How To Blog With Mental Illness And Being Neuro-divergent
January 2020 I started a mental health blog to document my experience with Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. Only a few short months later, the pandemic started and I lost my job as a waitress and joined the millions of people who also suddenly found themselves “funemployed.”
I was not particularly overjoyed at the change, because I thrive understructure. I have always been creative but was weary of pursuing creativity as a means to make money, which unfortunately became a necessity as I had to look for a means to support myself.
Blogging took on a new meaning as now the goal became to figure out how I could monetize my blog. With more free time on my hands than I have ever had, outside of my pre-school years, I decided to try tackling writing my memoir, an endeavour I knew I would undertake since childhood.
Even with years to get used to the idea I found I was still daunted by this task and knew it would be no easy feat. I’ve compiled a list of things to keep in mind when attempting to complete a big goal.
Table of Contents
1. Establish your goal.
- Create a time frame of when you want to achieve your goal.
I joined National Novel Writing Month, or NANOWRIMO, and committed to writing 50,000 words during the month of November. Having that structure was incredibly necessary for helping me to reach that goal.
- Break your goal into small steps and work towards it on a regular basis.
I wanted to write 50,000 words by the end of the month so I had to commit to writing 1,667 words a day.
- Get someone to hold you accountable.
I have a hard time with motivation, even when I’m feeling well, so to help with accountability I partnered up with two other individuals who were also writing books during this time and we could compare where we were at and help encourage each other.
Now that you have your goal established, here are some tips for actually achieving it!
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2. Don’t worry about being perfect- just start
Rome was not built in a day, and as an artist, nothing I paint, draw or write is finished in 24 hours either.
It is difficult, but by shaking off the spirit of perfection, I find I am able to make progress when I do my best to just start a project instead of worrying about the end goal.
For years the thought of publishing my book prevented me from ever writing that very same book. Putting first things first helps people to make progress.
3. Find what works for your unique attention span
My thought process can be a bit scattered which is just fine for draft writing. Some things have worked for me:
- At all points in time, I have three different google docs open and I bounce between them when I have different thoughts to add to each. It may not be the very best way to get things done, but it works for me.
- Break your work up into intervals. I try to commit 15 minutes to follow a thought process hopefully to completion before bouncing to the next document. That way I am making progress bit by bit.
- Outsource when you can. Use Fiverr to time thousand of experienced writers to help eleviate tasks from your to-do list.
Getting out all my thoughts on the page is essential and my favourite part of the process.
Refining comes later, and it’s harder. I often outsource my editing because it takes a different level of concentration that I don’t always possess.
Inspiration strikes quickly and so I have to jump on it when it’s hot which leads to some disorganized first drafts.
4. Tips for dealing with writer’s block:
- Change locations!
To combat writer’s block and get into the writing zone I like to change up my location- most of my writing takes place when I’m in my bed. But at times when I feel stuck I have an office setup that I can use as well.
It took a lot of creativity during the pandemic to find acceptable places to work- gone are the days in some states at least, where you could sit in a cafe for hours at a time and get some work done peacefully.
My friend’s backyard was one such place that wasn’t off-limits in the panny. Sitting outside and typing when the weather was nice was a great change of pace and helped to inspire me where I may have been stuck before.
- Change the method of writing.
When staring at a computer becomes unfruitful, sometimes falling back on pen and paper helps me get thoughts flowing again.
- Search for inspiration.
Watch some movies, read some books and look at some art to give your brain a break from your work. Maybe you’ll come up with some new ideas!
Check how ways you can get into the writing zone now.
5. Remember your worth!
As someone who has struggled with her mental health for the past several years, I’ve noticed that my ability to get things done is tied closely to my mental state. It’s hard to achieve much of anything during a depressive episode.
On days where I’m not feeling well, I spend my day in bed, hating myself for not being productive. The thing I struggle to remember is that my worth is not determined by my productivity level.
Rest up when you don’t feel well.
I find that when I take the time to rest and nurture myself when I’m not feeling well I can oftentimes recuperate enough to get something done the next day, even if it’s only the tiniest thing on my to-do list.
6. Give Yourself Grace
It is very difficult to get things done when you struggle with mental illness or being neuro-divergent. It is necessary to give grace to yourself at every part of the process. My wish for everyone reading this is that you don’t allow yourself to get discouraged before you can even begin. Some days are going to be harder than others, and so it’s important to celebrate progress at every stage. Eventually, the small steps add up to a big win.
About The Author
Kiana Blake-Chung is a 27-year-old writer living between Atlanta, Georgia and New York City. She is passionate about Jesus and people and has a desire to help others like herself who struggle with mental illness. Her blog www.mentalhealthtings.com exists to instill hope by reminding people they’re not alone in their mental health struggles and foster a community where we share our pain and celebrate our triumphs. She is working on her first book, which she is having trouble finishing. You can catch her on instagram @kianabchizzle when she is not writing, which is, unfortunately, pretty often.