Are You Self-employed? Be Careful With Your Health

One of the most admired minds in recent years was that of the visionary Steve Jobs. This man is the author of phrases like “it has to be something that you are passionate about, because otherwise, you will not have the perseverance to carry it out .” However, the reality of pursuing your passion can end you as a freelancer, which could be quite detrimental to your health.

Because being autonomous could destroy your stability, both physically and mentally. This is at least clear from a study carried out by the Bellvitge hospital in Barcelona. The more than 3 million freelancers in this country have many ballots to end a prolonged leave.

Self-employed life

They call us in many ways. Sometimes we are freelancers, other entrepreneurs. But, ultimately, we are people who, in an exercise of courage, try to earn a living working on our own account. However, on a day-to-day basis we have to deal with various drawbacks. It is true that we can take a day off whenever we want and organize our schedules, although not all of them succeed, and not always.

But it is also true that we suffer greater instability than an employed person. Not to mention those who survive with low rates, high fees, unpaid vacations, incomes that fluctuate from month to month … All of this is making a dent in the mental stability of the person, which in turn ends up being reflected in health. As some say, it is a life on the tightrope, weakened by different problems.

What happens to the self-employed

According to experts, the supposed freedom of the self-employed is accompanied by many problems. Bad time management, fear, instability, sedentary lifestyle, anxiety or procrastination are some of them. So these brave self-employed end up suffering largely from mental health-related illnesses. One of them is anxiety, which can be the previous step to more serious ones, such as schizophrenia.

And although studies do not always focus on the real or direct causes of mental pathologies in freelancers, most experts attribute them to constantly living on the wire. To top it all, if you have to take low, it is done at the end, when there is no turning back and the damage has worsened.

Obviously, we are putting ourselves at one end of the rope. Not all freelancers suffer from these vagaries of unstable work. However, it is true that when something does not go well, it is more unprotected.

What to do to overcome the evils of the freelance

If you want to take advantage of the freedom that being freelance offers you, but not the negative aspects, today possible solutions that happen, primarily, by being sensible, thoughtful and with common sense.

Do it today

As we have said, a big problem for the self-employed is procrastination. Leaving for tomorrow what you can do today ends up developing the famous snowball. Nowadays, living in a world full of distractions, such as social networks, talks, games, television, etc., this phenomenon is very common: the self-employed spends the day working, but their performance is very low.

So remember, if you leave something for tomorrow that you can do today, you are putting your future self in debt, who will remember your past self with little affection. And if it leaves something else for the next day, it causes this ball to not stop growing, until it becomes immeasurable.

The future is not now

Another big dilemma for freelancers is overthinking the future. Thus, and knowing the fluctuations in the market and employment, he spends days of boredom compared to others of not stopping … That is, stress and discomfort.

However, thinking too much about the future leads us to accept an excess of work that can produce a great burden. Thus, it is important to know when to delegate, resign, when we can no longer, etc. That is, stop being aware of the phone or e-mail to live the present, not the future.

There is a world out there

Many freelancers, especially those who work at home, end up not walking too much on the street. A mistake, since spending too much time in a certain place, without physical contact with anyone, ends up isolating the person and impoverishing them.

So go out, get dressed, go to the gym, socialize, go down to the bar, chat with other people, use modalities like co-working. That is, do not allow your reality to be four walls, because you can go crazy. Being autonomous does not necessarily have to refer to a person who suffers constantly.

In this sense, every job usually has great advantages and not minor inconveniences. Thus, the intelligence of the autonomous must necessarily reside in managing the two extremes of the scale itself, so that the balance is not broken and their mental health ends up paying the consequences.