Blogging about Blogging: Progress So Far

Throughout the term, it's been really interesting to see how my blog has been developing. Now with ten different posts completed on my blog, I look forward to doing a word count at the end of the term. As my blog has grown, it's been satisfying to see how I've been able to touch on lots of different topics that matter to me, topics that I was worried I wouldn't be able to get around to in a timely manner, but I'm making good progress. This week, for example, I talked about my opinions on the term "Impostor Syndrome" as someone who was diagnosed with a syndrome myself. Personally, I'm not in favor of the word, which you can read about in my other blog if you have the time.

 

In doing all this writing, it has been neat to see how making this blog has been beneficial for my wellbeing. In general, I like to learn a lot about disability, autism, and other topics, but before making this blog, I didn't really have a good outlet for sharing this interest with others. Having that outlet is very important for me and my wellbeing, since it lets me get those thoughts and feelings out instead of keeping them pent up. 

This process has also been super useful in letting me better articulate my thoughts and ideas surrounding these topics. Often, when these things come up in conversation, I'll mentally freeze for a second before stumbling through an explanation of these topics. When I'm unprepared, or when I haven't thought through my explanation of these topics, I end up not representing my views well, even if I do have a lot of knowledge and thoughts on that topic. However, if I've written and organized these thoughts out beforehand in the form of a blog post, I have a better idea of my main points, possible arguments for or against, and I have an easier time recalling these things when they come up. Being better able to express myself is beneficial to my wellbeing because then I can feel more understood by others and more competent in my own knowledge of these topics.

That being said, while writing my blog has been largely beneficial, there are times when the effort required to write my blog has negatively affected my wellbeing, especially if I'm starting a post late at night. Thankfully, my blog itself isn't one with strict deadlines, so if my week is too busy, I can decide to postpone submitting the final draft until I have enough time and energy to commit to writing well. 

This process of writing, resting, and communicating my thoughts makes me think about the seven occupational needs that we talked about in class. The seven occupational needs, accomplishment, affirmation, agency, coherence, companionship, pleasure, and renewal, are extremely connected to my experience of wellbeing within this occupation. When I write, I feel a sense of accomplishment from completing a blog post, and when others respond to my writing, I feel a sense of affirmation that I am doing well in my writing. In being able to express my opinions, I feel a sense of agency, that I have the ability to express myself how I want to. Finding coherence in my occupation means that it interplays with my identity, my desires, and my goals, and this is definitely met by blogging about autism. Companionship is one that I have yet to attain, since currently I have few people to share my blog with, but I'm hoping this will change over time. I am able to find pleasure from spending time engaging in my interests, and the act of info-dumping on my blog can be very renewing and refreshing for me mentally.

Overall, I've greatly enjoyed this experience of writing my blog, and I can't wait to see what this blog will look like in the future.

This week's blog post: https://autisticot.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-importance-of-language-my-thoughts.html