It’s that time of year again when I do a wrap-up of the last year as a way of making a toast to my time as a blogger. So welcome to my sixth edition of celebrating and making a toast to my blog’s birthday. I really appreciate you.
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Disclosure: This article contains links to my Unwanted Life Shop. Read my full disclosure here.
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If you’d like to read my previous celebrating and making a toast of my blogging birthday-based roundup articles, then you can do so by clicking these links:
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What Have I Been Doing Over The Last Year?
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I’ve continued to create new workbooks and worksheets, which I’ve started to add to my shop. Although, I’ve still not added all the ones I’ve created. I’m not sure why. Paying more attention to my Etsy shop, I’ve decided to put a little more effort; bringing the total of workbooks and worksheets to five. I don’t have high hopes for my Etsy shop, as I don’t like the way Etsy operates and how much they charge. But I wanted to at least give it another try after giving up pretty quickly the first time. I’ve yet to make a sale there, but maybe one day.
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My impostor syndrome of being a therapist has greatly reduced, which is nice. It rarely bothers me anymore. I’ve also taken on more training opportunities at work to help improve my knowledge and therapist toolbox.
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Although I hadn’t intended to get back into Warhammer 40K, something I’d not done for like 30 years. Writing my article on Warhammer 40KÂ and how it could help with our wellbeing, drew me back in. I’ve started collecting the miniatures again, and hopefully, I’ll be a somewhat decent miniatures painter when I get around to building and painting the miniatures. I’m an Adepta Sororitas (Sisters of Battle) faction collector, in case you’re interested.
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I’ve also been able to add two new Unwanted Life Stories to my blog’s growing collection. Zac Thraves, from The Miscellaneous Imagination Experience, shared their acceptance story, which you can find here. Scott Beller, editor of the Daddying blog, also shared their story about their relationship with their father, which you can find here.
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I had started to write my autobiography, mainly because I wanted to piece my life together, as my recall isn’t always the best. I was inspired to start writing it because of my work with the psychosis art project I’d been involved with for a few years. Thus, I thought my experience might be useful in some way for others to read. Although I’ve lost steam in writing that at the moment. Probably because I have to write in a very patchwork way, as things jog my memory.
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I also launched my membership section, which I write for each month. Each article in my member’s section is a lot more personal, speaking about my experiences, rather than the advice and information style of my main blog. If you haven’t checked it out yet, why not try the free membership article, which you can find here.
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Celebrating And Making A Toast To My Sixth Year Blogging: My Five Favourite Articles
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Warhammer 40K: A Grimdark Positive Perspective On Wellbeing
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Given the impact writing my Warhammer 40K article had on me, how could I not include it in this section? Hobbies are important, after all. I was really happy to hear how it’d helped students attending special educational needs (SEN) and additional support needs (ASN) settings. They share that honour with Lego, which I wrote an article about as well. I also wrote a companion piece for this on my member’s blog, where I talk about my history of playing Warhammer, which you can find here.
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The Interesting Link Between Body Modification And Body Image
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This was also an article that was close to my heart, as I’ve engaged in body modification myself, and I understood that the reasons for people doing so can be a lot more complex than people realise. Therefore, I wanted to share that with my readers. It also reflects my love for the alt music community. Again, I wrote a companion piece for this on my member’s blog, where I talk about my body modification journey, which you can find here.
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How To Use Exposure Therapy To Tackle Eating Disorders?
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As someone who really loves exposure therapy, uses it regularly in therapy, and someone who benefitted from it personally. Finding out that there were effective ways to use this to treat eating disorders really resonated with me. Especially as I’ve struggled with one eating disorder or another for about half my life, if not longer. Hence making it to my top five list for this year.
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Playfulness: The Horrors Are Never-ending, Yet I Remain Silly
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The topic of playfulness has come up in a few sessions with my clients now, and it just reminded me how important play can be, regardless of age. After all, it’ll soon be common for people in retirement homes to be gaming. So embrace the play and don’t let age be a barrier. It’s ok to love Lego, Warhammer, and cartoons at whatever age you might be.
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Productivity Guilt And Anxiety: Life On The Hamster Wheel
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So many of my clients have issues with productivity guilt, often rooted in perfectionism and impostor syndrome. This is why it makes my top five for this year because tackling that guilt can have a massive effect on someone’s quality of life. I’ve seen lives dramatically change when I’ve helped clients remove the weight around their necks, that was their productivity guilt.
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Celebrating And Making A Toast To My Blog Over The Last Year
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Over the last year, my blog has managed to climb from sixth to fifth in Vuelio’s top 10 UK bloggers this year. So that’s a nice little achievement. I would like to win the Mental Health Blog Awards one year, but I just don’t have the kind of reach that would allow me to do that. Nevertheless, it’s a goal of mine. I can’t win if I don’t try.
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As always, leave your feedback in the comments section below. Also, please share your experiences with celebrating and making a toast of yourself or your blog in the comments section below. Don’t forget, if you want to stay up-to-date with my blog, you can sign up for my newsletter below. Alternatively, click the red bell icon in the bottom right corner to get push notifications for new articles.
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Lastly, if you’d like to support my blog, please find the PayPal and Ko-fi donation payment options below. You can also become a member of Unwanted Life. For more information, check out the membership options here. Until next time, Unwanted Life readers.
Congrats on 6 years of blogging and thanks for providing so much helpful info
Thank you
Your achievements are truly inspiring. May this year become the best year to balance mental, emotional, and physical health perfectly. I read the productivity guilt article and it’s something that we all go through when trying to accomplish a task we burnout but don’t realise that it’s only harming us. In the busyness of life we should take at least 5-10 minutes to close our eyes, take deep mindful breaths, and meditate to center ourselves and de-stress.
Thank you
Happy Blogversary, UnwantedLife. Your blog has always been awesome. You shared so many valuable information. Keep up the good work.
Thank you 😊
Congratulations on 6 years, it’s a great milestone! Keep going
Thank you
Well done on reaching this milestone! 6 amazing years of blogging! And also well done on working on and reducing the impostor syndrome! To more wonderful years ahead!
Thank you
Absolutely love this reminder about the importance of play at any age! 🎮🧩 Play is essential for creativity, connection, and joy, and it’s exciting to see people of all ages embracing it, from gaming in retirement homes to enjoying hobbies like Lego, Warhammer, and cartoons. Age should never limit our ability to have fun! Let’s celebrate the joy of play at every stage of life. 🌟
Happy 6th Anniversary! I am fairly new to your blog but it has been a wonderful source of information and knowledge. Here’s to celebrating your hard work, your dedication and the community you’ve built. Cheers to many more years of success and growth
Thank you very much