Why should you blog?
Well howdy again folks!
This is the first post that I will be making in the Ultimate Blog Challenge which asks me to post every day for the rest of this month. That means you are going to be getting a post per day! Lucky you! Anyway, I thought I would look at some of the reasons why I started this blog, what keeps me going and why you should join the blogging community.
As I have mentioned in a couple of my previous posts (The Still of the Night.. and Health Suffers Through Caring) life can be tough dealing with my own disabilities and looking after a daughter with special needs. I am the type of person who, believe it or not, used to bottle up my emotions and store them until they exploded out like champagne corks, often causing a lot of hurt and damage in the process. This would also have an impact on my health because I often wouldn’t sleep (although I rarely do with my insomnia anyway), I would break out in nasty ulcers all over my mouth and I would suffer with severe stomach cramps. After the last time this happened I decided I needed to make a change with something and I thought about writing a journal. Now I am not very good at writing a journal as I have tried a few times before but it was when I saw someone else post on a forum about their blog that I gave it a read and decided I would write one myself and here we are!
Hulk (Photo credit: monky.cl)
I knew I was going to write about my daily life but I wanted to do it in a way that I could be open about everything. I have never bought into the macho pretence that a lot of other guys seem to feel the need to put on when it comes to those sensitive subjects, so writing from the heart seemed the natural thing for me to do. There was benefit for me by doing this because it meant that I could get the feelings out of my head and both record and understand them for later use avoiding that old ‘popping cork’ situation I would have had on other occasions. The other thing that spurred meon was that there seemed to be a real lack of fathers writing blogs about their experiences with a special needs child. It surprised me quite a bit but that meant there was the chance to step up and say ‘This is what is going on in the mind of the fathers who are so often overlooked in the caring role’. Now I am not claiming to be the voice of every father but I hope in my blog that I can at least give an insight into what is going on in the minds of some of the fathers and at the same time show that we don’t always have the rock hard exterior that we put up each day to try and convince ourselves and everyone else that ‘Everything is O.K’. After all we cant all be Iron Man or the Incredible Hulk even though we may pretend to be.
English: Jump! Deutsch: Spring! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Since starting the blog I have found that I really enjoy doing it and it has certainly made me feel less stressed. Getting things out of my head seems to have done the trick and I am not worried and as tense all the time. It has allowed me to focus on myself and my own health, I have had time to spend with the kids having fun and laughing and it has definitely improved my relationship with my wife. We snap a lot less at each other and it has opened both of us up to be able to talk through problems a lot more calmly and rationally than would have been possible before. I am not saying that we were biting each others heads off or anything but the stress and tension can definitely make things a lot more difficult to think about and discuss rationally. The other advantage of writing this blog has been the sense of community that quickly starts to build around you if you put a bit of time and effort into talking to people and commenting on their posts. I have read some truly brilliant articles and stories and I have been touched by the strength and determination of some of the others that I have read. I have had help from all sorts of places and from lots of different websites, people and companies that I would never have heard of or come into contact with if it hadn’t been for this blog.
Let’s Talk About Feelings (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
So why should you start blogging? Well firstly it is a hobby that can be as cheap or expensive as you want to make it. You can host a blog for free in a number of places (This one is hosted at WordPress.com) or you can go for a self hosted option which will require you to register a domain name and get a place to host it. This is probably something I am going to do with this blog fairly soon because I have found I enjoy it so much I want to be able to have the freedom to do things for myself. Secondly, there is a therapeutic quality to writing about something that you are passionate about and the range of topics is limited by your own imagination. There is always someone else who will be willing to read what you write and it is nice to have that feeling of a connection even if it is virtually and may be across thousands of miles. It can be a stress release, a tool to vent frustration, a way of keeping in touch with family or even to write down your feelings about somebody that you would be too embarrassed to say to their face. Finally, if you manage to make a successful blog it could open doors for a job change, career or an extra income through advertising and sponsorships etc. Now don’t expect to write a blog and leave your job because it wont happen just like that. It does take a lot of effort to connect with your audience and promote your blog to people around the world.
I would like to say a thank you to a couple of bloggers who have helped me on my journey to get to this point and to be able to share my opinions and thoughts with everyone and I would love it if you would go and visit them and leave some comments.
Just Bring the Chocolate, SWAN UK and Savour Your Spoons
So will you be the next set of bloggers to put your thoughts down onto the world wide web? Will you make a new venture in business and use a blog to sell it? Will you be the next band to use blogging as a promotion tool?
If you do let me know and I will post a link and take a look!
Until then folks, Stay Safe!
23 Comments
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- Top 5 reasons to join the Ultimate Blog Challenge - [...] Why should you blog? (sleeplessinnewcastle.wordpress.com) [...]
- This is my working face - [...] Why should you blog? (sleeplessinnewcastle.wordpress.com) [...]
- 5 Steps to Start A Good Blog - [...] Why should you blog? (sleeplessinnewcastle.wordpress.com) Share this:Like this:LikeBe the first to like this. Tags: blog, Blogger ...
Submit a Comment
All about me
Hi, My name is Keith Addison and I am a full time carer / writer/ public speaker and blogger. I live in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England and I am married with three daughters. My youngest daughter has an undiagnosed genetic condition and we call her our SWAN because of our involvement with the charity SWAN UK (Syndromes without a Name).
Hi Keith
Blogging is a great way to express our feelings and it sounds like yours has helped both you and your family a great deal.
I shall be back to visit on a regular basis as I enjoyed your post. I would recommend you move over to a self hosted blog as there is much more freedom in it.
Have a great day
Pauline
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment Pauline. I was thinking about self hosting but I am still looking into how to do it all. I have only been blogging a short while but I am hooked!
Thanks for sharing Keith. I am new to the world of blogging, but also find it therapeutic. I have so many thoughts, ideas, etc floating around in this mind – blogging helps get them out where hopefully someone else can benefit!
Jenn
Thank you for reading and leaving feedback. My mind is often swimming with a billion and one thoughts but trying to put them down in a format other people understand is the real problem.
This is great, Keith. Boy, do you have a lot of challenges in your life. But you seem to have a positive attitude and that goes a long way in helping us get through our daily lives. I look forward to following you in the challenge. Have a great day!
Thank you Fran for reading my blog. I think you have to have a positive outlook on life because sitting around moaning gets you nowhere
It is a challenge but I have a fantastic wife and children and we all chip in to help which makes us stronger as a family. I look forward to following your blog as well!
Hey sleplessinnewcastle! Love the blog! I’m in the states, but had a Geordie friend back in the day. Love your city. I also have two kids on the autism spectrum, and blog about how to reduce stress and build social skills. And yes, the blogging is often a great source of venting and sharing! So see ya around the blog challenge!
Heya there, thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I was born a Geordie and have lived here all of my life but I would prefer to be somewhere else. It is a nice city but it rains far too much and I prefer to be somewhere in the sun. I look forward to your posts and I have no doubt I will probably use some of your tips on reducing stress throughout this blog challenge!
Thank you for putting yourself out there with honesty. I am sure your blog is an inspiration to many others.
Thank you for reading and for your comments. I really hope that my blog does help inspire people as it is sometimes a tough road we travel and without companionship we would be lost!
Such a thoughtful and honest post, Keith. Looking forward to following you in the UBC as the month progresses. Hope you weren’t in the midst of those torrential floods around you last week.
Thanks for reading and commenting, unfortunately I was in the middle of the floods and it was a scary experience I can tell you. I have never seen anything like it in my life, thankfully, it didn’t damage us directly but some family members were hit pretty hard! I am looking forward to your blog too as it was nice to read a post so similar to my way of thinking!
Aw Keith – so happy to see you so honest out there. I wanted to mention a few other special needs dads I know of in the special needs community and invite you to the group I have on Facebook for special needs bloggers – it’s turning into a marvelous community and I think you would love it there. Just message me on Facebook if you are interested – I don’t want to linkify my comment *grin*
That said, I am so proud of you for not only putting this out there, but for challenging yourself to do it in the first place. Blogging is all of what you spoke about to me as well, plus it can be a lot of fun, and eventually you can become an even greater part of an online community of people who can truly care about what you have to say. I’m so happy that you commented on my blog so that I could have a chance to “find” you *grin*
Until next time, and here’s to some rest for that insomnia and a bit of peace to go with it! {hugs}
Thanks Kat but you made me blush! I love writing my blog now and I figure the best way to try and get the message out there is to be honest, up front and tell it exactly like it is. I love your blog and I spend quite a bit of ‘spare’ time having a good read of your posts. I will give you a nudge on Facebook about that group as well
Thanks for sharing – I understand quite well.
As a young teenager, I grew up writing in a journal, spilling thoughts and feelings, as well as simply recording events of the day. Once I ‘got online’, it wasn’t long before I started blogging (for myself), since it was always faster to type than write by hand – it seemed a natural progression.
I’m glad you feel comfortable enough to share yourself with the world thru this blog. Looking forward to more posts from you during the UBC.
Thank you Sunfire, I have had so much support and a lot of love come my way since I started blogging and it is something that has restored a little bit of faith in humanity for me. I am having so much fun with the UBC and I am reading so many great posts that my head is exploding with ideas about what to write!
Keith,
It is wonderful to read a dad’s perspective. It’s good to know more dad’s are coming onto the blogging scene. Don’t know if you have already encountered these, but if not, you might find them interesting, http://slapppshotblog.com and http://www.danoah.com/, although it doesn’t seem they face the special challenges you and your daughter face.
I look forward to joining you on the journey.
Kina
Hi Kina, Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. I have encountered slapppshotblog but I haven’t read the other one before. I will do it after I reply to all my comments though. It is important that dad’s feel they can express themselves a bit more because I think guys sometimes get bogged down too much with all of the macho expectations that are expected of them. Looking forward to reading your blog through the challenge too.
You’re very welcome. Oh, another dad who blogs, whom you might really enjoy is Le Clown from A Clown On Fire, http://aclownonfire.wordpress.com. His is quite the character, literally. Enjoy.
Thank you for sharing this Keith. It’s a great reminder that there are better ways to deal with stress than bottling them. I’ll be back often, take care!
Thanks Jes, I have found that to be the case. Staying stressed does nobody any good!
Good luck with the blogging challenge! I would last one day
Thanks Renata, I almost did last just one day because I wrenched my back yesterday and I have been in agony ever since
Still I am enjoying blogging so much I want to keep going!