Theme Thursday: Blogging is a lifeline

 

If you had asked me 4 years ago if I ever saw myself starting a blog, I probably would have laughed in your face. I've always liked to write but my idea of blogging was posting all your private thoughts on a public forum, where people could find out exactly how much of a fucking weirdo you really are, which I thought would be sort of horrifying. Turns out that's pretty much what blogging is, putting your shit on display for the all the interwebs to see...I've just learned to embrace my inner weirdo, not give a shit if strangers question my sanity and/or intelligence and found out there are a LOT of other people equally as insane and just as willing to display it in public as I am. .

I try to focus on humour on my blog. Partly because anytime I try to write something serious/compelling/insightful/inspirational, I come off sounding like the ShamWow infomercial guy...like I'm trying way too hard. Partly because I do believe that laughter is the best medicine out there (tied for first place with Valium and Nyquil). And partly because there are times when if I don't find something to laugh about, I'm going to end up a sobbing mess who can't get out of bed in the morning.

Laughter is a lifeline for me. I suffer from depression and sometimes trying desperately to find the funny in something can briefly take my mind off how truly dark and shitty I feel. And when you're way down inside that black hole, a moment of levity can lift you up just enough to keep you from drowning. Some of the funniest and most talented bloggers I've read suffer from some form of depression or have experienced some kind of horrible trauma in their lives, and most have said the same thing: blogging helps them keep their sanity because their blog is a safe place to vent, cope and a place where they know they are truly not alone. Maybe we hide behind a humourous facade, but it's a hell of a lot better than being mired in non-stop despair.

I believe great things can come out of emotional pain and suffering. Blogging is an outlet where we can take all that negative shit and use it to not only make ourselves better people, but better writers. And I can tell you in the last 4 years blogging has helped me keep my sanity. Plus it's a hell of a lot cheaper than therapy.