Stress Management for Entrepreneurs: Building a Business That Works For You

Written by Jenine Lillian, #ActuallyAutistic Neurodiversity Consultant & Educator and BCPF Society Board: Regional Director – Kootenays

January 2026

Entrepreneurship is demanding. For those of us navigating disability, neurodivergence, chronic illness, or trauma histories, it often comes with an added layer of complexity. We bring powerful strengths to our work, alongside very real needs.

I call this the Triple Burden: running a business, stewarding our health and energy, and carving out paths through systems that were never designed with us in mind.

Here's the good news: when we name these realities, we can design around them. That's not weakness

or self-indulgence. That's strategy. That's innovation.

The Hidden Costs of "Pushing Through"

Much of mainstream entrepreneurship culture is built on the idea that capacity is infinite and willpower can override biology. We're told to "push through," "power on," or "suck it up."

The cost of this mindset is rarely talked about.

When we override our limits, we don't actually get more done. We borrow energy from our future selves, often at a steep interest rate. The bill shows up later as burnout, health crashes, or loss of capacity that takes months or years to rebuild.

For disabled, neurodivergent, and veteran entrepreneurs, pushing through often means paying an additional executive function tax — the invisible energy cost of planning, prioritizing, switching tasks, and regulating our nervous systems just to stay functional.

It can also mean masking, suppressing pain signals, ignoring trauma responses, or forcing productivity during periods of low capacity. None of that is free.

The hidden costs include:

• Longer recovery times after busy periods

• Increased symptom severity and frequency

• Reduced cognitive clarity and creativity

• More mistakes, rework, and decision fatigue

• A shrinking sense of joy or purpose in work

These aren't personal failures. They're predictable outcomes of unsustainable systems.

The Myths That Cost Us Our Health

We're surrounded by myths that tell us we need to work harder, do more, and handle everything alone to be successful. Two myths do particular damage.

The myth of multitasking tells us we should do many things at once. In reality, our brains task-switch, and every switch drains mental energy and increases stress.

The myth of productivity tells us we should be productive for 40 hours a week. Research suggests most people have 12 to 25 hours of true strategic capacity — roughly 2 to 4 hours a day.

When we ignore these realities and buy into these myths, the impacts are real:

• Chronic stress and burnout that can take months or years to recover from

• Worsening mental health, including increased anxiety, depression, or trauma responses

• Physical health deterioration — weakened immune system, chronic pain, cardiovascular

• problems, autoimmune flares

• Sleep disruption, brain fog, and cognitive decline

• Emotional exhaustion that affects our relationships

• Loss of joy in work that once felt meaningful

These are real health impacts that matter. Self-care isn't optional. It's how we protect our long-term ability to keep doing work that matters.

Self-Care as Strategic Infrastructure

Here's a reframe that changes everything: for disabled and neurodivergent entrepreneurs, self-care isn't indulgent. Self-care is strategic infrastructure — the foundation that allows your business to thrive.

Physical self-care means recognizing rest as a biological requirement, not a reward. Your body is your primary business tool. Recovery time is biological data your business plan needs to account for.

Emotional self-care includes boundaries that teach people how to work with you, processing space, and relationships where masking isn't required.

Mental self-care means protecting white space. Unstructured time where your mind can wander is where creativity and insight happen. If every moment must be productive, stress wins.

Structural self-care is about systems: automations, batching similar tasks, realistic calendars, and designing work to reduce cognitive load.

Working With Your Energy

Traditional time management assumes consistent capacity. Energy-aware business design does not.

Stewarding energy means:

• Protecting your peak cognitive windows for your most important work

• Planning for low-capacity seasons with a "minimum viable business" approach

• Scheduling recovery time after high-demand periods as non-negotiable calendar blocks

• Treating rest as data — if it's not on your master calendar, it doesn't exist

Honoring energy isn't a limitation. It's what makes sustainable contribution possible.

Boundaries Are Business Strategy

Boundaries protect your work by protecting you:

• Set specific communication windows for checking email and messages

• Use the "slow yes" — "Let me check my capacity and get back to you"

• Be honest about capacity — transparency builds trust

• Remember that "no" is a complete sentence

Listening to Your Body's Wisdom

Your body gives early signals when something needs attention. Noticing them sooner — at a 3 out of 10, before they become crises — changes everything.

Signals may be physical (sleep changes, pain flares), emotional (irritability, anxiety), cognitive (decision fatigue, brain fog), or behavioral (isolating, abandoning routines).

When they appear, simple tools help regulate your system:

• Cold water reset: Splash your face or hold ice to calm your nervous system instantly

• Box breathing: Four counts in, hold for four, four counts out, hold for four

• End-of-day shutdown ritual: Close all tabs, write tomorrow's top three priorities, do something physical to signal the workday is done

Expanding What Success Means

What if success included more than revenue and growth?

• Impact — making the difference you wanted to make

• Stability — sustainable income without constant crisis

• Alignment — work that reflects your values

• Ease — a business that works with you, not against you

• Joy — actually liking what you do most days

Your business should serve your life, not consume it.

Start Where You Are

You don't need to overhaul your entire business. Sustainability comes from small shifts.

Choose one for the next two weeks:

• Add one genuine rest day to your schedule

• Set one new boundary

• Remove one digital friction point

• Delegate one task that depletes you

• Reduce your meeting load by 25%

Neurodivergent and disabled people are already experts in adaptive design and creative problem-solving.

We know how to build systems that work with our brains, to craft environments that support —not punish — difference. These skills aren't weaknesses. They're evidence of resilience, insight, and leadership.

You are already enough.

Your needs are legitimate.

And your business can thrive when it's built around who you actually are.

Start where you are. That is always enough.

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Jenine Lillian is an #ActuallyAutistic Neurodiversity Consultant & Educator who supports entrepreneurs, employers, and organizations in building accessible and sustainable practices. This article draws from their "Doing Business Differently" series, created to support entrepreneurs with diverse bodies, brains, and lived experiences.