiet place in this earth away from these noise of a earth. That keep my balls really rolling away from the Dep. (Jack ma video https://www.facebook.com/alexanderasomba/videos/1015151568552283/ )

Like someone told me we as entrepreneurs, developers, bloggers, and the rest stakeholders in this new internet industry we are the first generation of people in Nigeria that will set the standard for new young ones who wants to take this industry as a career for the government to recommended this into schools and their curriculum and for for other parent to recommend to their children, so like he told me we are special, think about it you are special, why should depression want to kill your dream.

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Couldn’t help but picture the conversation. :joy:

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@87_chuks it is not like i don’t make my outputs (I develop websites for my clients), but for every african parent when they see you work more than the norm they believe your output should be large as the input, they don’t believe in long term shit.