Sunday, January 29, 2012
Blog Therapy
The New York Times ran an article today about the therapeutic potential of blogging for teenagers. I'm not a teenager anymore, but I completely related to this. While I've kept private journals in the past and found that to be a helpful outlet, I really believe the communal aspect of blogging makes it uniquely valuable. Eating disorders are so isolating, and blogging reminds me over and over again that I am not alone. I think this probably works for any mental illness or distress by providing a source of support and understanding. Go blogs!
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This effect is precisely why I started a recovery blog. I had a Live Journal 'way back when' in high school, and the support I found there helped me through some hard times. When I got serious about recovery in college, I started the blog as a place to get things off my chest while both soliciting and offering support to people who were going through it/had gone through it also. Even if you have the best friends in the world in 'real life,' they can't really understand something they haven't experienced the way a perfect stranger with the same disorder might.
ReplyDeleteI'd be super interested to read the blogs of the kids featured in that study, by the way. Hope that doesn't sound creepy, but it would be really fascinating. I'm sure they took measures to keep the kids from being identified, though.
Completely agreed
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