A Q&A ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH BLOGGING & PET BEREAVEMENT | IT’S LAUNCH DAY FOR GRACIE’S WAY!!!

“Come back. Even as a shadow, even as a dream.”

Euripides

So, I won’t lie; I definitely changed my mind a few times on the title and the theme/contents of this blog post, and I even ended up asking Chat GPT for ideas on angles for the piece! From its answers, I though
t perhaps a Q&A would go down well but with it being fairly last minute (I’m writing this a few days before), I figured I’d best just ask AI to think up the questions – plus! It did a really good job thinking of them for this article actually on the Gracie’s Way website: An Interview with Gracie’s Way Project Lead: Aimee Wilson | Gracie's Way! Anyhow, here’s my answers to some of the questions it thought of…

DEFINED BY THIRTEEN NOT BY DISORDER | HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY, I’M NOT DISORDERED!

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”

Oprah Winfrey

Today, I’m NOT Disordered turns – believe it or not! – THIRTEEN years old(!) and, as usual, I wanted to do something special this year… So, exclusive for this week alone, the blog’s logo had a little Canva-style (using the ‘Elements’ feature) tweaking – what do you think?! And this Birthday blog post will be about the thirteen things from this past year which I’d like to think of as defining of me because I’d far rather be defined by those, than the diagnosis which I was stuck with for over a decade. Except, because being defined by things is actually all about the opinions of others and why they see certain things in certain ways, I asked AI (namely Chat GPT) to tell me why each of the thirteen things below is defining of me; so here’s the thirteen things I chose and each of the AI answers…

GOODBYE, GRACIE | A THERAPEUTIC POST FULL OF MY THOUGHTS & FEELINGS AFTER LOSING MY YOUNGEST BUNNY

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye,

You were bigger than the whole sky,

You were more than just a short time,

And I’ve got a lot to pine about

I’ve got a lot to live without

Taylor Swift – Bigger Than The Whole Sky

I’ve always said that since Day One of creating I’m NOT Disordered back in 2013, the content has been about what I want to publish, what I want to create, and what I – and my mental health – benefit from writing about. So, when I found myself full to the brim of sad thoughts and feelings when my youngest bunny; Gracie, passed away on November 1^st, I immediately thought ‘I’ll write a blog post; that’ll help!’ I fully recognise that it might not ‘do well’ in terms of gaining readers but ultimately, it’s helped me to process these thoughts and feelings massively and that actually feels so much more important and worthy of publishing…

DAY TWO OF BLOGMAS UNBOXED 2023: AN ITEM FOR GRACIE’S 1ST CHRISTMAS, A MENTAL HEALTH MYTH-BUSTING CHAT INSPIRED BY RABBIT HALLUCINATIONS, & A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR LUNA | IN COLLABORATION WITH PHOENIX COVE

PhoenixCove - Etsy UK

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Welcome to Blogmas Unboxed!!

So, the first piece I’m going to share with you from the wonderful and talented Cleo from Phoenix Cove – a popular Etsy store – is this cute little decoration marking that this Christmas is the first one for one of my mini-Lionhead bunny’s; Gracie. So, inspired by this item, I thought I’d write a little piece about her, and I’ve created a reel of some of my favourite moments and photos of both her, and my other mini-Lionhead; Luna (who I got one of the wooden letters for)…  

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY, GRACIE

So, you may remember that I lost my cat; Emmy, a few months ago. She had been best-friends for over a year with my lop eared lionhead bunny; Luna. She was all Luna had ever known. And losing her was heartbreaking for both of us.

From the day Emmy was put to sleep, our Veterinary Practice recommended adding a bunny companion to help Luna cope with the sadness, stress and confusion of the loss. And, for a little while, I thought that I’d completely made my mind up and that I wouldn’t be getting another fluffy one. But then, Luna began depositing waste everywhere and the Vets explained it was from the stress, so I discovered Simply Beautiful Mini Lop Bunny Rabbits and on January 9^th, I added Gracie to our family!