“I’m not feeling well. Call 911.”

That’s probably what I said to my husband, who was sitting next to me at a restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, but I’m not entirely sure. I remember telling him a little earlier about a new business angle my pregnancy brand, Emilia George, could potentially pivot to, and grabbing my cellphone to snap a selfie while jokingly observing, “Now’s the time where the next great business idea was born!”

Suddenly everything was blurry and quiet—much too quiet for a New York diner—followed by people around us who panicked and wished me well. Then there was an ambulance, a stretcher and siren, then doctors, nurses, EKG and blood tests, and a few hours later my husband took me home. I’m a mom so went straight to check on my baby and toddler but didn’t know what to say or think after the diagnosis.

Not long after that, I started asking, “Can a person remain an australiabusinessblog.com, a thriving and successful leader if he or she has panic attacks?”

Take it from me: in response to such a question, many around you will beg you to stop doing business. This is because they assume that such attacks indicate that an executive’s stress is simply too much.

And let’s be clear: panic attacks are not to be taken lightly, and those who actively (or even vaguely) expect them to show up anywhere, anytime can hamper their own confidence and that of those on the other side of the road. table. But over the course of several years, I’ve learned ways to deal with anxiety while remaining an effective leader—methods that can help fellow entrepreneurs face a similar challenge.

Related: These strategies help entrepreneurs combat anxiety and depression

1. Prioritize your bottom line: physical, not fiscal

We all want to build successful businesses, but our lives don’t end there. When a leader in a company prioritizes his or her well-being, the rest follows and a resilient team is created. An example was my decision to close Emilia George boutique for a day when an employee was not feeling well. Although he suggested keeping the shop open for “just a few more hours,” I declined, as the few sales we’d been able to make in those hours would never match the health of any team member.

All founders are on this entrepreneurial journey for the long haul. They may get a fiscal boost during sales seasons or fundraising, but physical health is the only asset a leader should have 100% control over.

2. Lean on your team

Leaders must be able to trust their teams with healthy boundaries. And this is not weakness, it is confidence. When there is no doubt or suspicion when, for example, a CEO needs to be hospitalized or otherwise need care from professionals, effective working relationships thrive.

When a solo australiabusinessblog.com begins to build a founding team, its evolution is much more difficult than one might think. Founding members are the ones who build the company culture, so it’s critical to choose those you can trust for the long haul. This is hard and takes time, but once you have such a core group, trust the members with your healthy boundaries so they know how to support you.

Related: The biggest obstacle for leaders is distrust. Here’s how to build trust in your team.

3. Don’t worry about what others might think

A paramedic once told me about a CEO who asked to cover his head while being loaded into an ambulance – afraid that the company’s stock would fall if the public knew he was ill. Of course it will be New York Times “Stop the presses!” news if Elon Musk is taken to the hospital, but most of us are not (yet) on that tenuous wealth/influence list.

It’s important to recognize that everyone faces something challenging, whether it’s health or not. Don’t judge yourself for dealing with fear – even though I fully understand the imaginary image every leader wants to keep. Are Bee peace with the fact that you have an anxiety disorder and can have panic attacks out of the blue. The more you accept and the less you care about other people’s perceptions, the more confident you will be in front of a team and the more confident they will feel in return.

Related: You don’t need high self-esteem. You need a lot of self-compassion.

Anxiety disorder among entrepreneurs is becoming increasingly prominent and on the rise, especially since the onset of Covid-19. Knowing you’ve got it and not letting it stop you from being determined and committed to a company takes strength, as does a support system. Once we embrace conscious actions to manage it, we are closer to telling new and compelling leadership stories.