“Great
goals make great people. People cannot hit what they do not aim for.”
Roy
T. Bennett
Welcome to Day Seven of the Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) series; 5 Things to Take Action With. Today, I’m going to provide a re-cap of the entire Series with a few bonus elements thrown e.g. why I’m NOT Disordered took part in MHAW and what the goals and purposes were in doing so…
Why did I’m NOT Disordered’s MHAW
content take the form of resources?
Initially this bit was going to answer the questions
‘why did I’m NOT Disordered create content for MHAW?’ and ‘what was the
inspiration for this content?’ but it felt a bit déjà vu and when I re-read Day
One of the MHAW content, I realised I’d answered these questions. I feel that the
first question was answered under the subtitle ‘The Importance of MHAW’ and the
second question, is really reminiscent of the text beneath the subtitle ‘What ‘Taking
Action’ Means to Me.’
So, with those two questions answered, I decided to
instead, answer the question around why the content took the form that it took –
and by that, I mean that I created the resources rather than writing blog posts
full of text. So, there were a number of reasons; but also, one very large one:
1.
The
Importance of Standing Out During Mental Health Awareness Week:
There was one year – I forget which – where, during
World Suicide Prevention Day, I remember seeing this one piece of content in
particular on social media where someone had voiced the opinion that posting
pictures of yourself on life support was an unnecessary way of getting across
the reality of suicide. I remember that despite not knowing this person and
never even interacting with their account, their post was directed at me in particular
because – for various reasons and to get raise awareness of various topics and
messages – I have often posted the photo of myself on life support that my
Auntie took back in 2012.
Ultimately though, I could appreciate one
interpretation of this post about life support photos/content being that so
many people and accounts/organisations post similar content on awareness dates
like Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW). It can become incredibly monotonous,
and this can lead to feelings and questioning of the intent and just how
heart-felt the content is. It can leave someone wondering whether the content
is intended to genuinely get across the correct message and raise awareness of
the topic it is supposedly regarding or whether it’s simply a publicity stunt.
Another message you can gain from the content on
the life support photos – which has had the largest impact on my own/my blog’s MHAW
content – is that monotonous nature I mentioned. It really raises the question and
begs you to ask whether a person or account is simply and almost automatically following
a trend by publishing content, especially when it’s concerning and
regarding a particular awareness date.
So, most blogs will feature, sometimes lengthy, text-only
content which – don’t get me wrong – can still be very moving, impactful, and
meaningful. And I say this because a lot of I’m NOT Disordered’s previous MHAW
content has been text-heavy, particularly: the entire Week’s content for MHAW
in 2025 (you can read Day One here: DAY
ONE MHAW | LAUNCH POST | MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK 2025 | I'm NOT Disordered)
and for that in 2022 (you can read Day One here: THE
LONELINESS IN BLOGGING | MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK: DAY ONE | IN
COLLABORATION WITH FEEDSPOT.COM | I'm NOT Disordered). But, I would argue
that a lot of the posts – which are particularly text-heavy, have still been
meaningful and have continued to uphold a very genuine and important message, particularly
(in those two years) Day Five in MHAW 2025: DAY
FIVE MHAW | HOW MY LOCAL NHS MENTAL HEALTH TRUST ARE TACKLING ‘COMMUNITY’ WITH
AN ‘INVOLVEMENT BANK’ | MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK 2025 WITH CUMBRIA,
NORTHUMBERLAND, TYNE & WEAR NHS FOUNDATION TRUST | I'm NOT Disordered
and actually, also Day Five(!), of 2022: THE
IMPORTANCE OF PETS AS COMPANIONS | MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK: DAY FIVE | IN
COLLABORATION WITH CATS PROTECTION | I'm NOT Disordered.
In the hope of going against the status quo, I decided
to create and publish resources in the daily content instead. Now, in all
honesty, if this was a number of years ago – I’d say from the beginning of I’m
NOT Disordered until as recent as 2023 – 2024, I wouldn’t have felt at all
brave enough to go against the norm and the typical content that everyone else
is publishing. It’s literally only been the most recent years that I’ve felt
more secure in my blogging career and have really recognised my blog’s standing
and authority in the blogging community. It wasn’t until June 2025 that I
really began to appreciate and accept the title and label of ‘Influencer’ and I
actually fully explained why in this blog post: THE
ULTIMATE GUIDANCE TO WORKING WITH AN INFLUENCER | I'm NOT Disordered. But
for those who can’t be bothered or don’t have the time to read it, I had researched
the definition of an Influencer so I could argue against those calling me it, but
I found this article from February 2025: What
Is an Influencer? Definition + Types | Backstage that explained the
different levels of Influencers and due to my blog’s following (at the time,
2.3 million but now it’s almost on 2.9) I’d actually be deemed a Mega
Influencer (which the article defines as someone with over one million
followers/readers). So, to say that back-fired, I think, would be an absolutely
pathetic understatement!
It was, however, accepting the Influencer title also
came off the back of the recognition that I could no longer deny the size of my
blog’s audience. In fact, it felt disrespectful and somewhat insulting to actually
try to argue that I ‘don’t have that many’ or that it’s ‘not enough’
to deem me to be an Influencer. With these two acceptances or recognitions established,
I began to feel more confident in my blog’s standing in the industry and how
influential it/my content can be. Although, I admit, I think a part of the
challenge for struggling to accept this is that I don’t have nearly as many
followers on my social media and typically, someone would be a bit more consistent
with their following although – I have noticed some people with a few thousand
on Instagram actually have millions on TikTok (which, admittedly, I’m not even
on!).
In accepting this title and recognising my blog’s position
in this industry though, I feel like I’ve had to really up my game in terms of
content creation and design etc. There are so many different things in life though,
that can really go both ways and can do so in one go and sometimes, it can even
go both ways for the same person! And so, in recognising both that my blog is
expected to publish content that is somewhat unique as well as acknowledging
the fact that so many content creators produce very similar content for MHAW, I
made the decision to create the resources – something which I have actually never
seen before (though admittedly that doesn’t necessarily mean there has never
been!) on other mental health blogs.
Thank
You For Your Support With MHAW on
I’m NOT Disordered!