What I Know Now About Mental Health and Business (What healing taught me about rebuilding a business I can sustain)
There was a cycle that used to dominate my entire creative life.
I would get a burst of energy, create nonstop, say yes to every opportunity…
And then I would crash. Hard.
I would disappear for months (this last time it was about two years).
No blog. No YouTube. No emails. Just silence.
Then I would come back, full of guilt and determination to “finally get it together.”
And the cycle would start all over again.
Back Then, I Thought It Was Just Me
During the Brown Vegan days, I believed I was just lazy. Undisciplined.
Everyone else seemed to be posting consistently, building, growing.
Why couldn’t I keep up? I cried about this often.
The truth?
I was struggling with my mental health. And I didn’t know how to build a business that worked with my brain, rather than pushing against it.
I was trying to match the energy of people who didn’t live with depression or bipolar disorder.
And it broke me. Over and over again.
The Breaking Point
When I started working more hours at the gas station to make ends meet, I figured I was done with business.
I was hopeless. Stressed about money and tired of feeling like I had to choose between quality of life and pursuing something meaningful.
That was the lowest point.
And also the moment that changed everything.
The Shift That Saved My Business
Now, I do things differently.
I batch when my energy is high.
I schedule content so I can rest without disappearing.
I let my blog and YouTube work for me instead of being a hamster wheel I can’t get off.
And most of all, I no longer guilt-trip myself when I need to pause.
But the most significant shift of all?
I started taking my mental health seriously.
For me, that means medication for bipolar disorder, paired with daily writing, managing stress, affirmations, and prayer.
All of it works together to help me stay grounded. Not perfect, but steady.
I no longer see my diagnosis as something to hide.
It’s just part of the map. Now that I know the terrain, I can build a business that suits me.
This isn’t about pretending I’m fine.
It’s about building something sustainable from exactly where I am.
What I Would Tell You If You’re In This Too
Your inconsistency isn’t failure. It’s feedback. Pay attention to what burns you out and build around that.
You don’t have to earn your rest. Rest is part of the strategy.
Put the content down if you need to, but don’t just disappear. Take a real break, then get curious. What keeps making you pause? What needs to change so you can keep going without burning out?
Create systems that support you. Pre-write your emails. Schedule your blog posts. Record videos when your energy is high, so you can rest when it’s not. Systems and processes don’t make your business boring — they make it sweeter.
This Is the Business I’m Building Now
It’s softer.
More strategic.
And rooted in self-respect, not insecurity and indecisiveness.
If you're building something while navigating your mental health, know you’re not behind.
You're just building it differently.
And that might be the most powerful thing you could do.
Thank you for being here.
