I created this blog post from my phone! Now ya’ll have to put up with me every where I go. How exciting!!!
Guess What I Just Did?
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Category Archives: Blog
Dear Blogging Friends,
Dear Blogging Friends,
I enjoy each and everyone of you very much. I wanted you to know that I do read your blogs and try to leave comments as often as I can. I cannot read every person’s blog every day and still make time for my own blog and other things I need to do. A lot of it has to do with how often I just doze off. To make up for my lack of daily reading of your blogs, I try and set aside a whole day every week to get caught up in my blog reading and to leave comments.
If you have a special blog post you want me to look at before my weekly rounds to everyone’s blogs, please let me know.
Love to you all,
Melissa
The Anonymous Blogger
I found a thought provoking post written by Jen Reimer on Practice Of Madness today. It was about people who choose to blog anonymously, and why they do, as well as why she chose to no longer be an anonymous blogger. In her post she proposes that those people who are still blogging anonymously should consider revealing themselves to their fellow bloggers. Using her own words the following quote sums up her opinion about anonymous blogging.
“I say screw anonymity”
To be quite frank, I have a huge problem with that statement, and the opinion it represents. I think it disrespects those bloggers who choose to blog anonymously. Jen Reimer justifies her opinion based on the thought that the only thing a blogger has to fear when blogging under their real name is the government and cyber cops. In my opinion, for many bloggers this simply is not true.
Most of my blogging friends, are in my online mental health community. Some choose to blog anonymously, while others, like me, choose to blog under their own name. Neither way is right or wrong. It is nothing more than our personal choices.
I choose to blog under my real name, while discussing potentially delicate subject matter because I probably have less risk involved than many of my friends in the mental health community. I do not have a job, and will probably never be able to work a full time job again. My husband is not ashamed of me or my mental illness and understands the importance that I place on trying to be a mental health advocate. We do not sit in fear that someone one day might google our names and it will cause the loss of my husband’s job.
However, there are many people who are not in that position. Either they are the one with the mental health issues or someone in their family is and because of the stigma that surrounds people with a mental health issue they are not comfortable completely exposing themselves or their family to that kind of transparency. They have very real fears of losing jobs, being denied housing, and losing relationships with friends and family. Not to mention, they may not be ready for the whole world to know who they really are. Blogging offers them some sort of peace, and anonymous blogging allows them to achieve that peace without being uncomfortable.
I want to believe that Jen Reimer did not mean to be disrespectful to the people who choose to blog anonymously. Maybe she did not understand that some bloggers do have very valid reasons for keeping their real identities private.
What is your opinion about anonymous blogging? Do you blog with your real name or do you choose to blog anonymously? If you blog anonymously, can you share with us why you have made that choice?
Three Things I have Learned From Blogging
I am constantly amazed by the things I continue to learn in my blogging journey. It goes beyond learning what other people are interested in, or even what people think about my writing. I found something in my blogging that provides me with food for my soul.
Through blogging I learned that I have an awesome support system, outside of my family. I have met people that I would not have any other way. In the last week my support has been there with encouraging words for me, an understanding of what I am going through, and a clarity that I did not have at the moment.
Blogging has taught me a lot about expressing myself. Although I have a long way to go, it has been here, on these pages, that I began my first forays into the art of self expression.
Learning that I can make difference from my blog has really made me feel proud. During the month of May, when most if not all of my posts were centered around Mental Health Awareness, I was able to use my blog to get information out to people. I hope that what I wrote helped in the efforts to get rid of the stigma that surrounds people with mental health issues.
What three things have you learned from blogging?
Thank you, Joshua Pitts, for inspiring me to write this.
Mental Health Bloggers #2 – Mental Health Awareness
As I have traveled around the internet, seeing other blogs, I realized that there are many people who blog for the same reasons I do. To put their own Mental Health story out there, with the hope that it can benefit someone.
For today’s Mental Health Awareness post I wanted to take the time to list another five of the blogs I have found. Each one tackles Mental Health from a different perspective, and some have a different mental illness than I have. Next week I will list five more.
A Journey This site is new to me, however, I have liked everything I have seen on it. Susan, the author has such a positive way she blogs. This is what she has to say about her blog:
“This blog and these resources are meant to be fuel that might encourage you to think, ask questions, find your own answers and hopefully support you as you walk your path and create your own best life which is in the simplest terms – the life you choose for yourself each day!”
Our Journey Through Life This is another new to me site, but it is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Her blog is written from the point of view of what it is like for a family to live with someone who has Bi-Polar Disorder. Even though I do not have Bi-Polar Disorder, her site is very helpful to me, because it gives me insight about how life is like for my family, living with my depression.
Sonya’s Word The Author of this site writes about what it is like for him and his family, living with his wife who has Major Depression with psychotic features. His blog is very touching and he writes from a very candid point of view. I highly recommend reading his blog.
Crazy-Making This blogger has made an excellent list of Blogs that have to do with Mental Health. This is a wonderful resource if you are looking for more Mental Health blogs to read.
The Thought Bubble Bubbleboo is one of my best blogging buddies. She is a wonderfully, sweet woman who blogs about what her life is like with a son who is autistic. Even if you do not have an autistic child, please take the time to read her blog. Not only have I learned a lot from it, I love her sense of humor.
Mental Health Bloggerss – Mental Health Awareness
I originally started blogging as a way for me to do deal with my own out of control emotions. As I have grown, changed and become less depressed, I have kept blogging as a way to make people aware of what it is like to live with Clinical Depression, and an Anxiety Disorder, and how Diabetes and Asthma can affect Mental Health.
As I have traveled around the internet, seeing other blogs, I realized that there are many people who blog for the same reasons I do. To put their own Mental Health story out there, with the hope that it can benefit someone.
For today’s Mental Health Awareness post I wanted to take the time to list five of the ones I have found. Each one tackles Mental Health from a different perspective, and some have a different mental illness than I have. Next week I will list five more.
BPD in OKC This is one of the first bloggers I began following. This part of how she describes her blog and why she blogs:
- “My life feels like I am stuck riding on a rollercoaster in the middle of a hurricane. I have ups and downs, and I have left a path of destruction in my wake. My sanity dangles on a tiny fragile string, and through this blog I am giving the world a look into my broken mind and my unstable life.”
Our Journey Through Life I love this blog! The author tells her story from the perspective of what it is like living with a spouse who has Bi-Polar Disorder. Although, I do not have a Bi-Polar Disorder diagnosis, her site has been very educational for me. It has given me insight into how my own diagnosis affects my family.
Chato B. Stewart, Mental Health Humor This site is probably one of the best I have found. Mr. Stewart approaches the issue of Mental Health from the humorous side. His tongue and cheek humor, exhibited through his cartoons, and caricatures, is a great reminder that even though we have a serious diagnosis, we do not always have to be so serious.
The Bi-Polar Spouse This is a new site to me, but I like what I have seen so far. This is a very detailed site about what it is like living with a spouse who has Bi-Polar Disorder, and tips and strategies to help maintain a healthy relationship with them.
Up and Down Time Another site that is new to me, but one I like. It has great information and high lights in it. It is the blog for the Colorado Chapter for Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)
Shameless Plug
My daughter-in-law just took up blogging. She started it for much the same reason I started blogging. Using it as a journal of sorts. She also has had some struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts. I would take it as a personal favor if ya’ll took the time to visit her site. I am very proud of her. Keeping a public journal is not always easy, and she is being very brave by doing so.
Here is the link to her site Krystal Mashburn
An Award
I was blessed to receive an award today. It came from my thoughtful friend bubbleboo at The Thought Bubble It is the Prolific Blogger Award.
bubbleboo has become one of my favorite online friends, and her blog is one of my favorites to read. She tells wonderful stories about her life with her son, and her life. When she gave me the award I felt very touched and honored, it means a great deal to me that she thought I was worthy of it.
The origins of this award can be found at Advance Booking
Here are my seven picks for the award. I wish I could pick bubbleboo, but since she already received it today I cannot.
Emcogneato One of the funniest bloggers I know.
BPD in OKC I enjoy this blogger a great deal. She has a wonderfully honest and open way that she talks about her life, beautiful photography, and a great deal of knowledge about her subject matter.
Hootin’ Anni’s Just as her blog name implies, this woman is a hoot!
Angel Believes This is a new blogger in my life, but I really like her and her blog.
Fourth Grade Nothing A very sweet and funny blogger.
The World As I See It Please take the time to stop by this sweet lady’s blog. You will find it a wonderful read.
I Think It’s Interesting This guy has a wonderful sense of humor and a great blog. His blog is the first one I ever followed.
I urge you all to visit these blogs. Each one is very entertaining for different reasons. I have learned a lot from each and every one.
Would You Buzz My Seed?
I have been participating in something really cool in the last week or so. It is a neat way for bloggers to promote their sites and get inspiration for blog posts at the same time. It is a concept that SeededBuzz has implemented.
What is SeededBuzz? SeededBuzz is a community of bloggers. The members share similar interests and goals and are connected with each other. They share ideas for what to put in their blogs and form relationships with each other. The benefit of all these friendships and connections is that there are more backlinks, subscribers and if you blog for the purpose of having an income, you should see an increase in revenue.
There are two parts to SeededBuzz. The Seed and the Buzz. The Seed is what happens after someone writes a post. They write a short but interesting summary about their post, and plant that Seed on the SeededBuzz site. The other members of the community have an opportunity to look at all the seeds and pick one that inspires them to write a follow up post. When they write a follow up post about a Seed that inspired them, all they have to do is insert a link to the original post. You can see examples of that linking in this article. The words SeededBuzz that are in the same color as this one, are links. After you finish your post, you go back to the original Seed and attach your post to it, and that is called a Buzz.
All this linking to other community member’s blogs, Seeding and Buzzing in return will increase the amount of traffic that comes to your site. It also is a great way to meet other bloggers who share your interests and it is a great place to get inspiration for your own blog.
An example of this, is this morning’s post where I wrote about my own lack of self esteem. I was inspired to write it based on a Seed I saw at SeededBuzz, Self Esteem Why Does It Seem So Hard To Keep Hold Of.? Just like I mentioned Chere Michelle’s article here with a link, I did so on my follow up post to hers. I also let her know I Buzzed her post. She read my Buzz about her Seed, left a wonderful comment and wrote a short post about my blog. She also happens to be a very nice lady, that I think I will enjoy getting to know better. With the Seeding and Buzzing we did with each other’s blogs, we made it so both our blogs will be visible in more places and should bring more traffic to our sites.
You have to be a member of SeededBuzz to have access to the seeds. Membership is not an automatic process. However the application process is very simple. All you have to do is submit your blog to SeededBuzz. After you have submitted it, someone will look over your blog to see how often you post, and determine if you would be someone likely to Buzz about the Seeds on SeededBuzz. The process is very quick, and you do not have to wait long for their answer. At this time, if you apply and are accepted you will have a free lifetime membership with SeededBuzz a long as you Buzz at least once a month.
If you decide to give this a try, let me know so I can look for your seeds
Why Blog?
I started blogging as a way to creatively let my emotions out. Instead of letting them build up and lead to a depressed state of mind or act inappropriately, I decided putting them out there for everyone to see would be a good idea. So far it has worked out that way.
As I started blogging other purposes came about. To educate people about mental illness from my perspective and for my blog to stand as a place of support, encouragement, and even friendship to others who live with mental illnesses. Not only has that been happening, but I have been given loads of support and encouragement, even from people without a mental illness.
Something that has happened that I did not anticipate, is that the blog has become my hobby. For so long I had put down any hobbies I had, and was not interested in taking up any new ones. Depression does that, it takes away your desire to do those kinds of things. I love messing with my blog, changing its style, trying to make it look better and better, writing in it, and just being as creative as I can with it.
Those thoughts led me to a couple of questions. Why do you blog? Are your reasons for blogging the same as when you first started?