"I am at my first of several doctors appointments intentionally scheduled during the winter holiday season. Not because I'm sick. Because it's the only week of the year when nothing work-related is fighting for my time. The office is closed. The investors aren't emailing. The product update notifications have stopped. For seven days I can put my body first. So I schedule the bloodwork."
"The culprit? Stress. Work-related stress that I knew was hurting me and still gave myself permission to ignore. I got a second (and third) chance. Not everyone does. I lost a close founder friend to suicide. He was brilliant and successful by every external measure. I noticed him pulling away. I gave him space, thinking that's what he needed. I was wrong."
A founder uses the holiday week to schedule overdue medical appointments because work normally monopolizes time. Preventive care and routine visits were repeatedly postponed while building venture-backed companies under founder norms. Persistent work-related stress culminated in severe medical outcomes: kidney failure twice, end-stage renal disease, two transplants, and a decade of dialysis. Stress is identified as the primary culprit. Multiple medical second chances were granted, while a close founder friend died by suicide after withdrawing. Research data indicate founders face elevated risks of depression, substance abuse, and widespread mental health struggles. Success is celebrated while personal costs remain unspoken.
Read at Fast Company
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