This article is not intended as health advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional consultation with a health care professional health care provider.

The topic of physical health still overshadows mental health. But those with mental illness understand how crucial it is to overcome issues and hardships that might arise. Fortunately, more and more have acknowledged the issue and conditions that they themselves and others might struggle with. Some started an awareness movement and wrote books to help with mental illness.

Dealing with mental illnesses requires the combination of acceptance, persistence, and a healthy outlet, and sometimes it helps to do something as simple as writing about it. For that reason, we’ll focus on how blogging can help improve your mental health.

a woman in sunglasses sitting in the sun with a laptop

Further in the article, we’ll discuss how you can start your blog and the benefits of blogging for your mental health.

How to start your own mental health blog

Starting a mental health blog can sound intimidating, especially if you’re new to blogging. To solve that, we’ve listed the simple ways on how to start your blog.

1.   Start planning

Get all your plans sorted out to keep you focused. You can start by choosing a name for your blog, your topics, and personal objectives on how the blog can improve your state of mind. Learn about how others do it and take inspiration.

It helps by creating a to-do list, but you can plan it in the most comfortable way. Your future self will thank the extra time you took for planning.

2.   Select a domain name

Choosing your domain name comes next. When picking a domain name, the important things to remember are to keep it simple and memorable, use keywords related to your niche, and think long-term. Don’t forget to check the availability of your selected domain name.

Register and purchase your domain name once it’s settled. Typically, the domain name will be yours for a year, and always renewed yearly. To make it more efficient, buy a domain name at the same provider as your hosting!

3.   Get WordPress hosting

Choosing a web host and learning a new platform for your site can be time-consuming, that’s why we suggest getting a WordPress hosting along with the same CMS instead. It’s straightforward, and you can focus on turning it to a proper blog instead of a general website. It’s also often the choice for most bloggers, so there’s a proven familiarity for WordPress.

Many providers offer different hosting plans, so adjust them with your blogging target in mind. Your WordPress hosting provider should be credible and have a quick activation. Once you’ve settled on payments and found the plan that meets your traffic expectations, your WordPress site should be up and running in no time.

4.   Select and customize your WordPress theme

Once your WordPress site is active, it’s time to select a theme and customize your page. The best theme you can pick has to be responsive and simple. Responsiveness makes your blog compatible with different devices, and simplicity is good for SEO and keeping the focus on your writing.

Taking design inspirations from other mental health blogs or websites can save you plenty of time, as you won’t start from a blank canvas. Representing your personality is also a good inspiration, as you’ll make the blog look unique and truly yours.

5.   Write your first blog post

Writing your first post is where you harness your creativity. Express yourself, either through an introduction or get right into it and start talking about the topics that are dear to you. Remember that you’re blogging for you and your mental health, not to impress irrelevant people.

Luckily, writing a blog post on WordPress is simple enough with a beginner-friendly interface. WordPress also includes various plugins that help improve your writing, including its SEO aspects.

a person writing/blogging on a laptop with a dog in their lap

Benefit of blogging to improve mental health

After learning about how to start your blog, you might be asking what you’re getting from it. This next part lists the benefits of blogging that help chip away mental illness. Blogging can also act as a distraction and help fill your free time. It’s a much better way to improve your mental health than to drink alcohol. However, it’s possible you may not be able to quit or cut back on your own. In this case, you should look into seeking Wellness Addiction Treatment for yourself.

Writing about your thoughts helps to improve them

We picked blogging because writing, in general, has been linked to improving psychological conditions, and often the suggested therapy by psychiatrists. When you regularly write about your thoughts, interests, or hobbies, you continually increase your mental health.

Moreover, there is a psychological study called expressive writing, which helps let out repressed feelings or emotions and reduce stress. The purpose of your blog should ultimately be about expressive writing and let yourself heal.

Keep in touch with people and support each other

When you start a blog, other people with the same interests or experiences will naturally come to you. Take the opportunity to grow a community, get in touch with people, and support them. People will feel less alone and open up more through shared conditions.

You can also grow your reach to social media to promote your blog and expand your community. Start from your social circles while continuing to write to help others while you help yourself.

Share knowledge

Mental health issues are one of the topics that are best understood through sharing and talking to others with the same experience. In addition to making a connection with people, you’ll also understand more about mental illness and cope with it better.

If you think in the long term, your blog can help increase awareness about mental health. The more you write, the more knowledge you can spread to people, starting with your community.

Conclusion

Mental health awareness greatly improved over the years, and more people have found ways to deal with it. One of the methods is blogging, or expressive writing, that’s proven to improve your mental health.

Blogging has evolved over the years, and it became easier for people to start a blog, even when you’re just starting. To recap, here are the steps to create your blog in a simple way:

  1. Start planning
  2. Select a domain name
  3. Get WordPress hosting
  4. Select and customize your WordPress theme
  5. Write your first blog post

Some of the blogging benefits we mentioned are to improve your thought patterns, keep in touch with people of the same experience, and share the knowledge of mental health. Social media can also be a good platform to share your blogging experience and mental health journey.

Express yourself and start writing! Now is as good a time as any.

Author: Mary is a founder and chief editor at her digital content and SEO agency PRable.org. She is passionate about digital marketing innovations. The technologies and online businesses are her engines she loves to write about.

 

 

 

Betty Bugle
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