the mental state of a substacker

how i feel after two months of blogging

I launched this publication on April 18, 2024.

I didn’t know what I was doing, what I’d be posting, or who would even be reading what I had to say.

Now, I’ve been posting on this blog for two months. Slowly and steadily, I gained traction. My friends subscribed and so did a few fellow Substackers. This blog hasn’t been up long and I don’t have many subscribers, but right now I’m going to explain how my mental state has changed since I started this newsletter.

Photo by Ümit Bulut on Unsplash

Before I started this publication, I was still blogging. I posted on a small Blogger site titled Controversial Book Club, that I launched with my friends in late January of this year. We posted very often and not many people saw our writing. Authors for the blog came and went, but me and my good friend

Ken

were determined to keep going. Despite the mental strain and stress from a tight posting schedule, we persevered and eventually made it to Substack. As I explored Substack, I got to witness numerous people who devoted their time to blogging and were happy with it. People saw their work and enjoyed it. I decided I wanted in on it.

So after creating

The YA Section

, I launched this blog, then titled Teen Memoir. My first subscribers were just a few of my friends and that was enough. The feeling of writing something that a few people actually saw was something amazing, something I’d never felt before. And as my audience has grown, so has my outlook. I’ve grown more positive and more passionate about writing. I’ve been barely exposed to the career of blogging. And this little preview has made me realize that being a full-time Substack sounds awesome and is something I might actually want to pursue in the future.

And that brings me to the first point of my mental state…

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞.

You all, my subscribers, have benefited my mental health by keeping me going and telling me that I can do whatever I put my mind to. You’re probably not aware of it, but just by liking one of my posts, you are boosting my morale by a mile and brightening my whole day. Yes, I only get around 10 likes per post… which is minuscule compared to platforms like YouTube and Instagram… but Substack is a much more personal platform. And there’s nothing like conveying your thoughts to other people through writing, nothing even close.

So, I’m hopeful and positive. But what else?

Well, Substack has become my alternative to otherwise distracting things in my life. The more time I devoted to writing on here, the less time I spend on group chats or watching TV. You see, on Substack, I feel like I’m using my time efficiently because my writing is all for a purpose. But observing how I use my time texting friends or binging TV… I discover that I’m not really using my time wisely.

Basically…

𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲.

Effective time management has improved my mental state in ways I didn’t expect. And instead of being addicted to my group chats, I’m addicted to Substack! 😀 But I can’t think of a better thing to be addicted to. Plus, it’s become a healthy addiction, as I find myself meeting new people every week and writing over 1,000 words every day.

Oh, and that’s another thing. Writing puts my mind at ease. Whether I’m writing a post, a poem, or working on my novel, I feel peaceful and seem to drift away from the stress and distractions of life. So, in a way, writing is my meditation. And writing for this blog has forced me— well, not forced; made me want to write often and consistently.

Therefore…

𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞.

Blogging has made me devote part of my day to writing, and because writing gives me peace, blogging has given me daily periods of peace. Ultimately, these moments of peace have helped greatly improve my mental health in the last few months.

---

So that’s how writing for this blog/newsletter has improved my mental health. To recap:

1. When people see my writing, it gives me hope and positivity, which boosts my mental health and outlook.

2. When I focus more time on writing, which I consider an important thing, I spend less time doing unimportant things, helping me manage my time more efficiently.

3. When I devote part of my day to writing, I find myself at peace, which helps improve my mental health by removing stress and distractions.

It’s only been two months, but already my mental health has improved so much. This is why I love writing. This is why I love

Substack

.

So…if you have trouble with pessimism, bad time management, or stress, perhaps Substack is for you. Or maybe not Substack specifically, but just writing in general. Take up journaling or poetry. Start working on a writing project like a novel. Start a prayer or meditation journal. There are so many benefits of writing and developing the mental state of a Substacker.

That’s all I have for today. (Actually… it isn’t. But I don’t like posting twice in one day so I scheduled my other post.) Thanks for taking the time to read what I have to say— er, write. If you want to talk more about this or some other random thing, I’d love it if you would DM me. I’m always open to listening to what others have to say.

Have a good one, guys. ☮