Sessions planned on mental wellness

Initiative’s focus is on business owners

Entrepreneurs generally are viewed as high-energy risk-takers who plow through every barrier that pops up on the way to fame and riches. Yet they also — like the general population — are vulnerable to mentalhealth problems arising from stress and anxiety.

Many small-business owners are said to have a “John Wayne mentality” that encourages them to show grit and determination while overlooking mental illnesses or related challenges that can lead to deeper troubles and possibly suicide.

Entrepreneurs can ride an extraordinary high when things are going well and then dive into deep depression when their ideas are rejected or funding is hard to come by, experts say.

“The ride on that roller coaster can be pretty challenging and, unfortunately, it ends in failure more time than it does to success,” Wayne Miller, executive director of the Little Rock Venture Center, said Friday in announcing a new health initiative. “The time to address this is obviously now.”

To combat the problem and bring it to light, the Venture Center is working with two health care providers to deliver six sessions that address the mental-health challenges faced by entrepreneurs and small-business owners.

The partnership is with the BridgeWay Hospital in

North Little Rock and Chenal Family Therapy. Monthly sessions begin Feb. 26 with a focus on providing a mentalhealth toolkit for employers.

A survey conducted by the nonprofit organization Mental Health America from January-September found that 19% of people experience mental illness, and that increased by 1.5 million from the previous year.

Rural states like Arkansas have barriers to access affordable treatment that create recovery problems, according to Bruce Trimble, director of business development of BridgeWay Hospital.

“The prevalence of mentalhealth issues, and substance abuse, places Arkansans of all ages at grave risk,” Trimble said. Addressing mentalhealth challenges should include overcoming the “stigma surrounding the need to ask for help,” Trimble said.

Likewise, Chenal Family Therapy founder Ken Clark noted the importance of reversing the “John Wayne mentality” that keeps entrepreneurs and others from addressing mental illness.

“We need entrepreneurs who have succeeded to say this was, and is, a struggle,” Clark said.

The VCHealth health initiative will include information that helps family members, friends and colleagues of entrepreneurs, groups that also suffer when business owners are grappling with mental illness.

“If we don’t provide support for the people who are supporting the entrepreneurs at ground zero, the whole system crumbles,” Clark said.

Addressing mental health in the entrepreneurial ecosystem is essential training for success, according to Clark. “You have to do these things proactively so that you’re ready when the tough times come,” he said.

It’s useful when celebrities champion causes like mentalhealth recovery though finding a mentor is often more meaningful, Trimble said. “Many, many times we don’t all relate to celebrities and it does take somebody locally” to provide leadership on the matter, he added.

More information on the VCHealth series is available at venturecenter.co/events. Sessions are scheduled for the last Friday of every month.