Five Ways Bloggers Can Care for Their Mental Health
The stigma that was once associated with mental health seems to be easing. We’ve never been more aware of how important our mental health. here are 5 tips to help take care of your mental health as a blogger:
1. Be open to the idea of mental health as a necessity, not an indulgence.
Everyone seems to be talking about mental health. But still we often seem to over look our own mental health. Blogging is often a solitary pass time. Being aware that your mental health needs to take priority is so important. Put things in place to try and make sure that this blogging way of life does not cause your mental health to dip.
2. Remember why you started your blog
For most of us our blogs started out as fun. Sometimes the stress and anxiety of comparing ourselves to others, looking at our metrics, seeing comments of social media can all take an effect on our mental health. Be aware of what triggers you and try to remove it from your life. After all when something is fun and enjoyable it gives us a real mental health boost.
3. Communicate and seek out help if you need it.
Some bloggers will have a wide circle of people they work with on a day to day basis for others there will be very little interaction with anyone else. It is so important to foster relationships with other bloggers. To seek out like minded people that can act as a support for you.
If you are struggling you can talk to professionals too. there are fantastic mental health helplines, or you can speak to your GP.
4. Add a hobby or activity to your schedule.
Trying to strike the right balance of work is a very tricky one. When you’re working at home it’s so easy to say, I’ll just quickly put on a wash, do the dinner, mow the lawn, etc. All of these “quick” activities can eat into your day.
At the beginning of each week write out a work plan. Create sections of time that you know you need to work on your blog and also create blocks of time where you can do something for you. Whether it reading, swimming, gardening, going for a walk, crafting, baking, playing a video game, painting or visiting an art gallery, it doesn’t matter just do something you enjoy.
Remember the plan can be flexible. If there’s a day where you’re on fire and writing blog posts seems to come easy then go for it. Just make sure you take back some time in the week just for you.
5. Check in with yourself – if something doesn’t feel right, make time for self-care and change things up if needed
When you start to feel your mental health dip, take action. Have a list of things that you know will help to boost you. You’ll know better than anyone what types of things make you feel better. For some it might be catching up with friends and family, for other it will be sitting with a good book. Maybe for others, it will be taking a step back from blogging for a while. Remember – your real life mental health will always be more important than this virtual blogging world.
