Ask HN: Any startup founders that have dealt with emotional problems / PTSD? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Any startup founders that have dealt with emotional problems / PTSD?

3 pointszadler7 comments

Hi HN; I'm at a bit of a low point, because I have some startups that I want to launch but I seem to mess up every possible business relationship that I would need to be able to make it work.

This happens due to past trauma and abandonment; I'm anticipating that things will go wrong, to the extent that anything I don't understand could cause me to panic and give a reaction to that would seem emotionally incoherent to the other person, and therefore a red flag.

It's really not easy to fix this, finding a psychologist that understands it is not easy, and people that you don't know are not likely to give you a second chance if they see something weird. Additionally, it's very hard to get any feedback at all, since it's not comfortable for most people to talk about.

Has anyone had to solve this for themselves? I understand it will be different for everyone, but I would be interested in hearing about any strategies or workarounds. I'm not that confident about being able to solve it with a therapist in the short term, so I'm open to other ideas, for example, hiring staff to aid in communications, or different communication strategies.

Many thanks.

I'm working on a startup and I've had a few different points where I started slipping a bit. What worked for me was taking some real time off and disconnecting from the internet/computer entirely.

More than anything know that you're not alone, as others have stated it's incredibly hard and stressful to start a business, and it is possible to get better.

Happy to chat just reach out!

Honestly I don't think the main problem is about the startup you want to launch or your business relationships. Those are infinitely less important than your mental health/wellbeing. Launching a company is one of the most stressful thing you could choose to do, imo it's a terrible idea to do it when you're not feeling good or at least ok. What I did was take a break, take care of myself, and try again when I felt better.

> I'm not that confident about being able to solve it with a therapist in the short term

And you probably won't, but that's not the point, this usually won't go away on it's own, you need to work on it no matter what, this is bigger/more important than launching a company

> I'm anticipating that things will go wrong...

Yep, anxiety absolutely self-propagates. You have to break that cycle. Which first means realizing that it is a self-perpetuating cycle, being aware of it when you are creating your own anxiety triggers, and instead finding behavior that moves you in a positive direction. I'm surprised that you are having trouble finding a care provider who understands. Maybe stop looking for a psychologist and just find a therapist? This sounds like the kind of thing that a bit of CBT therapy could help with. And your lack of confidence that this is true is also likely driven by the same self-perpetuating anxiety. Don't let "maybe it won't work" stop you from actually trying.

Smoke some weed, eat some mushrooms and you’ll be fine. (or there is always an option called MDMA)

Some thoughts:

1. Just launch and see what happens.

2. Work on things that don't require business relationships to get started; i.e. don't take a hard dependency on other people changing their behavior.

3. Find a more fulfilling pursuit than startups.

Good luck.

Have you considered a therapist with a bit of life experience, say 40+?

What’s your cofounder say?

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