“I decided to get my master’s degree in creative writing and poetry,” she said.
After earning her graduate degree in 2018, Griffith, who was born and raised in Springboro, and her husband, Adam, returned to the Dayton area. Griffith began looking for freelance writing gigs while searching for a full-time job.
“I was struggling to find a ‘real’ job,” Griffith said. “So, I started a blog in 2019 just as a hobby.”
By that time, Griffith had given birth to her first child, and realized she could help others with her writing. Not a stranger to mental health issues, including depression, Griffith decided to focus on the struggles of new motherhood.
Then 2020 hit, and the global pandemic locked down most of the nation for three months, and an increasing number of people fell ill, lost jobs and businesses, and even lost loved ones to COVID-19.
“I had been dealing with mental health issues since 2014,” Griffith said. “But in 2020, all these people were suddenly realizing that taking up yoga just wasn’t enough.”
After several years of working through her own issues with professional therapists, Griffith realized that most people don’t have the tools they need to combat their depression and anxiety.
“I knew I could help other people by sharing my experiences,” she said. “It feels like this is something I’m supposed to be doing.”
“Healing Unscripted,” was launched in October of 2020, after Griffith rebranded her blog and decided to make a go of owning her own business.
“There were so many things I was putting off until after the pandemic,” Griffith said. “I get waiting to baptize my son, but this is an online business, and I knew I could and should launch it. People need resources and the tools I offer right now.”
Personally, Griffith began to feel like she was fighting an uphill battle as the pandemic continued to rage. She was continuing her therapy “socially distanced” and online, but she also talked with some people who had abandoned their own therapy because they didn’t feel it was as effective online.
“I struggle with eye contact and I feed on other’s emotions so having the layer of disconnect with the computer was helpful for me,” Griffith said. “Not everyone does well with this.”
Griffith has branded her online business as a “friendly companion” to each person’s individual healing journey. She explained that most mental health content available is centered around fixing the individual while not necessarily giving them the validation they crave as humans.
“The main thing people can get from me right now is that validation,” Griffith said. “When I started therapy, everyone seemed so focused on fixing me that it made me feel broken. Healing Unscripted offers recognition in a safe space.”
Griffith said that learning that her feelings are valid and that it’s OK to have them is what allowed her to move forward to a better state of mental health. She has combined her experiences with her talent for writing and her new business is growing at a steady pace.
“I have both paid and non-paid items available on my website,” Griffith said. “I have a weekly newsletter that is like a virtual hug with lots of encouragement and a mini electronic book on setting boundaries.”
Griffith also continues to write blog posts, grow her social media following and she has entered the world of podcasting. One of her recent topics has been around social justice and mental health, as well as self-care and the importance of taking prescribed medications. She has also written a blog post offering affirmation to people just starting out in therapy.
“At some point this year I will be offering a 10-week program on healing toxic shame,” Griffith said. “I plan to guide people through and make it more of a peer lead experience.”
For more information, log on to Healingunscripted.com.
Contact this contributing writer at banspach@ymail.com.
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