Almost everyone I’ve spoken to these past few weeks – but particularly mental health professionals like the Crisis Team and my support workers from Richmond Fellowship – have made some sort of comment on the fact that I’ve been keeping myself very busy recently. And as is typically the way with someone who has a psychiatric diagnosis and is doing lots of things at once, two concerns have been raised on numerous occasions… First, that I’m doing too much and I’m going to ‘crack’, and second; that I’m doing so much as a means of burying my head in the sand and ignoring the fact my mental health is actually still quite poorly. With these comments in mind, I wanted to write this blog post to address them, to provide advice for anyone struggling with these things, but mainly, to bring some excitement for all the things that are currently ‘in the works…’
.png)
In January this year – in the blog post marking my blog’s 10th Birthday (which you can read here) – I announced the fact that I had started writing a new book. I talked about the fact that I had actually had the idea for this one whilst writing my previous one (Everything Disordered: A Practical Guide to Blogging – which you can buy here) because my love for stationary and having notebooks for absolutely everything, meant I’ve searched for specific ones for bloggers and having had no luck, I thought: ‘why don’t I create one myself?!’ Yes, I totally recognise how naïve and kind of ignorant that sounds – as though it were that easy to just create something like this! I guess, it’s like many things in life where it’s so much easier said than it is to actually do!
I actually just made a huge decision to do with the notion that
creating You’re NOT Disordered is so much more challenging that I envisioned;
it was going to be proofread by a particular team, but that meant having a
proofreading deadline that was a lot sooner than if it were just me doing it…
And I recently began to realise that the sense of pressure of having that date,
was actually starting to spoil the journey of the whole creation process and
that’s something I really don’t want to happen because I’m very much a believer
in making sure that you enjoy all the things that you’re investing significant
portions of your time – and, really, your life – to.
People will often refer to my blogging and most other projects
such as collaborations that I take on, as ‘work’ and I appreciate what they
mean by it, I just don’t want people to think that I see I’m NOT Disordered and
all that I do as some sort of ‘chore’ or something I’m reluctant to do or which
I resent when I’m doing it. And it’s actually a huge reason why I’m very
careful and overly aware of featuring any sort of advertorial content on both
here and/or my social media because I don’t want readers or followers to see it
as my sole motivation to do these things. And this was actually something I
talked about in my blog post revealing You’re NOT Disordered’s title (which you
can read here) because
I mentioned the notion of feeling a definite therapeutic sense of purpose in my
life when I started blogging. A purpose far greater than anything I had ever
known. A purpose so much more productive and positive that it’s genuinely
turned into being lifesaving.
To be honest, writing about everything I’ve learnt on the topic of
managing your wellbeing as a blogger, and the importance of recognising both
the challenging and rewarding aspects of having a blog; is literally a subject
that has me feeling like I’m in my absolute element. Like I’m writing about
‘home’ in that it’s an area of life that makes me feel comfortable, content,
and confident. I very obviously won’t profess to know or even to have thought
of absolutely every single scenario that either I could provide advice on or
that I should provide advice on… I mean, when it’s come to providing advice on all
things in the blogging industry, the mental health world, the area of trauma
and abuse, the subject of pets helping your mental health… Well, I’ve always
been very wary and cautious. I have never wanted to come across as full of
myself or arrogant as though I know better. And so, I’ve always waited until
I’ve felt confident enough to share any guidance and thoughts on these
subjects. I’ve waited until I’ve felt certain that if someone were to challenge
me in terms of questioning why I thought myself wise enough to be advising and
shaping others and their experiences with these things, I would be more than
happy to give a response that I would feel confident and reassured in. I mean,
ten years of blogging feels like more than enough time to be able to say with
some level of validity that I’ve learnt a great deal and I like the idea that
whilst I’ve had to learn things the hard way, I can now use those learning
opportunities to aid others to avoid going through those same challenging
processes to learn these things too.
The idea that there are difficult moments in blogging and that you
can come against some hugely monumental problems in a career of this nature –
or even if you’re doing it more as a hobby – can be massively misjudged and
ignored. The fact that so many online ‘influencers’ very rarely post anything
negative about their lives, their projects, collaborations, advertorials, and this
career in general; has meant that being a blogger or some sort of digital
personality is viewed as almost completely and entirely positive and – if
anything – a quality or reputation that is something to be envious of or to
find inspirational. This was something I actually also talked about in the blog
post revealing You’re NOT Disordered’s cover (which you can read/see here) because
I related it back to the fact that with the general public and ‘outsiders’ to
this industry having a distorted view or insight into the career or general
position of being a blogger, mean that the opinion of those people can matter
even more. It’s like… Ok, here’s a really weird analogy… It’s like when someone
thinks that swimming is dangerous because they’ve known someone who has
drowned. And so, if you’re a professional diver, you’ll really care about those
people and their opinion of this sport, because you’ll want to illustrate and
prove to them that there’s good to be had in being at one with water!
So, in caring what others think of all of this, and in wanting to
encourage people to blog or write too because of the incredible rewards I’ve
experienced from doing these, here’s five little tips to writing a book:
1.
Brainstorm. Plan. Make notes. Use all
stationery and creative programmes/sites etc. such as Canva to their fullest potential(!) in your
developing and designing phase – which might feel as though it comes up
multiple times throughout the entire duration of the creation and production of
your book.
2.
Don’t be afraid or unwilling to ask others for
their thoughts or advice on particular pieces of your book where you feel
uncertain and unsure, lack confidence, or are doubtful and sceptical as to
whether something is correctly phrased; it’s a strength and sign of dedication
to be able to reach out and seek advice to make your book the best it can be.
3.
Immediately confront any issues or instances
that are negatively affecting your mood, your thoughts, feelings, and opinions
around creating your book – it needs to be a productive, positive – and yes,
occasionally challenging – and fun, journey or process that leads to you
feeling a huge sense of achievement when you reach the publish date.
4.
If you reach a point where you feel like you
need to take a break from the writing, or from the routine you’re in with it,
don’t talk yourself out of it by worrying that taking time out will be
detrimental to the book; if it’s right for you, then you’ll be able to pick
your writing back up straight away at just where you left it, as soon as you
feel ready and able.
5.
Create your own routine – or absence of a
routine(!) – for your writing because any sense of pressure on creating some
sort of timetable and allocating dates or times for working on your book will
likely reflect in your writing and can bring a sense of it being forced rather
than naturally flowing and working on it when you want to.
.png)
Earlier this year – in May – I discovered Reach Volunteering and put
in an application for the role of Head of Marketing and Communications for the
new Community Interest Company (CIC); Time To Inspire who help parents who are
struggling through legal battles and/or who have ill mental health. In all
honesty, I thought I was shooting a bit too high with it, I mean in terms of the
hierarchy level of the position. In the communications and marketing industry,
I’ve only ever been a Volunteer, an Assistant, or covered the Region as a
Marketing Officer. And so, I think it’s pretty reasonable – and not in any way
a lack of confidence or having low expectations of myself – to have not thought
I’d have even the most remote chance of getting an interview never mind the job!
So, when the founder of the company, Alen Tomasic (you can read
more about him on the Meet The Team page on
our website) got in touch and referred to my CV on multiple occasions in the
conversation as ‘impressive,’ and then offered me the interview, I was pretty
dumbstruck. Now, even if you only know me through, I’m NOT Disordered’s, you’ll
know that I’m never really lost for words; but the respect and trust Alen
showed me in offering me the position, and really having faith in my skills and
experience, left me struggling for words that I felt would be adequate in
describing just how honoured and appreciative I was/am for the incredible opportunity.
Now, having such a popular blog, I’ve had so many incredible experiences; but
Alen’s decision to hire me? One of the greatest moments to have really been a
result of my blog’s success because it was actually through this, that I found
my passion for communications and marketing.
With the company being new, my responsibilities and tasks have
really just largely been defined and developed by myself and Alen kind of as we
go… I’d say my first main task though, was improving the website (www.timetoinspire.org.uk) in
adding colour, more apt images, additional pages, and other design and
aesthetic related tasks. In creating my blog, I chose to use Blogger rather than
WordPress because it seemed less confusing, not so focused on requiring some
level of technical skill, and just generally not too advanced for my little
blog which I originally, genuinely, intended to only be seen by close friends
and family! This meant that when I started my first voluntary role in this
industry as Advertising Assistant for Listening Ear And Positive Support
(LEAPS) and needed to create a website for them, I used Blogger.
Then, after a few years with LEAPS I managed to secure funding for
them a number of times and on one occasion we decided to invest some of the
money into having a Web Designer help us to improve the site. He immediately
recommended that we switch to WordPress because he viewed it to be a more
suitable hosting site for an organisation rather than an individual. So, I
began tutorial sessions with him, and he taught me all the ropes and I saw how
professional the design could become; to the point where I actually began looking
into how to transfer my blog to it!
Fortunately, the lessons with the Web Designer meant I wasn’t too
phased when I was faced with the realisation that Time To Inspire’s website had
already been created on WordPress and that – considering my job title – it was
completely reasonable to expect me to manage its functioning and all of the
content published on it. Ironically, I actually ended up thoroughly enjoying myself
in making all of the edits and creating the different pages, their content, and
playing around with the overall aesthetic with the graphics and colour scheme
etc. So, it was really rewarding and made me feel really happy when someone who
had seen the ‘old’ website remarked on the ‘new’ one and praised all of the alterations
and improvements.
My most recent huge challenge in my job was when Alen went on his
fundraising (for the mental health charity; Mind) hike in Slovenia – we
actually have a post (which needs updating now that he’s completed it!) about
it on the website: Our
Founder is Fundraising for Mind - (timetoinspire.org.uk). Before Time To
Inspire, I hadn’t interviewed another person, so when Alen and I met with a few
people who had applied for our current volunteering opportunities (which you
can find here)
that was my first time! I felt that I handled it quite well though but now, I
think it was because I had Alen there and he could take the lead… So, when he
went away for the hike, and told me that he trusted me to continue with
interviews by myself?! Well… I think I probably ended up more nervous than
those I was actually interviewing!
I was extremely hesitant and sceptical that he was making
the right decision in believing in me to do something like this by myself, but
– as everyone I talked to persistently reminded me – he knows what he’s doing
and if he has faith in me then why shouldn’t I have that in myself? Why should
I second-guess my ability to do something that I’ve literally never done? What
reason do I really have to be truly convinced and 100% certain that I would
fail at it?! In considering this a bit more rationally, I made the decision to
tell my boss that I wasn’t comfortable interviewing candidates for one of the
positions that involves a lot of responsibilities and requires many
qualifications or experience that give me the impression that, in interviewing
applicants for it, I feel I would need to have a much better understanding of
it than I currently do. Aside from that, I agreed to take on the challenge of
interviewing two candidates for the Social Media Coordinator position and one
for the Fundraising role.
I’m incredibly glad I finally found that bit of confidence in
myself because it was a huge learning opportunity and has really helped me to
grasp not only where my passions are, but also the areas in my abilities that need
improvement. I mean, when I first really began working more formally in the
Communications industry through being a Digital Volunteer with St Oswald’s Hospice, I quickly found
that actually, there are so many areas and specialities in the industry – kind
of like working in healthcare where you can specialise in one diagnosis.
Discovering that my real interests within Comms are in content creation, building
and developing Communications and Marketing strategies, and most other
tasks/responsibilities that demand creativity; meant that I became able to look
for opportunities that really focused on those skills and responsibilities. And
so – in conducting those interviews by myself – I recognised that because of my
seniority in Time To Inspire, it’s a task that could very likely and reasonably
so, come up on many more occasions in my career and that gave me determination
and dedication to using the terrifying experiences as lessons. So that rather
than pick holes in how utterly nervous and anxious I was in doing this and how
I felt that made me quite poor in terms of how well I did, I instead look to the
aspects of it where I can improve and have since, not only thought about it,
but I’ve also actually done some research into interviewing techniques and tips
on how to ensure you get all the right information from a candidate in their
interview.
Admittedly, the interviews weren’t totally horrific because I
actually found Eva and made the decision to offer her a trial run in taking on
tasks until Alen returned and could make the final determination as to whether
to hire her. She has done so well though that she’s officially part of the team
(so you can read more about on our website’s Meet The Team page here) now and whilst
her interview was under the position of ‘Social Media Coordinator,’ when I
began creating a list of tasks for her, I found myself thinking of things that
were more general than specifically around our social media channels (links to Time
To Inspire’s accounts: Twitter,
Instagram, and Facebook) and so I asked if she would be interested in
taking on a more overall role as ‘Digital Marketing Assistant’ and she was more
than up for the prospect of these other tasks and responsibilities.
Ironically though, in hiring someone for my team, you’d
think that would mean less tasks for me in that I could delegate some of my
workload… Well, that’s really not true(!) – at least not for these first few
weeks with her. It’s meant that I’m needing to create a lot of guidance and
informational documents for Eva – however, in doing this, I’ve found that we actually
need a few of these items for any other staff and volunteers who join the
company… Even those who might be assigned to a different department. So, Eva is
already proving to be a real asset; she’s also doing so well with her first
tasks and has had some really good ideas – or has sparked me to have ideas! – that
could really improve the Marketing and Communications department’s
effectiveness and our digital presence.
So, I think it’s more than safe to say that I’m thoroughly
enjoying my job, I’ve already learnt so much in the first three months, and so
I wanted to provide five little tips on employment/volunteering in general:
1.
Don’t feel pressured into disclosing any
details about your mental health but consider how helpful it might be for your
employer and/or colleagues to be aware of aspects of it that might enable them
to be better supportive if you struggle in some way.
2.
Utilise stationery and where you find yourself
feeling that you need something really specific e.g. a password notebook to
record the login details for any work-related social media or your emails etc, you’ll
likely not have too hard of a job finding the item on Amazon!
3.
Don’t be afraid to tell your Line Manager that
you don’t understand a task or that you feel it’s beyond your skillset and have
no experience in doing anything similar to it – you should be respected more
for speaking up and recognition that it ensures a better outcome.
4.
Be aware of boundaries in terms of building
relationships with your employer and colleagues; it’s incredibly difficult to
not form any sort of bond with people you’re spending a lot of time with, but be
mindful to avoid any awkward, conflict-of-interest situations.
5.
Don’t forget ‘me-time’ – if, like me, you see
your ‘work’ as so enjoyable that you struggle to ‘switch off’ from it, consider
being more structured in allocating specific times/days to other activities and
commitments.
.png)
Over a year after I created, I’m NOT Disordered and started
blogging, I received a couple of horrible and upsetting comments from readers –
with one being written on a post that had talked about my suicide attempts and
which wished me ‘luck’ with my ‘next one.’ So, on September 12th
2014 – after a great deal of consideration and asking others for their opinions
– I made the decision to close my blog down (you can still read the post about
that here).
However, after just over one month of doubting my decision and questioning just
how valid and important my thoughts and feelings to the comments were – on October
29th – I re-opened I’m NOT Disordered (you can read that post here).
I had found myself missing the therapeutic value of blogging to such a degree
that upon weighing it up with the thought of any more debilitating comments, I
found that the benefits and enjoyment of blogging far outweighed the risk of me
being upset by comments again (especially when I realised, I could take the
comment function down completely!).
Since then, apart from the odd occasion, I’d say that I’ve managed
to publish new content on a pretty regular basis that has sometimes varied from
a few times a week to once a week. To be honest, I pretty much immediately found
myself recognising how huge a difference this was to my almost daily posts whilst
I was in the psychiatric hospital, I had been an inpatient of from the summer
of 2012 to shortly before restarting my blog (over two years later). Just as
quick as I noticed this though, I found myself confident that this was because
on the ward, something was always happening. Every day. Multiple times a day,
in fact! With the ward being purely dedicated for those with a diagnosis of
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and with key symptoms of this mental
illness being around irrational anger and unstable relationships(!); it meant for
a very volatile environment. There was never a dull day. People were always
arguing – whether that mean patients and patients or patients against staff…
There were arguments and – in the case of a patient vs a patient – even physical
fights!
There’s one hugely tense situation that sticks out to me and it
was when we were all told to leave our bedrooms and sit in the communal TV
room. Staff eventually explained that someone has snuck a sharp object in, and
it had been ‘passed around’ several patients who had each used it to self-harm;
until someone finally handed it in. As a result, the staff decided to do a
complete ward lockdown to search everyone’s bedrooms in case more contraband
had been brought in. Whilst we were all gathered in the room and the staff were
combing through our personal belongings, tensions were running high and an
enormous argument broke out, and yes, I was part of it! I – along with two or
three others – had no idea about this sharp object and had played no part in passing
it around to enable others to hurt themselves (something which I think is so
incredibly low and damaging). With that frustration that we were all being
punished because of the one person who’d brought it in and the few who’d passed
it around, the girl who everyone suspected of being responsible for sneaking it
onto the ward swore on her family’s lives that she was innocent. Within hours,
she broke down and finally admitted to it. And I remember giving a massive
lecture on responsibility because it was something that had been pounded into
me and had really shaped my recovery, and some of the patients I was closest to
and the staff who had come into the room gave me a round of applause!
That’s just one incident out of over two years(!); so of course,
there were so many other instances that I found more than worthy of being
blogged about. And rather than cause any sort of sensationalism or controversy,
I think that I actually chose to blog about these things as a means of
processing them. Just because even though my speech was supported by some, no
matter how confident I felt that I wasn’t alone in my response or thoughts and
feelings on something that had proven to be argumentative, I was always hesitant
to speak up because those patients who might disagree not only struggled with
the anger symptom, they also had history of being physically aggressive and violent
so that was sort of intimidating. And so, blogging about all the things I felt
desperate to say out loud, provided me with a much safer outlet and this definitely
contributed to my blog holding a larger, more therapeutic, value.
In addition to there being dramas on a more regular basis in the
psychiatric hospital, another reason for me not blogging as often once I was
discharged, was that I now had other stuff to do too! I mean, you couldn’t
exactly have a job or any soft of really active hobby in hospital, but being
out? And, having been hospitalised for so long? I wanted to make the most of my
freedom now that I was discharged from my detention under Section 3 of the 1983
Mental Health Act that had meant needing a Doctor’s permission to go anywhere
except the ward; and all the time I had on my hands because I didn’t have a therapeutic
activity timetable to adhere to from morning until evening, and regular therapy
sessions numerous times a week. However, not having those commitments dedicated
to improving and then maintaining a safe and stable mental state, meant that for
a good few year, I didn’t feel able to commit to anything too formal such as a
voluntary job or studying and attending College. So, I’ve still had plenty of
time for blogging, creating collaboration content, featuring in the media, and
attending/working at events etc.
So, how have I gone from that regular posting to these days where
it’s seeming to take me 10 – 14 days to produce new content? Well, I think that
a huge reason for the reduction has been one of the motivations for me actually
writing this post: to tell you about all the projects and commitments I have going
on at the minute! The number of things that are taking up huge amounts of my
time has always been something I’m aware of – when I sat down to write all the little
subtitles to this post, I didn’t get a shock at how many there were. What did
surprise me, however, was when I began writing and found myself really taken
aback by just how complex things were behind each of these areas of my life.
How detailed, how thought-out, and how determined and passionate I am about
each of them… Thinking about that passion though, led me to wonder which of
these I’m most dedicated to and on really thinking it through, I think it’s actually
a huge minefield! Like, every time I think up a reason why most of my passion
lies with one thing, I think of something for another! It feels almost like
when you ask a parent which child is their favourite because, to be honest,
whenever I think my answer is something other than I’m NOT Disordered, I feel
completely disloyal and guilty because I think you could very fairly and justly
argue that I wouldn’t have all of these other commitments and opportunities if
it weren’t for my blog…
Now, the biggest and most exciting aspect of my work on my blog
right now, is something which I can’t fully announce and provide details on
until the end of September/October, but what I can say is that this year, I’m
NOT Disordered will – once again – feature a Blogmas campaign. If you’re new to
my blog or the industry in general, Blogmas is where I create daily content
from December 1st until Christmas Day (as an example, here is the recap
to Blogmas last year: BLOGMAS
2022 | DAY TWENTY-FIVE: LESSONS LEARNT, BEHIND-THE-SCENES, & A RE-CAP! |
I'm NOT Disordered (imnotdisordered.co.uk)). I used to be really hesitant in
telling people when I had started working on content for specific Awareness dates
or special anniversaries etc because I almost always felt a bit embarrassed
when a person would laugh at how soon and early, I was starting. Over the years
though, I’ve built confidence and so for anyone having a joke about how I’m
talking about Christmas in August; just keep in mind that I’m creating TWENTY-FIVE
blog posts to publish in just ONE MONTH! And when you decide to create all this
content in collaboration with someone else or an organisation, it can sort of double
the responsibility and the importance.
I can actually also tell you that this year, I’ll be collaborating
with a very incredible Etsy store who I’ve worked with before (there’s a clue)
and who will be creating some lovely items and providing you all with a very
special discount code exclusive to I’m NOT Disordered’s Blogmas readers! So,
watch this space for the post announcing my partner and the entire title of the
series, and the piece revealing our amazing Blogmas graphics which have all
been designed by the talented folks at Canva…
All coming to you before Blogmas actually commences on December 1st!
Not blogging as much as I used to, however, there has actually
been a good thing with that – the fact that it means I’m no longer stuck for
ideas for angles and themes for my content! For any bloggers who do have ‘writer’s
block,’ here are five tips to help inspire you:
1.
Consider your target audience and if you were
one of them, and ask yourself, what would you like to read/see on a blog? What
would be helpful and appropriate for you?
2.
Utilise Canva’s features to create a digital,
creative mind map or brainstorm to document even the smallest of ideas and
enable them to grow and develop into something bigger.
3.
Look for inspiration through blogs you deem to
be aspirational for your own blog to match with and build to be at the same level
in terms of aesthetic, creativity, or popularity etc.
4.
Search creative websites such as the Quotes feature
on GoodReads, Pinterest, and Unsplash for quotes and imagery that might
inspire thoughts, feelings, and memories.
5.
A type of title for blog posts that’s pretty typically
popular, is where it begins with ‘(insert number) Things I’ve Learnt About…’ – you
can make it as short or as lengthy as you like.
.png)
A good few years ago – around 2017/2018 I think – I somehow
discovered FutureLearn and began
enrolling on some of their free courses which – over the years – have varied
from The
Anthropology of Social Media to Caring
For People with Psychosis and Schizophrenia to Forensic
Psychology! Now, the reason for the huge differences in topics and industries,
has been because I’ve tried to alternate with courses that are purely out of my
own random interest and courses that I’m passionate about and which could help both
my career and the commitments I already have.
Now, I tend not to be someone who blows their own trumpet that
often – though I have learnt to do it more as a means of increasing the publicity
of my blog – but I am really proud of myself for continuing with my education even
though I’m older than a typical ‘student.’ My pride, however, isn’t about age…
For legal reasons, I can’t disclose the name of my abuser; but I feel that he’s
completely unworthy of remaining anonymous. So, over the years of blogging
about those traumatic memories and the impact they have had on my mental health,
I’ve dropped a few hints and clues as to who this person is, and I believe it
says a lot that anyone who knew me around that age (15/16) would incredibly
easily be able to guess who it was. And so, a few times I’ve mentioned that the
six months of abuse took place during my final year of High School in 2006-2007,
but I hadn’t said that the end of the abuse came with the end of my schooling
and so, in a way, it led to me feeling that actually, being out of education, gave
me a sense of safety and stability. So, to return to it – voluntarily is quite
huge in terms of my mental wellbeing.
Not many people will know, but I actually had an offer to study
Law at Newcastle University after my A Levels when I was 18. Unfortunately, though,
on the day I had three of the A Level exams one after another, I made my first
suicide attempt and – unsurprisingly – found myself being admitted to hospital
for medical treatment before being sectioned under the 1983 Mental Health Act
for the first time. And so, just like that, my dreams of becoming a Lawyer and
helping fight for justice for those going through what I had experienced just
two years earlier, were ruined and when I was discharged from the psychiatric
hospital a few weeks later, I found myself desperately searching through the courses
my local Colleges were offering. I attempted to enrol on a Childcare course,
but was denied access when the Police decided to disclose information about
their involvement in my mental health (I ran away from the hospital a few times
on that first admission) on my DBS. Then, I looked into working in fashion and after
volunteering in a couple of charity stores and enjoying being tasked with creating
and decorating the window displays, I found myself looking into Visual Merchandising.
My Nana always said – and now my Mum repeats this – that everything
happens for a reason, and so; the fact that all of these attempts and enquiries
at different careers and industries failed and left me feeling so completely
worthless and hopeless that my mental health continued to deteriorate, and I
found myself sectioned for two and a half years? Well, I struggled to find a
purpose to this – struggled to find a positive reason why these things happened
– and then I’m NOT Disordered was born and all of a sudden I felt as though I
had a purpose. But yes, it was a slow and steady process to find myself where I
am today in terms of my career, my passion, and my fascination in Marketing and
Communications.
The time it took to get to this point was mostly born from the
fact that my original goal in starting to blog was to provide insight into my
life in the psychiatric hospital, because it was happening over 100 miles away
from my Mum, the rest of my family, and all my friends. And so, my sole target
audience were those friends and family members that were all listed on my
private Facebook account. This reasonably ‘small’ beginning meant I didn’t ever
imagine, or intend, for I’m NOT Disordered to grow into anywhere near all that
it is today – I didn’t envision it providing me with the opportunity to collaborate
with huge charities, organisations, and well-known individuals, I didn’t
picture it to even still be going after 10 years and to now have over 1.2
million readers! And do you know what? Sometimes I wonder if that’s been one of
the secrets to, what feels like, a hugely successful journey – the fact that I
didn’t have huge dreams and aspirations around this…? Maybe the absence of
expectations and not putting time and effort into my blog purely to reach a
higher count of readers, to secure gifted items, or anything else that’s
slightly ill-prioritised; has shown that all my work, passion, and dedication
to I’m NOT Disordered is 100% genuine and heartfelt.
Almost like it’s natural – and that’s honestly how it feels! I
mean, I said earlier that I really don’t like to blow my own trumpet, but I recognise
this is something that can be a valued skill in the blogging industry… So, when
so many people have said to me that they think I’m a real natural at writing – especially
creatively – I’ve always sort of felt a bit squeamish and uncomfortable, but 10
years into my blogging career, I can finally see what they mean… I hear of
other Bloggers talking about the use of all these very advanced, sentences and
words that have hugely technical and complicated labels/names etc that make you
feel that you really need a degree to comprehend what they mean! Yet, I feel
that I just write how I write. I honestly don’t believe that I put a whole lot
of effort or thought into it… I mean, in terms of the types of sentences I’m
using etc… Of course, a lot of thought goes into the content – into phrasing
it, and it takes a lot of effort to reach into some of my memories and
vulnerable moments and talk about them in a very raw, honest, and open way. But
the writing of it, it just seems to flow out of me. It’s a real, true, outlet.
In establishing this passion and skill, it’s given me a much better
understanding of what I want to be learning about and that has made me so much more
eager to enrol on some online courses in the subjects and topics that appeal to
me the most. Not only through personal reasons and interest, and to better my
content, but also, to better my work for Time To Inspire and to provide me with
new skills and knowledge for any future career opportunities that may come up! Enrolling
on this current course of the Credible Content Creation (I’m on my last week of
it!) was a huge step forward into aiding me to fill up my time with something
positive and productive as opposed to the difficult thoughts and feelings I’ve
felt drowned by with my recent mental health relapse. It’s helped to bring me a
degree of hope that I will have a future and that it will be bright.
My five favourite courses from FutureLearn are (in no particular
order):
1.
Young
People and Mental Health - Mental Health Training - FutureLearn
2.
Online Fiction
Writing Course: Start Writing Fiction (futurelearn.com)
3.
Digital Wellbeing
- Online Wellbeing Course - FutureLearn
4.
Online Social
Media Analytics Course - FutureLearn
5.
Digital
Skills: User Experience - Online Course - FutureLearn