I'm Restarting on Substack After 6 Months
The aftermath of quitting corporate life was an identity crisis I didn’t see coming. But by allowing myself to heal, I’ve built a path of my own and welcomed a new season of growth.
Dear Friends of Substack,
I started writing on Substack in December 2025 because I needed a safe space to shed. My outdated conditioning and my new self were clashing, burning me out in the process of it all.
From projecting my own insecurities onto the already broken corporate system to the fear of restarting life at 30 in a new country.
Healing was more than necessary.
For months, we talked about deconditioning ourselves from unhealthy habits. With expert guest features, we spoke about:
Perfectionism and cost of being reliable
The importance of acknowledging emotions
Building boundaries by saying no
Courage to disappoint others to build ourselves
And the most recent: decoding imposter syndrome
From showing up vulnerable, I was able to heal this part of me together with 350+ of you that responds on the comments or directly via email.
Because when December 2025 Annisa started, I only wanted to have a safe space. Who knew that it led me to connecting with so many cool people with similar experiences or going through similar transitions.
I am BEYOND grateful for you.
Bear with me… I’ll get to the point. I’m a bit emotional as I write this post because all I can think of is how lucky I have been to meet and be supported by everyone as I rebuild myself from 0.
Building the next chapter
As you can tell, this is not our usual Healing Out Loud post. Because I’m here today to share an exciting update for this newsletter:
We’re rebranding ourselves to:
*Que in the crowd cheering, followed by questions and confusion.
A Safe Space:
Growing Out Loud and Healing Out Loud - both are meant to be a safe space. The first six months of writing this publication, I was in a pretty dark space. And I needed a platform to take myself out of it. Thus, Healing Out Loud was born.
In March 2026, my husband and I found out we were expecting our firstborn! And through the first trimester trenches, my body forced me to do nothing for the whole two months.
My therapy sessions intensified: journaling, reviewing what I want to do with my life, and in particular with this publication. I had myself in mind, but of course you too. Because I intend to continue giving back to the community that has allowed me to heal my burnout, out loud.
What came out of these 2 months of being a hermit was clarity and readiness. Clear how I wanted to move forward with my life, and align that with how I wanted us to continue growing together!
Thus, the name Growing Out Loud.
So what’s next? And what to expect?
Growing Out Loud is a safe space to grow.
Meaning, we will still learn together from real-life mistakes -only this time, we focus on personal mistakes related to growing something for ourselves. In my case, it’s growing a business.
I’m making this conscious transition because I feel like I am no longer aligned with career-related conversations, as I no longer have a career. And I don’t want to cling to my past; I want to move forward.
That being said, three things you can definitely expect:
Practical learnings from myself and fellow entrepreneurs alike
Tips and strategies to put ourselves out there and let our talents be discovered by doing personal branding
Growth stories and mindset shifts for us who are transitioning from growing a career to owning a business
But… this is entirely different than what I expected when I first subscribed to you. What do I do?
I absolutely understand, and it’s TOTALLY okay.
I learn to realize and accept that, like seasons, relationships can come and go. I would love it if you could stick around and suggest topics that you’d like to read, OR this is where we part ways, and it’s okay!
So, what else is new?
Growing Out Loud will be posting every Wednesday from this point onward. I find it a great time to reset on Wednesdays before we finish the week, so we can give it more thought on the weekend.
I’m still posting 1x every 2 weeks, and still inviting guest posts and feature expert stories! So if you’re interested in this new direction, please let me know. I’m drafting some ideas for the rest of the year (before I go into maternity leave in late October!)
An invitation for you!
The numbers don’t show that I’m starting over, but it does feel like I am!
So I don’t want this to be a one-way street, and I want to continue learning, building, and growing with and from you. This community has been and always will be a collaborative space, and I’m excited to see how we can inspire each other.
This is your open invitation, so let me know if you have any thoughts or feedback. I’m open in the comments or DMs!
If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for staying. I am so grateful to have grown to this phase of life with you.
December 2025-Annisa would’ve not have imagined she’d be here today. And I know I would not have done it without your support.
To many more things together, and to growth!
With much gratitude 💙
Annisa
This is a beautiful story. It’s beautiful that you took care of yourself and allowed yourself to sleep and love on your kitties and heal. Welcome back and I hope to see you around Substack more.
To many more 😆🫶🐈