So, you have finally decided to start posting on your blog, and you want to focus on mental health mainly. What should you write about? You could talk about the topics everyone already talked about many times or talk about your personal experience making it relatable to others.
Here a few topics you could talk about:
Mental Health Blog Topics
Addressing your current mental state – You could say how you’ve managed to overcome specific fears or how you’re still in a dark mental space and give some advice to the viewers and yourself. It is essential to add a trigger warning if you think what you’re talking about could harm some readers.
The stigma attached to mental health and the misconceptions –
Neurodivergent people are heavily judged by those who don’t understand what’s like to go through mental illness. That is why talking about the misconceptions is essential.
Some don’t even know what neurodivergent means, because mental health is so stigmatized that saying certain words out loud is the same as using swear words; it shouldn’t be that way, speak up, be confident and explain to those who are ignorant on the matter what mental health stands for.
The symptoms – You can’t make a list of all the symptoms of all the mental illnesses out there unless you’re planning on writing the next DSM-5. What you can do instead is talk about your symptoms because they might be similar to the ones everyone experiences, but they are yours and what you’re feeling is unique, which means no one else is experiencing it the same way as you. Having a different perspective could potentially help someone.
Mental health resources – Making a list of useful resources for those who have mental illness might seem like a waste of time. Still, you have to think about the people reading your post as people who have specifically clicked on your blog to find some resource that could help them.
Self-care – It’s crucial to have a self-care routine, but some might not even know where to start. Talking about yours might inspire others; what do you do first thing when you wake up? How do you plan your day? What do you eat for breakfast? Sharing your day to someone clueless can make a difference. So, go ahead and talk about your day. Ask your readers to comment on how they plan their day, be inspired by those who read you.
Lessons your mental health taught you – Write down what you have learned so that, if someone who’s struggling reads you, they know they’ll get through it. Once in a while, everyone finds themselves in a dark mental space; reading about someone’s else struggles and lessons will help them. Remember, you’re not writing for yourself; you’re trying to help people.
Talk about your job – Have you ever heard of the word burnt out? There’s a song by Dodie, called burned out. It’s a great song, and it sums up what the word means. Burnt out, by definition, means to become exhausted, especially from overwork or overuse. It usually applies in a workplace environment, but recently it has been used in other parts of life.
If you have felt exhausted to the point where sleep doesn’t come, if you can’t concentrate and all you want to do is lie on your couch and do nothing, then you’re burnt out.
Share your experience with your readers, tell them what you did to get better, share some tips, let them know that taking a break once in a while is required.
Mental health and its effect on your relationships – You wake up and don’t want to answer your texts, the phone rings, and you watch it as it stops ringing. Explain the importance of surrounding yourself with people who understand what triggers you. Speak up when someone is doing something that makes you uncomfortable, share your thoughts and feelings, and what a better way if not in your blog?
Living with mental health from your perspective – You can talk about your own experience of living with mental health. How you manage symptoms on a day to day basis. Useful lessons you have learned that others can benefit from. Your experiences can help improve the lives of others.
Collate the views of other people on mental health – You can offer to write on the views of other people who have experienced a mental illness or are living with it. Their lived experiences can provide others with a wealth of information as to how to manage their own mental health.
Mental health and parenting – You’re a child of someone who suffers from depression, or you are the parent. Make a post about the guilty parents who can’t look after themselves feel when they need to take care of another human being who is entirely dependent on their tutor. Being a parent and struggling with mental health is something people never talk about because it’s such a taboo topic, and if they talk about it, they leave out the bits where things get dark. Bring those dark bits to light, do not be scared of saying too much. Write something unique.
Mental health and relationships – Evidence indicates that having good – quality relationships can help us to live a happier and longer.
Writing a blog and highlighting the importance of having close, positive relationships can help improve the lives of others.
It can give people a purpose and a sense of belonging.
By highlighting the impact of poor quality relationships, people can understand that poor relationships can be toxic and worse for their mental health as well as their overall well being.
The blog can help others recognise the importance of good relationships and help identify ways of developing and maintaining strong social connections which are integral to our overall well being.
Suicide – A topic highly discussed, but everyone who writes about it has a different perspective. Sharing your thoughts on it and giving any advice is more helpful than you think.
Remember to add a trigger warning if you want to talk about this topic, it is not something everyone wants to read about, but it should be discussed more.
Postpartum depression – You’ve heard of depression, but what about postpartum depression? Women who should feel the happiest they will ever be sometimes don’t get to be that lucky.
On top of feeling depressed, they also feel guilty. If you’ve been through that, share your experience. If not, do some research and write about it. Many women will thank you.
Mental illness and men – What happens when we go against what society tells you and interview some men on how hard it is to bottle up their feelings to appear strong? Why is vulnerability such a bad thing for some men? If talking about postpartum depression could help some women, talking about vulnerability and how to be vulnerable could help some men. If your blog has variety, more people will click on it.
Social media – Being always available could potentially harm your mental health. Continuously checking your feed on Instagram and comparing your life to other people’s lives is not something you should do.
Talk about the importance of understanding that what you see on your feed has been carefully chosen by the author, and it doesn’t represent their everyday life.
PTSD
– Traumatic experiences are something everyone experiences, some people are wired differently, and their past haunts them.
Share your past traumatic experiences, talk about how you overcame them and your coping mechanisms. You’ll be surprised at how many people suffer from PSTD and don’t even know until they read your post.
Relapse – Healing is part of the process, but so is relapsing. Bring awareness to the fact that everyone relapses, even those who look like they have it figured out. Relapsing is a big part of the healing process; there is no healing without relapsing.
Here are Six Mental Health Blogs in the UK
1. Life In A Breakdown – Sara Bailey: if you’re interested in what’s like to live with a borderline personality disorder, depression, and how to push through a breakdown, Sarah is the person you should go to.
2. Thoughts On Life And Love – Mandy Kloppers: a certified therapist talks about what the learned throughout her career.
3. Laura Lejeune – if you prefer watching videos over reading posts, Laura has a YouTube channel where she talks about the therapeutic effects of talking to a camera and how it has benefited her.
4. Time to Change – This blog encourages people to share information about their mental health. The platform also encourages people to start conversations around their mental health.
5. All Mad Here – Claire Eastham: she talks about her social anxiety and panic attacks in a funny and honest way; her self-deprecating sense of humour will draw you in.
6. Radical transformation – Faith talks about her ongoing fight with mental health and struggles. She opens up about how she has overcome certain hurdles. Faith also talks about overcoming depression and how to tear it the hell down!
Let me know:
Which of these mental health blogs is your favourite?
OR…
Do you know of any great ones I can add to my list?
Tell me in the comments.
I would love to share your views with my readers!