Why I Started Write to Heal: Journaling for Mental Health, Burnout, and Recovery

ByKristy Wessel Updated on

In 2018, after the birth of my first child, I experienced a mental health crisis that brought me to the edge of everything I knew. I found myself in a psychiatric hospital, hollowed out by hopelessness, unsure if I could go on.

I knew I needed to stay alive for my just-born daughter. But part of me still believed the world, and even my family, would be better off without me. That kind of despair does not arrive all at once. It builds quietly, slowly, under the surface. And when it breaks, it leaves you grasping for anything solid.

For me, the slow way back began with professional help and with writing.

journaling for mental health close up of hand with IV in hospital bed

How Journaling Supported My Mental Health

Journaling became a thread I could follow. Sometimes it was just a few scribbled lines. Sometimes it poured out of me. Over time, I realized I was learning how to hear myself again. My thoughts. My feelings. My story. Not the polished version, but the real one. The messy, complicated, deeply human one.

Writing for healing helped me remember what mattered. It helped me hold space for both pain and possibility. It helped me begin to shape my struggles into something more creative, more alive.

Research shows that journaling for mental health can reduce stress, ease anxiety, and improve symptoms of depression and burnout. For me, it became not just a coping strategy but a way to reconnect with myself.

Why I Created Write to Heal

I started Write to Heal because we live in a world that constantly pulls us away from ourselves. Into burnout, comparison, productivity, and performance. I wanted to create a space that gently invites you back.

Back to your breath.

Back to your words.

Back to the quiet truth inside you.

Here you will find journaling prompts for burnout recovery, reflections on mental health, and encouragement to create space for your own voice.

A Soft Place to Land

Today, I am a writer and a poet. But I am still healing, too. Still growing, still getting quiet enough to listen. If you are here, maybe you are too.

I hope this space can be a gentle place to land, whether you are exploring journaling for anxiety and depression, building a daily writing practice, or simply looking for reminders that you are not alone.

Welcome. I am glad you are here. 🌿

Writer, Poet, Journaling for Healing

Kristy Wessel is a writer, poet, and creative guide based in Minnesota. After experiencing a mental health crisis in 2018, she discovered journaling as a lifeline- a practice that helped her untangle anxiety, find clarity, and begin again. Out of that journey she founded Write to Heal, a space for burned-out, overwhelmed people to reconnect with themselves through words. Her work has appeared in The Loft Literary Center's Blog, Hippocampus Magazine, and Commoners Zine. When she isn’t writing, Kristy can often be found by the lake with her family, tending her garden, or filling yet another notebook with reflections.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *