BLOGMAS 2022 | DAY TWENTY-FOUR: CHRISTMAS WITH… ME!

Welcome to the penultimate blog post for Blogmas 2022! 

Today, I’ve completed the ‘Christmas With…’ Q&A to give you insight into my own Christmases and who I’ll be spending it with this year…

Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions? 

Since I was little my Mum and I have always done new pyjamas on Christmas Eve night and more recently we’ve started attending the Nativity at the Church I was christened in and then going to a nearby restaurant for Pizza and Baileys! I also like to watch The Santa Clause because it’s my favourite Christmas movie!

Who will you be spending this year’s Christmas with? 

My Mum and her cat; Millie, and my bunny; Luna!

What time do you get up on Christmas Day? Is that for a particular reason?  

 When I was little, my Mum would set a time, but now I’m older and have my own home, I usually get up around 10am.

FROM BLOGGING TIPS TO MENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSIS | EVERYTHING YOU ASKED MARTIN BAKER & I | IN COLLABORATION WITH GUMONMYSHOE.COM

You can read Martin’s answers over on: www.gumonmyshoe.com

So a while ago I asked you all to send in questions you’d like to ask me and one of my best friends and fellow blogger, Martin Baker. Of course I was bombarded and so I had to work really hard to whittle them down to the following questions…

Do you feel under pressure to keep going with your blog? 

I used to. I think there was a point where I was really blogging for the sake of others… I recognised that I was maintaining it purely because I liked the idea of it helping others. In seeing that my recovery was giving people hope, encouraging them to reach out for help and support, and enabling them to feel less alone, I felt that I couldn’t stop blogging because it would be taking that away from them.

However, when I decided to close I’m NOT Disordered down in 2014, I found myself truly missing it. I was finally recognising that, actually, I – and my mental health in particular – were massively benefiting from blogging. In ending my blog, I struggled to really process my thoughts and feelings and to better understand my decisions, and the loss of the ability to do this meant that I became unsafe again and started to really struggle. That experience – of not blogging – has meant that I now blog completely for me but balance that with still considering how my readers would feel or think of the content I produce. And I really hope that shows.

QUESTIONS I’M ASKED MOST OFTEN

I’ve been working on a question and answer piece with a very special person recently and it made me wonder whether readers would be interested in me doing a little Q&A and publicly answering the questions I’m most often asked by professionals, service users, and readers…

About my blog:

Have you always enjoyed writing?

Yes, when I was younger, I was obsessed with horses and I used to write short stories about them and characters who would go for adventures with their horses or who were teaching riding lessons like the ones I was attending. They were mostly inspired by the Sheltie book series by Peter Clover (please tell me someone else remembers those?!). My Mum and Nana would read my stories and I thought that meant I was an Author. I loved watching them read my words and it was rewarding to see their reactions to something I’d put a lot of effort into. When the abuse started though, I stopped writing so much because I was so worried that I’d end up pouring my heart out and writing about what was happening to me; and for so many reasons I had to keep it a secret.