Let’s start by commemorating the fact that I started Unwanted Life on 7th January 2019, with the first article (Date Night: The Difficulties Of Meeting My Partner) going live on 14th January 2019.
Since then, I think I’ve only missed one, maybe two, deadlines for publishing a new article, because of health issues. I was also overestimating my ability to publish articles as frequently as my blogging peers. I can spend a sizable amount of time reading literature and academic journals for my articles. It doesn’t help that I have dyslexia, either. As such, I went from trying to publish two articles a week to once a week, which was better suited for my wellbeing and my blog.
If you’d like to read my other roundup articles in honour of commemorating my other blogging birthdays, then you can do so by clicking these links:
What Have I Been Doing Over The Last Year?
After a long drawn-out nightmare with my previous landlord of about 15 years, I was able to move. That moving experience led to me writing an article about how to have a stress-free move. However, the grass isn’t yet greener where I moved to. There are issues with existing tenants who the landlord is trying to evict. It’s an enormous mess, which hasn’t been great for my mental health. But hopefully, that’ll be resolved soon.
I’ve cut back on my social media use. Sites like Pinterest and Instagram just aren’t worth me investing any time in as I get next to nothing back for my efforts. After a couple of years of engaging with Pinterest’s “customer service”, I decided to give up on them and other platforms. It just wasn’t worth the aggro.
I’ve also stopped watching the news on TV to help with my outlook on the world. Giving up on my daily morning news intake has also been quite beneficial. Over the last year, hearing about how my government has continued to fuck us over and then lie so obviously about it, had finally got to me. It was just making me start the day angry and negative. So I followed my own cheerscrolling advice and ditched the news. I still check in on what’s going on later in the day, but I skip watching the news on TV.
I got into Lego this year, something I hadn’t done since I was in primary school. I’ve found it surprisingly therapeutic and beneficial to my wellbeing to take time to put the sets together. So much so that I plan to create an article about how Lego can be great for our mental wellbeing. Just like any hobby can be.
I’ve been putting together a sub-domain to house a members section for my blog. Although my self-sabotaging behaviours have stopped me from making it live. The member’s section has been something floating around in the back of my mind for a while after a Twitter friend suggested I offer a brainstorming service. It hadn’t crossed my mind before, but it has stuck with me.
This eventually led to me looking into how I could offer a brainstorming service, which grew into thinking about offering a mental health mentor and brainstorming service. The plan is to add some exclusive personal content as well. I’ve pretty much designed my member’s section to accommodate this, but I just don’t know if this would be a waste of time. The last thing I need is to be reminded that my blog isn’t as good as some of my peers. After all, I’m doing it to help others, but my depression is ever-present. Hopefully, I’ll make a decision about launching the members’ section soon.
I also did a memory walk for the Alzheimer’s Society, which was fun. Raised some money and got a nice medal in return. I did the walk for my granddad, who died as a result of having dementia. If I make my members’ section live, then you’ll find an article about this in that section.
To celebrate my actual birthday, me, my partner, and a load of our friends got dressed up in suits and did afternoon tea, which was lovely. We then hit a load of cocktail bars, because that’s what you should do when dressed up.
Commemorating My Awards Over The Last Year
I made it into the top 10 UK bloggers this year, as decided by Vuelio. It was only 10th place, but it’s still something to feel proud about, and still a blogging achievement. I was also given the ‘Best Depression Prevention Blog – UK’ award by Global Health & Pharma Magazine, which was nice. Two things that will definitely feature in my achievements collage.
Commemorating My Blog With My Five Favourite Articles
Let’s start off by commemorating an article that had been in the ideas section of my note app for a long time. It’s a topic I’d always wanted to write about but hadn’t got around to doing so. When my partner talked to me about a link between entropy and happiness, that gave me a reason to tackle the topic of happiness. Happiness being a choice is of those things that really grinds me gears when people say it because it’s simply not true. Thus, this article is one of my favourites over the last year because it allowed me to discuss why happiness isn’t a choice.
Although I’m not a woman, I found this a compelling topic to write about because we live in a very White male-dominated health and mental health-focused world. Thus, to me at least, this is a topic worth commemorating. Not only did endometriosis fit in with the mental health side of my blog, but it also fits in with the invisible disabilities part of my blog as a whole. It was a very eye-opening topic to talk about.
It is also a topic that more people need to talk about because it can be very debilitating, just like many other chronic conditions. I hope my article on endometriosis had a positive impact on the conversation about endometriosis, because it needs to be talked about openly.
Because I’ve had negative intrusive thoughts longer than most people who read this blog have been alive, I know what worked and doesn’t work for me regarding how I manage it. I wrote this article on thought suppression, because the method that worked for me doesn’t seem to be one that’s often discussed. The difference between the common methods suggested for tackling thought suppression and the one that worked for me was so far apart that I had to write about it, so I did. And now I’m commemorating that fact.
This might seem like an unusual thing to write about, how 4K HD TV improved my body image issues, but because it did, I wanted to write about it. I wanted to know if this was something that had only helped me, or if other people had noticed a change because of 4K HD TV as well. I would love to see an academic study on this, because of how much of a difference it made for me.
It was a tough choice to decide between my article on how extroverts would benefit from being a little more introverted, but my self-discipline article won. Let me tell you why. I’ve always had trouble with procrastination, but that wasn’t my real problem. My real problem was a lack of self discipline, which also appeared true for many people with poor mental health. I do best when I have a healthy reward to aim for, but I do even better when there’s something holding me to account.
A lack of a reason, and I’ll easily forget about it or put it off. Because of this, I wanted to share how people could use self-discipline to kick-start their motivation, which is what I did with the article I wrote on the topic.
So these are my five favourite articles since commemorating my blog a year ago. What Unwanted Life articles were your favourites? Let me know in the comments section below.
As always, leave your feedback in the comments section below. Also, feel free to share your experiences of blogging, birthdays, and commemorating things in the comments section below as well. If you want to stay up-to-date with my blog, then sign up for my newsletter below. Alternatively, get push notifications for new articles by clicking the red bell icon in the bottom right corner.
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Congratulations on four years! I’ll be celebrating my fourth “blogiversary” in a few months so we’re the same age. LOL I always enjoy your posts. I learn something from every one. Keep up the fabulous work!
Thank you. I look forward to celebrating your blogiversary in a few months time
Congratulations with your anniversary and your awards. ,🎉🎉 Keep up the good work! 👍👍
Thank you
Congratulations of the blogging anniversary; it’s great to read about some of the things you’ve written about and achieved personally. I think stepping back from the news and social media use is a great idea (I’ve been doing this too as it can be a very negative space). I also feel you on the landlord issues having moved about 9 months ago away from a really bad situation. Here’s to more years sharing and exploring life!
Landlords can be the worst, and they can get away with anything. I’ve had so many bad ones over the years
You have been a lot last year. That’s amazing going to the fourth year blogging. Congrats and wish you many year of amazing journey.
Thanks
Wow, four years is a long time! What’s your favourite LEGO so far?
Thank you. So far my favourite is Lego the Batman Arkham Asylum Breakout Set (10937), which I’m making some adjustments to to create a diorama
congrats on 4 years blogging! i agree with you on social media – i find Instagram and Pinterest to not be very helpful. Twitter is the only platform that really benefits me.
Thank you
Wow, four years! That’s amazing, especially when you’ve only missed a couple of posts due to health issues. Truly inspiring!
Thank you kindly
Congratulations on it all! Your posts are poignant, purposeful, and (always) timely. I look forward to many more years of posts! 💜
Thank you kindly
I always loved your posts. They are highly informative, enlightening and helpful. I can see why you have been honored for your work. I look forward to seeing more. Thank you for what you do.
Thank you very much
Congratulations on your blogversary! You’ve done a LOT in the past and it is interesting to see a wrap-up of your decisions with life, content, and how they go together. Congrats on the awards you won, that’s a great achievement. Hope the upcoming year is great to you!
Thank you. I hope your year is great too
Congratulations on your achievements. You are an inspiration. And I love what you’re doing with your blog.
Thank you
Congratulations on your blogging anniversary!!! You have amazing content! I started blogging in 2020 to cope with my father being sick after having a stroke. But when my father passed in 2021, I’ve lost so much motivation to even write. I am hoping 2023, I get the courage to start doing so again.
I think that’s an understandable reaction to what happened with your father, but if you enjoy doing it, then I hope you do pick it up again
So much to learn from your blog. Keep up the great work.
I’ll try
Woo hoo go you, on four years! Gotta love some lego!
Indeed you do
Well done 4 years blogging, I find it hard to post regularly and again it’s because of the landlord. I have no central heating even though the connection is there all my housemates are using electric heaters and the prepaid system constantly runs out the landlord should insist that the gas be reconnected and he says things like that guys are all grown men and should make an agreement over it. But they won’t agree and never clean I am 45 and 3 of them are older than me and I am the one telling people older than me to clean up after themselves. Landlords just want money and don’t want any responsibility when it comes to making sure everyone has a livable home.
Sounds like you are living in a shared accommodation but with separate contracts for your private rooms. Those kinds of living situations are the worst, because no one wants to clean the shared areas and it’s easy for issues to get worse. I hope you find a solution to your living situation soon
Well done on doing it for four years. I will reach two years this May but admire your consistency as it is really hard. Your blog is always informative and thoughtful.
Thank you very much. Has it not even been two years yet for you? It feels like I’ve known your blog for longer
You’ve achieved so much and have created your own little space in the world! Love that for you!
Thank you
Awww happy 4th blogger birthday! Look forward to reading more of your posts!!
Thank you
Congratulations on 4 years of blogging! That’s amazing! I’ll be coming up to my first year at the end of next month. You have achieved so much in that time – you should be so proud! I agree- reducing social media and not watching the news is a massive help you the mind! I also agree with you about Lego- when my children want to play it, it’s the one thing I really get stuck into. It’s so therapeutic like you say. Thanks for sharing. Jade MumLifeAndMe
Thank you. Congratulations in advance for your impending first blogging birthday! 🎉
Congratulations on 4 years of success. Loved reading your blogging development and see some of your favorite blogs. That is truly an amazing achievement with your rewards! Your articles are so thoughtful, honest, and so needed these days as more people try to find outlets and resources for their mental health. Thanks for providing such a valuable space! Happy belated birthday! PS. I have to say I can totally agree with you on the no watching news in the morning I did that through 4 years of Trump and it made me so upset every single day.
Thank you. Yeah, watching the news while Trump was president or during his campaign, I found myself everyday asking, “what stupid thing did he say now?” or “what utterly offensive thing has he said now?”
Congrats on 4 years! I applaud you for taking steps that you need to protect your peace. I try to balance my desire to know what is happening in the world with the need to lead a peace filled life. Take care and as always I look forward to our exchanges.
Thanks for commenting
Congratulations on the milestone!!!! And also, I appreciated the vulnerability in your post. It made for an engaging read. Glad you found your way to a better living situation as well 🙂
Thank you. I like to add stuff about my personal experience when I can, and if it fits with the topic. This was one of those times
4 years is amazing! This is my third year, but I still feel like a newbie at times! I completely agree with you on Pinterest, I was just wasting time on creating pins when I could’ve been productive elsewhere. Thanks for sharing!
Congratulations on blogging for three years, most bloggers don’t make it to their first year
Congratulations on your 4th year of blogging! 🥳
Best of luck with all your projects and I hope that 2023 will be a good year for you
Thank you. And best of luck with your projects this 2023 as well
Congratulations on your 4th year of blogging! It’s not easy to remain as consistent as you have been, especially while dealing with health issues and other personal life issues. That causes for celebration in itself! All of your achievements that were outlined really shows that you blog makes a positive impact on others. Wishing you many more years of success!
Thank you for your kind words
Congratulations on your forth year anniversary. That’s an amazing achievement. I’m just about to make it to my first next month. And also congrats on reaching the top 10 UK bloggers, that’s massive. Out of how many? I can only wish to be even reconsidered for a review, haha.
But if you ever doubt about your skills or blog, then remember that you have a fan here. I always make sure I read your articles. And I have to admit that I comment out of selfish reasons as well, because I value your input on my articles. So it is a bit of a double edged sword. Because you content is so good, I want to read it and also I can’t wait for your view on my work.
Anyway. I love your top 5. The entropy article was amazing and I can understand you picking that one.
Have a great new year and try the things you feel work for you. I’m sure you’ll do a lot better than you think. I can relate to that feeling by the way, the doubting.
I actually have no idea out of how many that were considered for the top 10 UK bloggers. Probably out of 10 ha ha ha. I hope you have a great new year too and I’ll see you in the comment section on your blog soon
Happy Birthday to this wonderful blog. There have been so many excellent articles on here it is difficult to choose. So I won’t. Just know that I always enjoy reading your work.
Thanks. I believe it’ll be seven years this January