I used to think my life would belong to a lab.Back then, I was studying for a master’s degree in environmental science. My days were filled with data, papers, and pollution samples. I genuinely believed that science was the answer to saving the planet—its forests, its oceans, its future. Later, I went on to study psychology at Yale, because I was beginning to understand something deeper: to heal the Earth, we first have to heal the human heart.
But then I broke first.
Depression came quietly. And then it stayed. Every morning, I woke up feeling like a stone was lodged inside my chest. The world looked the same, but everything felt muted, distant, gray. I tried everything—reading, therapy, medication—but the real turning point came when I had almost given up. I picked up a needle and a piece of fabric, more out of instinct than intention.
I had no training in embroidery. No handcraft skills at all. I just knew I couldn’t let my hands stay empty.
As I focused on threading the needle, on stitching one color into another, I noticed something shift. The voices that had been shouting in my head for so long began to quiet down. My hands were moving, and my mind was slowly, gently coming back to itself—like a frightened bird finally finding a branch to rest on.
That’s when I understood: healing doesn’t always happen in a therapist’s office. Sometimes it happens between your fingers. Sometimes you don’t think your way out of pain—you stitch your way out, one slow thread at a time.
Environmental science, Yale psychology, depression, recovery, spiritual practice, handcraft—these pieces of my life felt disconnected for a long time. Only now do I see that they were always moving toward the same place.
That place became My Mendwell.
My Mendwell is not a shop that sells handcrafts. It’s the voice I speak to myself—and to the world:
Healing is the quietest kind of strength.
With a warm handcrafted piece, I connect energy;
With a mindful creative process, I bring the mind back to stillness;
With real actions, I reduce harm to the Earth.
Here, we gather our strength, call upon you and me, and walk together toward the light.
I’m Wellphira.
Someone who walked through a long darkness, and now wants to light a small lamp for you.