Blogging as therapy?

[Quercus]

Hi everyone,

First off I have to mention sharing addresses for blogs I don't think os permitted (forums being anonymous after all). But blogging is a topic I wanted to talk about.

This week I tried an experiment. I feel very isolated offline lately and not very well. BB has it's limitations being anonymous so although I enjoy writing to new members it wasn't 'enough' when I couldn't sleep and felt like crying again. Part of me wanted more of a connection.

So I paid for a year with a blogging company (no idea what the right term is). $60. And have my very own blog which (even if I do yell at the screen occasionally) hadn't been as hard as I expected.

I haven't told anyone. I don't use social media. Felt like a complete idiot actually. But part of what I miss here is visual. I took photos of my garden to go with my words. It felt good to record it for myself even if noone else knew.

Then something weird happened. Strangers read and replied. So I read and followed their blogs. One was a young man. A suicide survivor who writes the most beautiful poetry. Another a gardener too. A third a transgender man. I began to see there are so many stories out there. Public. With photos too. So brave. I like my anonymity for now.

I started thinking about how on these forums after members have been here a while some conflicts form because people feel restricted by the rules. The rules are here to help us to be safe but I also wondered if when people become frustrated at the limitations here does that mean they are ready for more of a connection than what is achievable here?

Long story short... Do any of you blog too? What do you like about it? Is it different to you than writing here?

And most importantly... Does it help you manage your mental health and why?

Nat

[Peppermintbach]

Hi Nat,

While I’m not so happy to hear you have been having a difficult time, I am happy to hear you have found an outlet/way to connection via blogging 🙂

It must feel great to be able to share the photos; I suppose it creates another dimension of connection and understanding.

I’m glad those lovely people replied. I suppose it just goes to show, here or elsewhere, everyone has their own load to carry and individual stories to tell. Anyway, what meaningful connections you have formed...good for you 🙂

To answer your questions:

Do any of you blog too? What do you like about it? Is it different to you than writing here?

And most importantly... Does it help you manage your mental health and why?

Nah, I don’t blog but I have a small number of (offline) friends who do...

They mostly use it as a creative outlet rather than to talk about mental health issues. But I suppose creativity/creative outlets can be a way to help maintain good mental health for some people.

I also know a couple of people who blog about social and world issues...

For them and regardless of the content, I feel it’s about having a public voice and, as you said, to connect plus to share ideas/discuss.

Pepper xoxo

[Peppermintbach]

Hi Nat,

Having one of my moments... I think that I wrote a post. Not sure as I may have pressed cancel instead....

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I read your post and feel it’s a good topic in the mean time 🙂 I’ll check again later and hopefully won’t have to re-write it.

Pepper xoxo

[Doolhof]

Hi Nat,

I can see where you are going with this. I have never blogged and have no idea how you read someone else's blog.

I feel that these days in our society, it can be hard to connect with people face to face in the real world. I have tried to be a part of various groups, some I feel welcome in and others I don't. Some of that may be the depression and BPD talking to me as well.

It seems like some people don't know how to connect unless they have a gadget to help them do it. So maybe setting up a Blog is the way to connect. It certainly sounds like you are connecting with a few interesting people!

All the best with the Blog!

Cheers from Dools

[james1]

Hi Nat,

I've never tried blogging though I have often wanted to start. I used to read other people's blogs too and wanted to post there.

I used to follow a couple of BPD blogs and I felt really inspired. I guess the blog somehow made it feel more human compared to a forum avatar and post. Like you say, having pictures seems to make such a big difference. Plus it's their blog - the whole website is theirs.

I suppose when you don't ever have anything that you consider yours and yours entirely, even having a blog can feel like maybe you own a little part of this world - and even are responsible for it.

Like a diary, a garden, a drawing book - I have always felt like owning something has given me purpose, and I've read many people talk about blogs the same way.

It's not something you ever really hear from people talking about forum posts.

So I do think blogs fill a different need - you reach far less people, it's much less anonymous, but yet it's also yours.

Anyway, I don't have one and never have. I guess the garden and writing are my ways of expression. But I'm happy that there are blogs out there because they work for so many people.

[Ggrand]

Hello Everyone,

I have never blogged, I might be extremely naive because I really have no idea what blogging is or how you do it.. I'm thinking by reading these posts it's sort of like an open diary of where we are at now in our life, where we are heading and our thoughts.

Sorry if I got it wrong, I just totally don't know about blogging..

Can I ask if it's good to do?

warm and kind thoughts,

Grandy

[Quercus]

Hi Grandy and James and Mrs D and Pepper 😊

Thank you for all of your input. I appreciate it.

Grandy your post made me realise maybe I should start at the beginning. I'm not very technically minded so I apologise in advance if I mess it up.

A blog is a website. You create a blog to talk about whatever you are interested in and others can reply and discuss it with you. The forums are similar with a few limitations... Anonymity and protection.

It does seem similar to social media in some ways in that you can like posts and people "follow" your blog. That side of it disturbs me a bit. It feels a bit like leaving the safe haven here where responses are moderated and testing out my resilience in the "real world".

Grandy you have the right idea but some blogs are more scientific, others like Pepper mentioned are socially minded, some are selling a product or service but many are trying to do what we do here... To share and spread the word about a topic close to home. They want to share their story to help others.

Sara mentioned once these types of forums are unique to Australia. One of the blog I follow mentions Beyond Blue and how badly a similar network is needed (they are based in the US).

Mrs D you are spot on here..

"It seems like some people don't know how to connect unless they have a gadget to help them do it. So maybe setting up a Blog is the way to connect."

YES. I am trying to work within the restrictions I have in my life to connect in a way that makes me feel good. I tried work and we can't make it work. I am needed to care for the kids. The doc says daily hour of power (one hour every day kid free) the reality of that is I stay up even later to make up for that time out (and less forum time).

So stuff it. I'm documenting the progress of my garden just for me. It forces me to be present. Take photos. Think about what I'm doing. Is it mindful? Who knows. But it is helping.

Thank you for joining in even if you don't feel tech savvy either.

❤Nat

[Quercus]

Hi Pepper and thank you,

Most especially for your little extra post making sure I knew you'd written and someone cared. Funny how even us long term posters feel the same anxiety creating a post sometimes as a new member.

I like how you mentioned the various types of blogs. I think what made me smile the most was my experiment not telling anyone I knew. On here we talk about giving support to recieve support so I just started searching and reading and replying to people who's blogs reached out to me (sound familiar?!) and funnily enough nearly all returned to read mine and comment. It proved to me our system works. Not just here where we are safe but other areas of our lives too.

I just had to take the make the effort.

And James... Knowing your background with creative writing I think you'd enjoy blogging.

One blogger (hehe how funny is that term) who began following mine out of the blue is a suicide survivor who writes poetry. I will have to copy one to the quotes section soon.

The thing that I love best is the imagery he posts along side the words. And I found out he has a published book too. So I can see how for a creative person this could be a real opportunity.

Plus you've also hit home with the word ownership. I felt really nervous about trying this. And it could be an epic failure. But part of me is using myself as an experiment.

I mentioned people wanting MORE than these forums are able to give. And I wondered is that because people form friendships and don't want to be anonymous anymore? Unfortunately the system here has a purpose and anonymity is vital otherwise truly vulnerable people may never speak out. But what about the members who feel ready to move on? Who don't want to be anonymous anymore because they still feel isolated offline.

Hence the experiment with blogging. If I can do it and make helpful connections with others maybe others can too. Early days yet.

What do you think?

[PamelaR]

Hi Nat

Sorry to hear you've not been so good, but am glad to hear you're working on a way to get better.

Yes I've blogged, but in an official capacity as part of the work I used to do. Whether it helped my mental health at that time, I can't really say. Probably caused me anxiety because it was all new to me and I wasn't really sure what I was doing. Just had to learn as I went along.

I must have done okay though, because they recently asked if I'd do a blog. I've promised to do by mid May.... Haven't even started to get my mind around it yet.

The blog though has nothing to do with mental health, it's about photographs and cataloguing. Something which I'm not really good at, so hence my anxiety at the moment. But I did promise, and it's making me think the lack of catalogue I have for my photos.

Kind regards

PamelaR

[Peppermintbach]

Hi Quercus and all,

All good, no worries at all 🙂 It was easy for me to add that little post. I’m glad to hear it helped validate you a little.

Just a little aside that I would like to add if that’s okay... I feel, with blogging and forum use, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a case of “either/or.” What I mean is it’s possible to use multiple methods and platforms to connect and it’s not necessarily a case of “choosing” one method over and above another.

As in I feel sometimes we can utilise multiple methods to connect as they can complement each other or fill a need that another form of communication doesn’t e.g. a person can write on the forums about mental health and connect, see friends/loved ones face-to-face to talk about other issues and spend time together to bond, use phone calls/etc to keep in touch with people who live far away/overseas, etc.

To use a real example, most of the people that I know who blog are also very well connected socially and personally (i.e. face-to-face) but blogging merely helps them self express in a way that they might not be able to socially or if the company they keep aren’t necessarily interested in those topics/passions.

Granted, I know they obviously don’t “represent” all bloggers but I feel they demonstrate how it’s not necessarily a case of “choosing” one or another approach but choosing complementary approaches to best enhance their human connections (but of course this would be different for each person). I hope this makes sense...

Pepper xoxo