Moving Forward: The Blog's Direction and Focus

I have reached a point of crisis in my life, and must decide how to move forward. 

I feel that, if this blog is to be a project with which I continue, I need a new direction, and a much more positive, and probably less personal, focus. 

I actually decided this some time ago, but all that has really happened so far - is that I no longer post. However, this may not always be the case. 

This is not yet officially an "abandoned blog". I am not able to offer more than this at present.

Peace and blessings. xxx

Mental Health Awareness and Making a Difference

Last night, I read a free magazine, produced by "Time to Change". It was positive and inspiring to read about so many excellent projects, and I totally agree that more conversations about mental health are needed, in order to break the stigma which still surrounds this topic.

However, I was left feeling that something had remained unsaid. That is why I decided to write this blog post.

We are not all able - often due to the precise nature of our mental health issues, and perhaps other factors, including our physical health - to actively participate in many of the more "out there" mental health awareness campaigns.

Possibly, we can help indirectly, including through the promotion of events, by various methods, such as sharing links on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other social media websites, and this is still valuable and important, but we may not feel that it is equal to being an active participant.

What I would like to point out is that many of us do a lot individually to spread the word. 

I often feel that there is a lack of recognition for everyone out there who is blogging, vlogging, Tweeting, and sharing personal stories, in various forms, on Facebook, Tumblr, and other social media sites. 

There are people who write and share poetry and art work of various kinds, relating to mental health issues. 

So many people set up support groups, and inspirational pages about recovery, on Facebook and other sites. 

These people are not being paid, and rarely ask for or require grants or any form of financial assistance. I mean, it is free to set up a Facebook page, Twitter or Tumblr account, or a basic blog.

I am not writing this blog post in order to complain as such. I am writing this blog post because I would like to thank all of the individuals out there who have inspired me, in various ways. 

I would also like to encourage those who are feeling disillusioned, and thinking of giving up on their blogs, poetry, Facebook pages, and so on. 

Please do not give up. You are needed. Your contribution is valued.

Thank you for reading this post, and please do visit my poetry website or/and my Facebook poetry page. Any "likes" on the Facebook page would be very much appreciated. Your support means a lot to me. If you have already "liked" the page, but don't seem to be "seeing" my posts, drop in on the page, as Facebook stops showing posts if you don't actively express an interest in a particular page.  2018 update: Select the "See First" option, under the "Following" drop-down menu.  This is how you actually get to see FB page updates.  I also now have an author page on Facebook. 

Welcome

So, why a new blog? As many of you will know, I have started up quite a few blogs, in the past. Of these, my poetry blog has been the most consistently active. In terms of prose blogs, I have always struggled to keep up with them, after the initial enthusiasm, for various reasons. I do tend to need a change of focus from time to time, which is legitimate, although I must admit that I am also prone to losing interest, and randomly abandoning projects. So, exactly how many groups did I start up on Flickr, in the days when that website was what online basically meant to me...? That is, before Beliefnet took over as my latest online obsession - followed by various Ning networks, and then, of course - it had to happen - Facebook...! In fact, I have learnt somewhat from past experiences, and I set up just the one group on Beliefnet; resisted the urge to set up my own entire social network on Ning, in the days when it was free, and believe me, it was tempting; and as for Facebook, I might have joined a lot of groups and fan pages, but in terms of setting up my own - I have only ever set up one page (apart, of course, from my profile page), for sharing my poetry. I try to ensure that anything that I do set up, is something that I could abandon at any moment, without feeling that I had let anyone down. This does take the pressure off, as I don't work well when I feel under pressure, whether that be external or internal pressure.

Anyway, the main intended focus of this new blog is going to be living with chronic physical and mental illness. I will discuss some of the specific issues that I struggle with in my own life, and this blog will hopefully also provide information and inspiration for others. If nothing else, I want people out there who do suffer with chronic health problems to know that they are not alone. I also feel that it is important to spread awareness, and blogs are one of the many ways in which this can be achieved.

Another personal reason for setting up a blog is that I find myself talking more and more to different friends, at different times, about health related issues, and I really want to have a "central place" for my rambling. Sometimes I feel, rightly or wrongly, that I should make an effort not to moan so much to friends, and those around me, but I don't feel that "keeping it inside" is helpful, so in a way, a blog can be like a constant best friend, who is there whenever I want to talk, in a way that no actual person could ever be. That might sound a little negative, but it isn't really, as my friends do have the option of reading my blog posts, as and when - and of course, it won't entirely "shut me up"...!

Thank you for taking the time to read my first post, and hopefully, there will be more.