Even through all of my pain and misery, constant failures and self-hatred, one thing has stayed constant- this blog. Even though I haven’t been writing much of late, many of you have been visiting my blog, reading and commenting and that makes me so happy (a feeling I have not experienced in a long time). I started blogging about mental health over three years ago when I was given the opportunity to create a blog for a classmate’s friend’s publishing company. Although this wasn’t my first blog (when I graduated high school in 2004 I created a sports blog that I kept running through most of my time in college), it was the most important step in my life as it gave me a way to channel my passion for writing while also examining the world of mental health and how my life has been impacted by this illness. I believe I ran that blog for almost a year (I don’t really remember as the last few years are a bit hazy), and during that time I was introduced to the amazing mental health blogging community. When I left planb publishing to start my own blog, a small group of readers came with me. Although I never imagined this blog to be successful or that people would be interested in my life, I was wrong. Not only was I able to grow as a writer, I met so many amazing people and learned a lot about the world of mental health, while also gaining knowledge on how to grow a social network. Overtime my readership increased, slowly at first, but around May 2012 things changed. A few of my pictures were picked up by google search and a lot of my keywords began driving in readers. Unfortunately, I did not realize this until a few months later as I had been deep in a depressive episode. But when I saw what my blog was doing it changed my life (maybe not all at once, but it gave me a purpose, something that I am only realizing now).
I apologize if this post is self-indulgent, but I am just so amazed at what this blog has become and where it could lead me. If nothing else, maybe my posts will help others to avoid a painful life and give them hope that change and improvement is possible.
Once again I just want to thank all you, my amazing readers for giving me this wonderful gift- a realization that my life is worth living.
I hope this post finds you well and I look forward to future conversations and the continual quest for knowledge and healing.
Dave.
