JONATHAN COOK: He’s not nuts, he’s an entrepreneur
Mental health concerns seem to be prevalent among people who create their own businesses
Do you have to be at least a little insane to succeed as an entrepreneur? Certainly prized entrepreneurial qualities can be found in diagnostic manuals of mental illness, such as ADHD and impulsivity. Some positive traits, such as optimism, self-efficacy and internal locus of control, can become problems when overplayed.
In 2015 Michael Freeman and colleagues at the University of California found that mental health concerns were present across 72% of a group of 242 entrepreneurs, significantly more than that of a comparison group. Of the entrepreneurs 49% reported having one or more lifetime mental health conditions, compared with 32% of all adults in the US...
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