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While May can be a wonderful month for many - the sun is out longer, the landscape is a vibrant green, and we are well on our way to summer - for some, it is simply a continuation of one long agonizing season filled with shame, depression, anger, and anxiety.
Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 1949 to increase awareness and emphasize the importance of mental wellness and support in Americans’ lives. Improving access to mental healthcare is a core pillar of Small Great Ventures. We provide mental support benefits for our team members, invest in mental health startups, and encourage our team to take a mental health day when it is essential. Our thesis is you can only be your best when you feel your best.
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we feel it's appropriate to highlight the work of a few mental health startups revolutionizing the industry.
While mental health and mental wellness go hand in hand, they are distinct from each other. Think of mental wellness as a muscle and mental health as the body. Increased mental wellness (stronger muscles) improves mental health (creates a stronger body).
Or, if technical terminology is more your vibe, the Global Wellness Institute defines mental wellness as “an internal resource that helps us think, feel, connect, and function; it is an active process that helps us build resilience, grow, and flourish.”
Mental health encompasses our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act and helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.
The U.S. is the largest segment of the global mental wellness market ($87B in 2022) and is made up of four sub-sectors:
Research forecasts anticipate strong market growth attributed to the expanding role of wearable devices, global mental health advocacy, and focus on preventative mental health, virtual reality therapy, and other tailored mental wellness solutions. By 2028, the mental wellness market is expected to exceed $235B.
We’re beyond excited and inspired by the pace of new ideas emerging in this space - from addressing eating disorders and addiction.
The Sukhi Project provides organizations with a platform to invest in the health of their workforce, including employee wellness tools to improve workplace well-being, company culture, and work performance. It also addresses the financial strains to employers due to employee stress, burnout levels, and the resulting churn that can occur.
The Sukhi Project cites its specialization in creating personalized digital wellness solutions to alleviate these pressures by crafting tailored strategies that not only mitigate costs for employers but also foster a robust culture of well-being within companies.
When leaders focus first and foremost on productivity, it's easy to lose sight of the people behind the effort. In our work with early-stage companies, we’re no strangers to the stress and burnout that can accommodate the proving of new ideas. The Sukhi Project allows employers to address this surging issue and foster healthy workplace environments for their employees.
*Bonus: They have a solution for higher education, too!
Marigold Health is a tech-enabled, human-centered service that provides support to people suffering from poor mental health and substance use through a social network-like platform. Those seeking recovery or actively recovering can find support 24/7 through Marigold’s anonymous chat support groups. Support group members include individuals in recovery themselves, which allows members to connect, share, and support each other while providing inspiration, hope, and a shared common ground.
With no end in sight to the ongoing U.S. opioid epidemic and the impact of opioid-related stigma, the community, resources, and support Marigold provides are essential to getting help to those who need it most and have little to no access in their immediate social circles. Individuals interested in the recovery process or who recognize the need for help can seek aid and communicate with and learn from those in recovery - creating less space for shame and more space for healing.
Arise is a virtual support program started by and for people who live with eating disorders. They unlock the power of community and connection in care to heal relationships with food, body image, and mental health. In 2020, nearly 29 million Americans struggled with an eating disorder, and according to Arise, 90% of those people won’t get care. Arise expands access and accommodates the lives of those struggling with eating disorders and body dysmorphia.
From 20-step makeup tutorials to quick body weight loss techniques masquerading as wellness hacks - small body and appearance-related content continues to gain increased traction and impressions on TikTok and Instagram. Countless studies suggest that engagement with this type of content (e.g., “thinspiration” or “fitspiration”) has significant adverse consequences on body image, which can result in self-esteem issues, unrealistic expectations, and eating disorders. From 2018 to 2022, medical visits related to eating disorders jumped by 107.4% in people younger than 17.
Arise provides mental support, nutrition guidance, medical care, and group support that works around schedules, provides confidential support, and gets care to the folks who need it the most. Resetting society’s relationship to their own body and the food they consume begins with setting realistic standards for what it means to be “healthy”. Arise addresses the silent - and deadly - crisis of eating disorders. We each require adequate calories (energy!) to fuel not just our bodies but our brains, too.
MANUAL—We would be remiss if we didn’t also highlight one of our portfolio mental wellness companies - MANUAL who is on a mission to inspire young men to become the best versions of themselves.
According to the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Mental Health, six million men suffer from depression in the U.S. every year and die by suicide 4X that of women. MANUAL offers a digital engagement engine for young men built around on-demand, evidence-based content and live coaching with a diverse group of trained young men.
MANUAL’s mission is to reverse the stigma of seeking mental health support for men or people who identify as men and provides education, coaching, and community to improve the mental wellness of young men across America.
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Small Great Ventures’ methodology defines our impact as creating work that leaves our planet better than we found it. Increasing awareness and accessibility to mental health and wellness resources is one step we can all take to heal our planet. We are super grateful to be in good company with the startups we’ve highlighted today.
What’s your favorite company, product, service, or resource in the mental wellness space? We’d love to hear from you.
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