THE GREATEST FEMALE INSPIRATION IN MY BLOGGING CAREER | VICTORIA MAGRATH AKA INTHEFROW | INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2022

I’ve surprised myself in discovering that I actually haven’t written a blog post solely about my biggest inspiration in the blogging world! I mean, this girl – Victoria Magrath – has literally been so influential on my content and my work/blogging career in general; so why haven’t I properly rabbited on about her in all of I’m NOT Disordered’s nine years?! So, I figured if ever there was a time to do so, it’s International Women’s Day…

MY NEED FOR INSPIRATION

Before I started to blog – and for quite a while after I started – I had very little knowledge of technology, the behind-the-scenes of websites, and using social media with more purposeful and professional goals in mind. I knew the basics and I think the fact that I put very little thought or vision into I’m NOT Disordered in those early days, meant that it took a little while to register that I would need some sort of inspiration and guidance.

Unfortunately, though, when I first started blogging in 2013, there were about three well-known mental health blogs and that meant straightforward inspiration was kind of hard to come by. I mean, one of those blogs was written by a discharged mental health services user and I was a psychiatric hospital inpatient. Another was written by a psychiatric nurse, and I had no career prospects after having made a suicide attempt that landed me on life support just months before starting to blog. The third blog had been created by a Police Officer who had an interest in mental health law and – at that point – I had absolutely no respect or gratitude for the Police in general!

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO PINTEREST & MENTAL HEALTH | PART TWO

Part One:

http://www.imnotdisordered.co.uk/2021/03/the-ultimate-guide-to-pinterest-mental.html

“Do what you can with all you have, wherever you are.”

Theodore Roosevelt

This post has actually become something it wasn’t going to be when I first thought of it and started planning it! Initially, I thought that it would just be a ton of images created on Canva, but in creating the images, I began thinking a lot about what they mean, how important they can be, and how they can impact mental health…

METHOD OF CREATIVITY:

I think I’ve been a creative person since I was little. I used to make collages with my Nana out of torn up catalogues and then I began writing short stories about horses! The writing sort of fizzled out when I got older, but for a few years I wanted to be a fashion designer, so I opted to study Textiles for my exams.

Unfortunately, I had a really terrible subject teacher who would constantly undermine my work and criticise my understanding of the briefing we’d be given to inspire our projects. It was as though – only with me – she couldn’t decide whether she wanted literal interpretations of the topic or imaginative. I couldn’t win. Couldn’t get anything right. And it really knocked all the confidence and passion I had in my creativity, leaving me with absolutely no drive or interest in pursuing some sort of career in the industry.

I don’t think it was until my second psychiatric hospital admission after a suicide attempt that I re-discovered creativity; and more specifically, writing. I think it was a truly pure moment when I just felt that writing how I felt and what I had experienced for the staff, was the most natural and obvious way to get help and support, and to recover.

WHY I DIDN’T TAKE PART IN DIGITAL DETOX DAY 2020

https://www.digitaldetoxday.org/

I first heard about Digital Detox Day when I visited Zoe Sugg’s Instagram account and read her post on the campaign she’s created alongside I Am Whole to shed light on the negative impact social media can have on your mental health and life in general. Zoe explained that the thought process behind the campaign was based on the realization that we are ‘endlessly scrolling’, comparing, judging, being cyber bullied, losing boundaries, and don’t know when to ‘switch off’ from social media. She says that all of this can be a cause of Anxiety, Depression, Sleeplessness, Loneliness, and low Self-Esteem.

Initially, I almost automatically decided to join in, read up on the campaign, and do the digital detox on September 5^th, 2020 (tomorrow). Then I started writing a post about the campaign for LEAPS (you can read the post here) and talking about my ‘digital journey’ really left me reconsidering my decision and feeling hugely tempted not to partake in the event. Writing about how I’ve progressed through social media and my blog really made me realize just how important the digital world has all become to me and that this isn’t necessarily unhealthy or unsafe.

SIX PINTEREST PICS THAT SUM UP MY LIFE

Take a peek inside my Pinterest boards and my motivations behind some of my favourite pins with links to my favourite boards…

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/aimeswilson/

LONDON https://www.pinterest.co.uk/aimeswilson/london/

I remember my first visit to London when I was eighteen and my Mum took me down there for my Birthday. We had one of those theatre weekends booked where you get train fayre, a hotel room, and a night at a show of your choice in one packaged price. We chose The Lion King because it’s one of my favourite Disney movies and makes me cry every single time I watch it – no matter how old I get! Since then I’ve visited London on a number of occasions and for a number of different reasons; we visited again to see Legally Blonde on my 21^st Birthday, attended a party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate Blind Veterans 100^th Birthday, and I’ve attended numerous conferences, meetings, and events there. At one point, I was in London so often that I seriously considered moving down there. And then one of the terrorist attacks happened. And I was round the corner. It was when the man was found near Westminster with a bag full of knives. I remember leaving the event in the taxi and people were running, screaming towards us whilst Police riot vans raced in the opposite direction. After a little while, I couldn’t let it stop me from visiting the city that I’d grown to love so much.

MY TWELVE FAVOURITE WOMEN | HAPPY (BELATED) INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!!

Happy (Belated) International Women’s Day!!

In this post, I’d like to discuss my ten favourite women in the world, and why they’re such an inspiration to me.

My Mum

This was an obvious one for me; my Mum and I are very close, and she has been one of my biggest supporters through my mental health struggles and recovery. My Mum is hugely independent; she has to have at least one hundred goes at doing something herself before she asks for help! If I am half the Mother she is when I have children, then my kids will be very lucky!

My Aunt

I don’t talk about my Aunt often on my blog because she lives in Dubai but she makes the most incredible effort to keep in touch with the whole UK family. My Aunt is very family oriented and, in a family, where drama should be our surname, that takes a lot of strength! We’ll always be bonded by the fact that we were the only two unable to say goodbye to my Nana. That’s a horrible thing to have in common but it’s also a very powerful thing.

WEEK FOUR | 52 LISTS FOR HAPPINESS | OLIVER BONAS | AD

You can buy this book here

Every week, for 2018 there will be post of what I’ve done in the book each week. And the fourth list?

List the things that get you out of your head:

PARTYING WITH INTHEFROW, ALEX HARRISON, & GOOGLE PIXEL!! | AD

Friday 20^th January 2018, 09:43 - ‘Congratulations Aimee your Saturday just got awesome… You and your named guest are now part of a chosen few to joing us in celebrating the all-new Google Pixel 2 with InTheFrow at our Manchester event this Saturday’

Like most girls, I like fashion.                            

It was because of this, that I began to follow InTheFrow (Victoria McGrath) on YouTube. And - not going to lie - I was kind of mesmerised by her bright purple hair!