Let Me Be Vulnerable: Writing For Substack Is Mentally Taxing
My personal Substack journey is very rewarding, but I still struggle with the pressure of posting.
💬 Our quick CONVERSATION STARTERS:
There I said it!
I've started about six months ago here and have been able to grow my Substack tremendously. The rewards are amazing!
Since my very first newsletter post, I’ve published one every Monday. I’ve never missed an issue. Obviously, some were better than others and a few of them were definitely rushed.
Between posting once a week, checking and posting on Notes, starting on Chat, it's been a lot of work. At least for me.
I feel it has become more of a chore than a pleasure, although I still love writing and analyzing tech, social media, content creators trends, with a bit of policy and politics.
Mentally, however, it's been a lot. And I don’t enjoy it as much as I use to. Sometimes, I enjoy more reading others’ newsletters — especially from Substack authors that inspired me to start here, like
and — than committing to writing my own posts.These past few days, I’ve been off Substack. I didn’t even open the app until this morning, before my flight back to Washington DC from California. It’s been helpful.
When I posted this same post on the Substack community on Reddit a few weeks back, people were very supportive. I’m not the only one feeling the pressure…
“Stop doing the parts you hate,” one user commented.
“Stop being a slave to the algorithm,” someone else wrote. “Write what you want to write and publish when you want to publish. When you externalize control, you just create another boss for yourself. Internalize control and write on your own terms. Get comfortable with not writing purely for social growth, followers, and likes.
Another user said: “Once it start feeling like a chore, I'm going to stop doing it. I have been doing about as long as you and I'm still having fun.”
And here another comment: “Do what feels aligned with your purpose. If something feels like a chore, it might still serve a purpose — but that doesn’t mean every part of it deserves your full energy. Sometimes, skimming or simplifying parts of the process can help.”
How do you guys cope with it? How can I find my Substack joy again?
Meet Shira Lazar and CreatorCare
I reached out to a creator friend, Shira Lazar, co-founder of CreatorCare and Creators 4 Mental Health. She’s an amazing content creator, committed to mental health in the age of social media.
This is what she told me about her new project, CreatorCare — built for creators, by creators:
The creator economy has exploded but the support systems haven’t kept up. As more Gen Z step into this space professionally, we need to treat it like the real workplace it is. That means sustainable systems not just for monetization, but for mental health, too.
CreatorCare was born out of my own journey, I’ve been a creator for over two decades, and after facing my own mental health challenges, I knew we needed real solutions, not just advocacy. So I partnered with licensed therapists and Revive Health to build something that actually supports us.
It’s sliding-scale, personalized therapy starting at $60/hour, with or without insurance. We’re starting in California with plans to expand nationally, because mental health shouldn’t be a luxury in this industry."
CreatorCare is a mental health support program built for creators, by creators—offering affordable, sliding-scale therapy with licensed professionals starting at just $60/hour. As creators, we face unique pressures—burnout, instability, the constant push to be ‘on.’ I launched CreatorCare to turn advocacy into action, and to make mental health care more accessible for the people driving this industry forward.
Thank you Shira for your insights and support!
Just wanted to say ... thanks for making space for the vulnerability for yourself and others.
Part of the virtuous strands of a platform like this .... with it's emphasis on reading and the lag effects of evergreen consumption/sharing ... is that this message can continue creating conversation (and reflection!) for others as time goes on. That sounds like a great business and a meaningful outcome for a creative outlet.
I think one of the best things to do is decide whether the newsletter is a business opportunity for you or whether it’s a creative outlet for sharing your ideas. The business demands consistency. The creative outlet allows for more flexibility - I follow and read people who only post once a month and that’s just as valid. Deciding which model you’re developing can ease some of the pressure to post constantly