The Aquarium Online has been going a while now, thanks to the help of our supporters, and today I wanted to talk about some things to consider if you’re planning to start your own blog about mental health and well-being.

It took a lot of planning and thinking to decide what The Aquarium should be, who it should be for, and how to add value and help for people without being a crutch and without being condescending. Condescension around mental health is one of my absolute pet hates, because it always seems to involve a “magical cure,” that simply reading a book or practicing mindfulness or giving up sugar is the answer to all your problems. While those things may help to some degree, my personal belief is that you can be “better” but you can’t be cured. At least with the way science is now.

Your approach to managing mental health

So in creating your own mental health blog, one of the most important things to consider is, what’s your approach to “cures?” Are you a fan of medication, of therapy, of natural remedies, of all the above? There are no right or wrong answers, but expect whatever patch you choose to be seen as controversial. Not everyone is going to agree with the things you say, and that’s totally fine and normal. Remember to declare that you’re not a mental health professional if you’re not one.

The tone of your blog

Are you upbeat? Sympathetic? Will it depend on the day? It’s a good idea to be clear on that so that your visitors know what to expect and aren’t randomly triggered by a randomly intense post. Side note: Content warnings are helpful for sensitive content.

What you’ll cover

Are you writing about your own mental health? The industry? How personal are you planning to be? Will your blog be anonymous?

What your mission is

My mission is simply to use my blog as therapy and to hopefully make someone else’s day a little brighter. Your mission could be something really small, or something life-changing. It’s entirely up to you.

How often are you planning to write?

Some people start off by committing too intensively, which means they end up quitting. It’s always a good idea to have an extra post or two ready to go where possible, so that if your health takes a turn for the worse (or better – and you want to be out and about) – you don’t have to worry about being chained to your keyboard. Start off by doing a post a week to see how it goes, then scale up or down accordingly. Most people find they have periods where they write tons and periods where they write nothing, so having a few drafts stored up can help balance things out.

Where can you find like-minded bloggers?

The blogging community is super friendly, and making friends with other bloggers in your niche can really help you push forward and get support on days you’re feeling a bit down. Search Facebook for groups and Twitter for chats and positivity bloggers to follow. If all else fails, just do a shoutout for new blogs to read!

I hope you found this blog post helpful! Until next time, friends!