Bettermental

Bettermental is wrapping up Season 2 with a question: are you limiting your own potential by trying to control your success?

Mike and Leanna discuss what success has meant for each of them: professionally, financially, and mentally. They describe the potential benefits and limitations of wanting to control things when it comes to your personal success, and how your definition of success might change over time.

You’ll learn:

• How the feeling of success or failure can relate to high functioning anxiety and high achieving tendencies [4:25] 
• What success has personally looked like for Mike and Leanna [5:00]
• How to define what success means to you [6:48]
• Examples of what we might tell ourselves regarding our success and what we must do to maintain it [9:50]
• The relationship between success and financial health [11:50]
• The balance between planning for success but not limiting your opportunities [19:50]

 Show notes at:  https://bettermental.fm/episodes/controlling-your-own-success 

Ambitious, goal-oriented, perfect. These qualities may sound like positives, but sometimes the person with which we label them, actually feels overwhelmed, burnt out, or not enough.

In this guest episode, Licensed Professional Counselor Tati Garcia joins Mike and Leanna again to explore the relationship between high-functioning anxiety and the need for control.

You’ll learn:

• What high functioning anxiety is and how it might look for a business owner [4:29] 
• The difference between “low functioning” and “high functioning” anxiety [7:35] 
• Tatiana Garcia’s personal struggles with high functioning anxiety [12:50] 
• Tatiana’s tips for establishing your non-negotiables for self-care [14:43] 
• The concept of burnout [18:25] 
• How common it is for people with high functioning anxiety to have difficulty relaxing [21:07] 

 Show notes at: https://bettermental.fm/episodes/anxiety-and-control

Are you a perfectionist? Do you appear to have it all together, but inside you feel worried, overwhelmed, and burnt out? In this special guest episode, Licensed Professional Counselor Tatiana Garcia joins Mike and Leanna to talk about high achievers, high-functioning anxiety, and her own mental health journey. 

You’ll learn:

• The typical characteristics of people with high-functioning anxiety [5:49]
• How Tatiana’s experience as a business owner impacts her relationships with clients who are struggling with high-functioning anxiety [13:26]
• The prevalence of feelings such as shame and loneliness associated with mental health [14:12]
• Tatiana’s own mental health history and experiences with anxiety [17:09] 
• Steps for prioritizing your mental health if you are a business owner or someone with high-functioning anxiety [27:08]

Show notes at: https://bettermental.fm/episodes/high-functioning-anxiety

Running a business with depression can be a huge challenge —and a never-ending one. In this episode, Mike and Leanna take a break from their scheduled episodes to share a spontaneous update on their mental health and work.

You’ll learn:

• About each speaker’s experiences with depression and what it’s like to continue working during a depressive episode [3:55] 
• How the symptoms of depression can change over time [5:32] 
• How the physical and behavioral symptoms of depression can vary from person to person [10:20] 
• What “masking” is and how it is used as a means for coping and surviving in the world during a depressive episode  [14:09]
• About budgeting your energy, especially when you have energy lows during a depressive episode [16:14]
• The relationship between money and mental health, and how having systems in place can mitigate anxiety and depression over cash flow [19:10]
• That the idea of “curing” depression is different for each individual [33:35] 

Show notes at: https://bettermental.fm/episodes/depression-mental-health

As business owners and freelancers, we rely on our client relationships to make a living. But managing them can sometimes be a struggle. In this episode, Mike and Leanna discuss defining your ideal client, setting expectations and having emergency protocols in place, and how to deal with difficult clients.

You’ll learn:

• That defining a target market is essential for successful client relationships [5:53]
• The importance of doing intro calls to learn about a new client’s values [14:47]
• Why you should set boundaries and expectations when you have a business relationship with a friend [18:00]
• The idea of a client relationship as a bank account [19:40]
• That having protocols for yourself and your business is helpful for when stressful situations arise [24:09]
• Leanna’s strategy for dealing with a client conflict: leave money out of it [26:48]
• Mike’s strategy for dealing with a client conflict: control the quality of your work [28:36]
• That having protocols and systems in place can help you objectively reflect on a conflict [33:09]

  Show notes:  https://bettermental.fm/episodes/manage-business-clients

Do you feel like you have enough money in your business bank account? In this episode, Mike and Leanna talk about the financial pressures of being an entrepreneur, hustle culture, and the impact money has on our mental health and self-worth. 

You’ll learn:

• Cultural myths that have become accepted as common knowledge, such as the feast or famine cycle [5:49]
• That freelancers and business owners do not have to struggle to achieve, and should surround themselves with people of a similar mindset [8:23]
• Mike’s experience with overcoming bankruptcy [10:42]
• How to separate your self-worth from dollar signs [15:45]
• Advice for overcoming the fear of letting other people see your business finances [20:59]
• How anxiety about money inhibits the growth of your business [24:19]

Show notes:   https://bettermental.fm/episodes/business-finances 

How much of your work day is truly productive? Are you spending time on the right things?

In this episode, Mike and Leanna dive into the topic of time management, and how managing your time can improve your mental health as well as your productivity.

Learn strategies for tracking your daily activities, finding a work life balance, setting boundaries, and dealing with interruptions.

You’ll learn:

• Mike’s “brain dump” strategy to alleviate stress [0:48]
• How your chronotype affects when you will be most productive during the day [6:11]
• The meaning of work life balance and how it differs for everyone [9:49]
• The modern concept of work life integration, rather than work life separation [14:04]
• Why you should measure how you spend your time [16:10]
• The importance of pre-planning how to deal with interruptions [22:11]
• Advocating for yourself: setting boundaries and sticking to them [25:24

Resources mentioned: 
Work and Mood Tracker: https://zapier.com/blog/mental-health-productivity-tracker/

Show notes at: https://bettermental.fm/episodes/time-management

What happens when you feel an emotion? A common piece of advice is to “think positive thoughts. But is that enough if you struggle with mental health challenges? 

Listen to this episode to learn the difference between controlling and managing emotions. Leanna explores how emotions differ from mental health conditions, while Mike offers advice on how to check in with yourself each day, even during a busy schedule. 

You’ll learn:

• What emotional dysregulation can look and feel like [3:28]
• Is it possible to control your feelings? [5:27]
• The difference between an emotion and a mental health condition [11:46]
• How to check in with your emotions and their physical symptoms [13:36]
• Three questions to ask yourself each day [16:00]
• How controlling emotions is different from managing emotions [23:40]
• Managing emotions looks different for everybody [24:20]

Resources mentioned in the episode: National Institutes of Health and Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score

Show notes at:  https://bettermental.fm/episodes/control-your-emotions 
 

Do you consider yourself a manager? Or would you say you’re more of a control freak? 

We often can't control our emotions, but we can learn to recognize them. We can learn to notice how they feel in our bodies, understand what they are showing us, and try to move forward in a healthy direction.

In this episode, find out how to navigate the delicate dance between control and management.

You’ll learn:

• The importance of being flexible with yourself and your routine [1:49]
• What’s the definition of control? [3:55] 
• Two common ways control shows up for entrepreneurs [7:59]
• What control has to do with mental health and business [10:57] 
• How Mike manages anger and depression as an entrepreneur [11:16]
• How Leanna learned to work alongside her mental health struggles [12:47]  
• What are “gut checks”? [20:12] 
• 3 questions to ask yourself throughout the day [23:10] 

Bettermental is a mental health resource for small business owners. Your hosts are Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist®, Mike Veny and future of work and wellbeing writer, Leanna Lee. In each episode, they share their mental health ups and downs and practical solutions for healthy business growth.

Resources mentioned in this episode: https://bettermental.fm/episodes/control-vs-management
 

Bettermental is a mental health resource for small business owners. Your hosts are Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist®, Mike Veny and future of work and wellbeing writer, Leanna Lee. In each episode, they share their mental health ups and downs and practical solutions for healthy business growth.

Between the two of us, who calls themself a bit of a control freak, and how does that come into play with planning a podcast together? Find out all this and more in this trailer of Bettermenal Season 2.

In this trailer, we’ll cover:

• Two things Mike and Leanna have in common [2:03] 
• A behind-the-scenes look at the podcast planning process  [2:35]
• Why it can be difficult to be fully present  [4:01]
• What control has to do with business and mental health  [6:50]
• Season 2 sneak peek [8:23] 

Resources mentioned in this episode: https://bettermental.fm/episodes/bettermental-season-2