We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mayra Gomez-Sanchez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mayra below.
Mayra, we are so appreciative of you taking the time to open up about the extremely important, albeit personal, topic of mental health. Can you talk to us about your journey and how you were able to overcome the challenges related to mental issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
My mental health journey began in 2016 during my first year of teaching. At the time I didn’t know the terms that related to mental health- I just knew I felt like I couldn’t breathe. One day – maybe 10 minutes before the bell rang to start the school day – I had this horrible feeling overcome me.
A feeling I’ve never felt before.
My lips started tingling and I felt like I was going to faint.
Luckily, a colleague was in my classroom and noticed I didn’t look well. She took me to the office and sat me in the nurse’s room. I knew in that moment that I couldn’t continue my day at school – so I called my cousin and she took me to the hospital!
I felt like I was going to die.
Literally, one of the worst feelings I’ve ever felt.
Once at the hospital, they checked me out and said I had a panic attack and severe anxiety. They handed me a pack of small, blue pills to ease my symptoms and sent me on my way.
I’ve never felt so ashamed, alone, and lost as I did that day.
I also knew that I didn’t want to take pills because back then, it made me think that I was weak.
So I threw them away.
Finally, in 2017 I started seeing a therapist. It was something I kept to myself for a long time because I was embarrassed. In the Mexican culture – and in many other minority groups – there isn’t such thing as “mental health.” If you can’t see it, it’s not there. Which is why I didn’t want to have a conversation with family on this topic.
I remember walking in the therapist’s room and immediately started crying uncontrollably. To the point where I had no tears. Thankfully, my therapist was kind and helpful. I realized how much better I felt in going about my days, simply because I had someone – unbiased – to talk to a few times each month.
Over the next three years I saw a handful of therapists, but eventually I started to go back to my old symptoms of severe anxiety. This time I knew I needed more resources because it got to the point where my brain felt foggy. There were days where I didn’t want to get out of bed.
The tipping point was when I was walking my dog – lost in deep thought – that I fell and hit my head on the concrete. I quickly got up and headed home to clean the back of my ear because it was bleeding.
I was scared.
So this time I got in touch with a psychiatrist, ready to take medicine if needed.
I think at this point, I was worried of what could happen to me if I didn’t seek further help.
I didn’t want to find out.
So after meeting my psychiatrist, I started taking anti-depressants and over a course of maybe a month and a half, I noticed my anxiety start to decrease.
Flash forward to 2021, I told my parents about the medicine and thankfully they were open to listening about my mental health journey.
As hard as it was to open up, I think it helped them see just how important it is to talk about things beyond surface level.
Now in 2024, I’m still taking my medicine and talking to a therapist, but I no longer feel shame or weak. I know that taking action, surrounding myself with supporting friends and family, and being true to what makes me happy, has helped me find strength and courage on this journey.
I’m not perfect.
I still have days where I cry and feel sad, but I know how to handle my feelings now — and that itself is a breath of fresh air.
I encourage anyone who’s reading this to know that you are not alone. Help is out there and it’s ok to ask for it.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m Mayra, a Latina marketing strategist and copywriter – founder and CEO of Cultural Visionaries. I help BIPOC business leaders connect to the diverse public by writing culturally relevant and authentic copy. My purpose is to create a long-term solution to the lack of diverse talent within the marketing industry — especially in leadership roles.
I’m also a Nasdaq Milestone Circles alumni, a certified copywriter from Write Your Way to Freedom – which ranked 24th in Education on the Inc. 5,000 list this past year – and a copy contributor to change making brands like Nopalera, La Funky Mexicana, and Mixto. My role is also includes being a dog mom to my fur baby, Coco.
Before copywriting, I was an elementary teacher for eight years. Unfortunately, the demanding profession started to take a toll on my mental heath – check out my mental health journey in the text above! I was burnt out, lacked passion, and didn’t really know what I’d do next.
When 2022 began, I told myself I needed to get out of teaching for the sake of my state of mind.
After doing an intense two month research, I decided on being a copywriter.
I’ve always enjoyed writing and felt it would be great to showcase my writing skills to BIPOC business owners who had similar values as myself.
I joined a copywriting course, Write Your Way To Freedom, and gained so much knowledge on ethical copywriting strategies. After months of practice, I officially started my copywriting business in October 2022.
I decided to focus my outreach on BIPOC business leaders because of how small the percentage of business owners are in comparison to other groups.
From the latest census, BIPOC business leaders make up 20% of business owners. I want to help these leaders showcase their product and services in an authentic way that connects with their customers – who also happen to be BIPOC consumers.
This ripple effect in capitalism benefits my clients because they’re continuing to inspire their target audience – the 42% of the U.S. population – to not only buy from them, but also motivate them to see themselves as entrepreneurs as well.
I think at the end of the day, I still want to help people succeed – like I did as a teacher – but now in a different light.
AND, I want to help myself succeed – mentally and financially.
If you’re interested in copywriting services for your product or service based business, I encourage you to check out my website and see the packages I offer!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
That’s a great question!
The most impactful areas of knowledge that strengthened my journey as a Latina copywriter were the following:
1) Support System
2) Networking
3) MINDSET
My support system – my husband, parents, sister, close friends, and extended family – have all been encouraging on my shift in career. Even if they don’t truly know what I do behind the scenes as a copywriter, their want for me to be happy has been more than enough in making me feel confident about my decision. They’re my foundation and I’m extremely thankful for that. Find yourself a support system – family or not – who will cheer you on no matter what.
Networking – I used to be afraid of meeting new people and strongly disliked putting myself out there. Looking back, I know it had to do with my experiences growing up. There was always competition in the family and I felt like I couldn’t stand out for fear of dimming other people’s accomplishments. It took me almost 30 years to finally realize that I was never casting shadows – I had the right to shine! Don’t let others dim your light. You’re meant to do great things.
So on my copywriting journey, I started putting myself out there on Instagram and LinkedIn — with just recently getting on the podcast and TikTok game.
Expanding my reach has brought me to be surrounded by powerful and genuine thought leaders – all in various industries.
The one thing they all have in common is their work ethic to change the unfair, socioeconomic system for minority groups. What stands out with the people I’ve met is HOW they go about making those changes.
They do it unapologetically and with passion.
Being mindful of who I network with has only increased my confidence and determination to follow in the same path, but in the field of copywriting.
MINDSET has been the last, and most important, area of knowledge that has impacted my journey. While I was learning copy, I found that there were times when I didn’t believe I could actually do it. That I could actually change my career path and make a living as an entrepreneur.
It’s never been done in my family so I had no one to lean on. It was hard. It’s still hard!
However, I know I wanted this new career path to work — soooo bad — so I took imperfect action and learned from entrepreneurs of all industries as much as I could.
Webinars, physical events, online discussions…I was there.
Here’s my advice to folks who are early in their journey:
1. Connection brings new perspectives:
Surrounding myself with entrepreneurs making $1m+ in annual revenue really changed my mindset on money. It was engrained in me that “money is the root of all evil”– and I believed it for so long! Now I see that when pursuing things with good intention, money isn’t bad. Put yourself in those circles!
2. Abundance mentality is key:
Coming from generations of scarcity, it was only common to have this way of thinking too. But it’s not my family’s fault. They did everything right in making sure we had what we needed. I’m beyond grateful. But I also see that I’m on a different playing field and should take that to my advantage…not only for myself, but to give back to my family as well. You aren’t a bad person for wanting more. It’s okay to want more.
3. Hustle can be toxic:
I thought that if I drove myself into the ground with everything and anything copy, I would be happy. Spoiler, it didn’t. On this journey, I started giving care to OTHER areas of my life… like my mental health. It desperately needed attention and I’m so glad I put myself first. Give yourself time to rest. You only have one body and it needs you healthy to keep going.
4. Invest and reward:
When I heard the word “invest” I immediately thought never-ending debt. My anxiety told me “do what’s comfortable and you’ll be safe.” But safety wasn’t taking me where I wanted to be. Investing in being a copywriter has made me create income I never thought I could gain AND led to a better version of myself. Invest strategically. Strategic being key.
Entrepreneurship can be a constant learning curve, but with courage, you can change your life.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I would love to collaborate with BIPOC business owners striving to make a meaningful impact on other people’s lives – whether it be service or product based.
The business owners I serve range from:
– BIPOC owned
– Women-owned
– Latinx owned
– LGBTQIA owned
*BUT, I’m more than happy to partner with anyone who shares my values and vision, and who are passionate about enhancing the lives of others through their business offerings.
If this sounds like you, email me at [email protected] OR hop on my website to schedule a call with me.
https://www.mayragsanchezagency.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mayragsanchezagency.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cultural_visionaries_/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayra-g%C3%B3mez-s%C3%A1nchez-538532180/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@culturalvisionaries
Image Credits
Mayra Gomez – Sanchez
