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So,
this is a bit of a different collaboration; through my work as Kickstart
Project Coordinator for St
Oswald’s Hospice, I underwent training in Microsoft Teams by Lara Mellor
Training. The training got me thinking a lot about the
importance of technology and it’s new place in our lives since lockdown and the
coronavirus pandemic…
The popular misconception of me:
One of the biggest misconceptions I’ve experienced in
blogging has been that so many people – readers, friends, family, and
collaboration partners etc – believe that to be a blogger I must automatically
be good with technology and working on a computer!
Most of you will probably know that when I first
started blogging, the greatest knowledge I really had of technology was where
the on and off button were for different devices (I have iPhones, iPads, and a
laptop!). It meant that in the early days of I’m NOT Disordered, the entire
design was completely down to one of the other psychiatric inpatients in the
hospital I had been admitted to.
Finding power and control in technology:
Initially, relying on the other inpatient wasn’t a
huge stress or challenge because I was so passionate about the writing/blogging
that I really didn’t care much about the aesthetics of it. Then, the staff
started discussing discharging the other inpatient before me and I was kind of
hit with a sudden realisation that I really needed to learn things for myself
so that I was able to continue I’m NOT Disordered without having to lean on
someone else who may become more and more difficult to communicate with since
she lived so far away.
Learning about the design process for I’m NOT Disordered was actually really empowering and it left me feeling in control – something which I usually struggle with. I also became more able to accept any positive feedback on my blog because I felt more responsible for the entirety of it.