Back in 2016, when I was struggling to regain my lost balance and define a new identity, I found my solace in writing. Out of all the other niche options, why did I choose to voice out for mental health and self-improvement? I realised that the only thing in my control is “ME”.
I can only control my actions, my decisions, my behaviour, and my feelings, no matter how hard I try I cannot change anybody around me. I started writing about how I felt during those times, miserable, alone, and tired. I created my first blog “Virtual Siyahi” an open diary blog and made very honest confessions about my life, people resonated and connected with my thoughts.
This validation, helped me to write more, I never thought how powerful a pen could be until I started using it for a cause. I started writing for mental health awareness and got a lot of love and support from my fellow bloggers and community.
Why Mental Health and Self-Improvement as a Blog Niche?
I cannot sum up the journey of 5 years in 500 or 1000 words. The amount of pain and trauma I have been through in these past 5 years have changed me a lot, the more pain I felt, I realized the more needed to be written about it, because there are many like me or even in the worst condition than me.
I started with a few initiatives like “Humanity Ki Chain” where I invited psychologists, mental health workers, and suicide survivors to share their insights and stories. I finished recording 2 seasons with 27 episodes. I also use to send hand-written letters to total strangers “Letters of Compassion” until I moved to the UK and now I send emails to whoever needs them. I stay connected with my blog subscribers, interact with them and reply to each and every email. I have a monthly readership of around 17k readers and I receive on average 30-50 emails monthly from readers who are completely unknown to me and I respond to each of them.
Fighting illness, and dealing with a broken marriage and divorce made me addicted to writing, whenever I would get agitated or my inner demons would start to haunt me I would sit with my laptop and finish writing a blog in one sitting. Writing became an escape for me, and I felt safe when I was in my writing and reading world.
I would cry and have suicidal thoughts but I never stopped writing, I have published three books in the past three years, I never ever imagined doing that. Why did I choose to write for mental health and self-improvement? Because I knew people are suffering and they hardly have anybody to validate their feelings. I wanted to listen to them, I wanted to be non-judgemental and understanding, It was a test of my moral values.
How did Writing for Mental Health and Self-Improvement help me to Become a Better Verison of ME?
Writing is cathartic and it also became my path to self-improvement, being completely from a non-psychological background, just to produce authentic and credible content, I did a full-time NLP practitioner course. I finished the Mindfulness practitioner course, and mental health first-aid course, not to become a counselor but to be able to be effective at what I do. To be able to answer anybody who would approach me with their problems, and it helped me.
I launched Sanity Daily in 2019, completely dedicated to talking about mental health, stress management, and self-improvement ways for the readers. It is said that sometimes you chose a career and sometimes the career chooses you, I found my life purpose in spreading awareness about mental and self-improvement ways. A passion-driven purpose keeps you moving ahead even if you don’t have anybody clapping for you and rooting for you.
In the process, I even learned SEO, and today at the age of 36, I am pursuing a full-time Master’s in Digital Marketing from a university in Scotland. Currently, I am working as a freelance copywriter, and very recently I finished my 12-week-long internship program at Digital Deepak. Manging my little daughter and my content writing job all alone.
Perils of Choosing a Path and Saying” It’s My Choice”
I faced a lot of biasness and difficulty from the renowned writing platforms just because I chose to be a lone wolf, but this wolf was badly hurt and needed alone time to build herself, reflect, work on herself, and figure out many aspects of life, honesty still working on it. But, people usually go on your face (phase value) value and easily label you as a snob or an arrogant person.
I faced severe backlashes from one of my cousins, and one old friend when I chose this path because I started getting recognition, which left me wondering why. Fighting with each fear has made me the person that I am today, and dealing with my inner traumas alone has shaped me into this woman I am, and I will continue to travel on this path as long as I have strength.
I have chosen this path for myself and I trust the process, I will fail, I will cry, I will doubt myself, but I will get through the process and see that light shining bright towards the end of the tunnel 🙂
“My message to anybody wanting to follow an unconventional path: If you believe in your idea, just go behind it, ignoring the background noise is not easy but the more you will start to travel to those lesser taken routes you will see the layers of fear, doubts, and dilemmas shedding from your soul. Build a strong belief system and have a clear intention. You will be there.“
If you want to #writeformentalhealth then Register your interest here
“This post is written for IT’S MY CHOICE Blog Train by Gleefulblogger & Wigglingpen in association with Vedix & Kerala Ayurveda“
