I don’t post as much as I should on Twitter (apart from retweeting the shit out of everything Matt Haig tweets) but I do sometimes find myself scrolling through my newsfeed late at night, trying to find something I relate to. I came across a whole discussion thread recently where a blogger thought she had let her readers down because she was having a tough time with her mental health. This was not the first time I’d seen someone posting something similar, as if being a mental health blogger means you can’t ever have mental health issues again.
If you’re a mental health blogger and you’re reading this, just let me tell you that you don’t have to be perfect! The fact that you have struggled with mental health is the reason people relate to you and it’s probably the reason you’re a mental health blogger in the first place.
I have blogged about social anxiety for 5 years now, I’ve blogged about battling social anxiety, how to manage social anxiety and I’ve even written a book that explains how I overcame social anxiety.
THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT I WILL NEVER EXPERIENCE SOCIAL ANXIETY EVER AGAIN!
Of course I experience social anxiety, everyone has it to a certain level. Of course I will have bad mental health days or weeks or even months because everyone has mental health and it can be negatively affected at ANY time! Of course I will slip into bad habits once in a while because I’m human and we do shit like that.
You don’t have to pretend to be okay, or feel like you’ve let your readers down just because you write about mental health and aren’t currently doing so well. That’s bullshit! If anything, you are in a better position to know exactly how others are feeling and what they need and your blog is there to help YOU just as much as it’s there to help others.
I attribute a fair bit of my good mental health to writing this blog because I find it therapeutic. If I’m having a shit time mentally, I have somewhere to write about it and a support network who I know will be there to virtually hold my hand.
Read More:
What Social Anxiety REALLY Feels Like
What I Hate About Mental Health Awareness Campaigns
How To Start A Mental Health Blog
This is actually what I love about being a mental health/chronic illness blogger…Nobody expects me to be perfect. Blogging is definitely very therapeutic.
Thanks Kel, a great timely reminder :). I do have to remember every now and then that I’m sharing my journey and progress, and that I’m not an “expert”. I still have plenty to share and offer, but it’s not like I’ve 100% overcome my illnesses yet! And I have to remember that that’s “okay” and I don’t NEED to be an expect!
Great post!
Exactly Jess and even “experts” have their own bad days. In fact, an anxiety therapist that I was in contact with, still struggled with their own anxiety from time to time and would talk to me about it. We can know all the right tools and techniques but sometimes, life just kicks us in the arse and we still struggle.