Hi.
I'm Sofia, and I turned 25 years old yesterday. For many years, the thought that I would make it to 25 didn't cross my mind because it seemed so unrealistic.
I've tried to start blogs before; primarily blogs about eating disorders and recovery. Last night, I went to my mom and dad's house, and my father suggested I start a blog, to combine two things I love; writing, and helping others. I told him I felt hypocritical doing so for a number of reasons.
I am in far, far better shape than I have ever been before concerning my 16 year ordeal with anorexia and bulimia, but my mental health (to massively understate) leaves something to be desired. I struggle with severe, treatment resistant depression. Sometimes it gets better; lately it's been worse.
Last night I politely declined my father's suggestion; today, I thought yet again about the dyer straights our mental health treatment system is in (and I'm not just talking about in the USA, there are problems everywhere) and I thought...what if I started a blog not just about eating disorders, but mental health and illness and treatments in general? What if I wrote a blog that appealed to a larger audience than simply those who are able to access mental health care? What if I wrote about how many who have been ill for years and years, unable to work, no longer have access to mental health insurance and therefore find themselves in a seemingly impossible situation with regard to access to care? Those with eating disorders who live on disability and Medicare, when almost no specialists in the field accept Medicare? What if I wrote about the chronic cases, and got people thinking, and got people who actually give two shits together to think about and try to change the situation we have found ourselves in?
I need to think more before I elaborate. I have some people I'd like to contact and ask if they would be willing to share their stories here. I have some books to revisit that touch on these subjects.
So my intentions for this blog are broad, and it's likely that it will be (as I am) all over the place. Initially, as I am in the throes of my own depression at the moment, the entries may be far and few between. I hope that if I develop an audience you will be patient with me, and help me to formulate what it is I'm trying to say and get out into the world.
Thank you for reading this, if anyone has, and allowing me to take some of your time. I will come back to this.
Sofia