Moving from paid to free writing

I've been writing professionally for many years, in both fiction and nonfiction (over 20 years, which is surreal because I'm still 28). <br><br>I've published short stories, novels, essays, interviews, book reviews, and poetry with numerous publications. I've also got some books out myself in poetry, short stories, and fantasy. <br><br>However, I'm also a professional writer for various companies. I write technical documentation, articles, website content, copy, blogs, etc. for clients. <br><br>The last two years I've been able to support myself solely with my writing, but it's not been without massive stress to meet deadlines, but I've always been able to pay the bills. <br><br>Things are slowing down more than I anticipated, but it's not a surprise. We're in the midst of financial uncertainty. Lay-offs and reductions are happening everywhere, and I'm now facing clients having less money or less work. <br><br>I'd love to do more writing for me, not for others or for pay, but it's been a hard mental switch. <br><br>Has anyone else switched from a paid writing gig to unpaid, and how did you do it? I'm really struggling. <br><br>Note: There's been a lot of clients who have just ghosted, or gone silent. There's also been a rapid decline in what companies are willing to pay, especially the clients I used to rely on to pay the bills. <br><br>I used to get paid well for technical writing, but I'm seeing the decline in pay happening rapidly over the last year with pay for technical writing dropping by a third or more.