Mental Health of a PM: Getting Out of The Dark Valleys Where We Need to Be The Sunshine

As a PM going through M&A, company transformation, and rapid growth, I always feel like I need to be someone who moves things around with great positivity to the team. Although my environment is definitely very supportive of my work and my growth, the overwhelming scope of PM & growth was very challenging, and at times, really stressful. One- or two-times of tough times are fine, but constant stress and pressure took a toll on me. My performance started to go down, and this makes me feel guilty for other team members – a very dangerous downward spiral.

After a few months of struggling, I decided to visit a psychologist to get help. That one visit to the psychologist changed my life! In this session, I will share some mindset and behavioral techniques to help the audience overcome PM’s dark days, become better PMs, and ultimately, better people. I will also share some tips to avoid common traps that are very likely to be faced by exhausted PMs, such as toxic positivity and finding hope from bad listeners.

Takeways:

• I would like to share a my very personal experience of mine getting out of depression from mental exhaustion as a PM, which will be very useful to junior- and mid-level PMs
  
• It’s okay not to be okay, and admit that you’re not okay – only then you will survive and recover
  
• While mentoring or 1-on-1 sessions might help, sometimes you need to see out professional help, even for just one session