Beyond the Blurb | The Struggles of Blogging with a Mental Illness

I always stay honest with you, my readers and fellow bloggers. With my discussion posts, Beyond the Blurb, I like to bring up the tough and also hushed up topics, try to find solutions, and connect with you. You all know I have several mental illnesses. Yes, unfortunately, I have more than one. And I never thought they would affect my blogging. But they do on a constant basis.

This topic is rather personal. Mental illness will follow you even if you think it’s disappeared. And I’ve allowed it to control my life. I’m finding help and getting treatment. But sometimes, I struggle with mine, and I don’t always reach out to bloggers who comment on my blog or like my posts. I apologize for not connecting. I’m not ignoring you; I’m simply fighting my own mind.

I often find solace in helping others who struggle with the same problems. So here are tips to find a balance between blogging and mental illness:

Log Off from the Internet

You don’t always need to blog every day. So don’t let your mind tell you otherwise. Give yourself time away from your blog, social media accounts, and the Internet itself. Reconnect with loved ones, take some time away from society and go for a hike or walk, or lose yourself in a great book.

 

Let your readers know you’re struggling and ask for help when you need it

Open up and let your readers and blogger friends help. They can offer support and give you advice on how to manage your blog. Or they can be a lifeline for when you’re struggling too badly. But let them know. Don’t allow your illness to keep you quiet.

 

Write quick, easy posts

Easy, right? Sure. They don’t have to be long ones. Look into your old draft posts, see what you’ve written prior, and decide if you can publish your work. Find a tag you can quickly write, even if you can’t reply to all the comments. Or write mini-reviews.

 

Ask yourself what you want out of your blog and blogging experience

Go back to your roots. Ask yourself why you’re here, why you want to stay, who you are writing for (either you and/or your friends). At first, I started blogging to get some experience on this side of publishing. I am a publishing student, but you are the reason why I stayed. And trust me when I say that I considered leaving. But every single day of support, comments, connections, and friendships forged because my blogging has made me stay. And I want to thank every single one of you. You’ve chased away the darkest parts of my life.

 

Celebrate your accomplishments

You’re a blogger! So shout it out for the world to hear. Even if you have 20 followers or 2,000, you made it. You are a blogger for a reason. If you have a great week in your stats, then have a mini party. On Twitter, I announced that I’ve just passed the 400-follower mark. I was ecstatic, and I wanted to celebrate with other bloggers.

 

Find how you can cope with your illness

This tip is hard to offer. Your coping techniques may work for you and a few others, and mine may not help you at all. Over the years though, I’ve seen a lot of people use distractions as a way to cope. Some use breathing techniques. If you can’t fit your blogging into your day, don’t let that decision stress you out. I find listening to music not only helps me calm down but also gives me inspiration for future blog posts.

 

How do you cope with your mental illness while you blog? Do you struggle with balancing both of them? Do you have any tips to offer?