What a year to be a mental health blogger! It’s safe to say we’re all a bit tired and weary. Challenges aside, 2022 was also the year I added a few extra titles to my blogger title: I’m now a business owner, workshop facilitator and speaker! With 2022 coming to an end, I wanted to share a recap of the year, including some of my favourite projects, blog posts and events.
I also want to show the not-so-glamorous side. This time of year is when we see so many highlight reels. Trips abroad, new babies, wild nights out, gruelling hiking adventures and other impressive feats. There aren’t too many 2022 recaps that include struggles or behind-the-scene challenges.
I won’t sugarcoat it. The stress of running a new small business can be a lot. Especially when the business revolves around mental health — in particular, your own personal story with a serious mental illness. At times, I felt like I wasn’t the right person to speak about eating disorder recovery or that I didn’t have the bandwidth to pursue this type of emotional labour.
At the end of the day (or should I say, year?), I started this blog and grew it into a bigger business for a purpose: to destigmatize eating disorders, create community and share recovery stories in a responsible manner. So even if there are some awkward, uncomfortable bits along the way, it is always worth it.
The highs, lows and lessons of being a mental health blogger
January 2022
Highlight: Almost a year ago, I dipped my toes into learning more about entrepreneurship. A program that seemed like a great fit was through Rise, a Canadian organization dedicated to empowering people with mental health and addiction challenges.
Lowlight: Taking the “official” full leap to entrepreneurship is absolutely terrifying. I battled a lot of imposter syndrome and wondered whether this was the right decision. (I think it was!)
From the blog archives: Top 22 signs you’re recovering from your eating disorder
February 2022
Highlight: With both Eating Disorder Awareness Week and Eating Disorder Awareness Month taking place in February, this month was a busy one! I successfully pitched myself to several media outlets and had many early morning wake-up calls for live TV interviews. So cool!
Lowlight: Because this month was so busy, I definitely overpacked my schedule. Between taking entrepreneur courses, making media pitches, attending events and doing non-stop advocacy for EDAM, I felt really tired. It was a good wake-up call to slow down and only say yes to things that really mattered.
March 2022
Highlight: Celebrating one year of mental health blogging! I even picked up some cupcakes and a one-year birthday candle to mark the occasion. Here’s to many, many more years.
Lowlight: My poor cat got sick this month. You may remember him from a previous blog post about the mental health benefits of pets. It was scary, unexpected and draining to look after him, but fortunately he’s doing much better and I now fully understand the importance of a rainy day emergency fund.
April 2022
Highlight: Interviewing body justice advocate Dr. Jill Andrew. Our Q&A together was eye-opening and revealing to hear what it’s like for a Black, queer woman to face medical gaslighting and fatphobia. I highly recommend giving the blog post a read!
Lowlight: Yup, it finally him me: I tested positive for Covid. The illness sucked everything from me and being someone who isn’t good at resting meant my recovery time was loooong. Lesson learned? Healing takes time and patience.
May 2022
Highlight: Honestly, I was just happy that the weather started finally warming up. Winter can be a slog and spring brings a nice element of cheeriness and hope. It’s the small things, right?
Lowlight: A slight eating disorder relapse. Recovery has always had its ups and downs. Getting sick with Covid happened to be a bit of a triggering time body-wise. The temperature started warming up, my clothes felt a bit different and I made the major mistake of stepping on a scale.
From the archives: The truth about relapse in eating disorder recovery
June 2022
Highlight: World Eating Disorders Action Day. What I can appreciate awareness days, there is something special about having an “action” day. Awareness seems passive, while action seens, well, active. Many people feel rightfully frustrated with eating disorder care and treatment, so having an international day dedicated to real change is a game-changer.
Lowlight: After big awareness days or weeks, I sometimes experience a crash. I go from a huge high to feeling a bit defeated. Brené Brown has nicknamed this a “vulnerability hangover.” I’ve come to be more gentle with myself and recognize that there are other areas outside of my life besides eating disorder advocacy that bring meaning and fulfillment.
July 2022
Highlight: Placing third in the Mental Health Blog Awards. Not only was it great to virtually meet other mental health bloggers from around the globe, but I was honoured to place third in two categories: microinfluencer of the year and blogger of the year. A HUGE thanks to everyone that put up with my voting reminders and helped get me to this place!
Lowlight: Lots and lots of admin. I double-downed on my outreach efforts and booked many meetings with potential clients, so this month was spent creating proposals, sending invoices and other fun admin work that is necessary to running a business.
August 2022
Highlight: Taking a blogging and social media break! Don’t get me wrong, I adore writing and social media has its perks as well, but logging off and not always “being on” does wonderful things to my brain. Plus, it gave me extra time to read all the books on my summer reading list.
Lowlight: One of the reasons I slowed down on the blogging and social media front is because I had so much back-end work to do (plus training to become a Peer Mentor with Eating Disorders Nova Scotia!). Normally I love being outside during the hot summer months so I was disappointed that I spent more time in my home office than outdoors in the glorious heat.
September 2022
Highlight: Hosting a Journaling Workshop at Western University’s Brescia College. This group of young women was incredible and so open to sharing their own journaling experiences. I left feeling just as uplifted and inspired by them as they had felt after taking the workshop together. Win-win!
Lowlight: Remember back in February when I totally overbooked myself and wiped out? Yep, well it happened again with all the busyness of Orientation Week events. Let’s hope the lesson sticks this time.
October 2022
Highlight: Halloween, duh! As per my annual tradition, I dressed up like a cat and took matching photos with my cat, who also happens to love dressing up. And I made Pillsbury Halloween cookies — soooo good!
Lowlight: Also Halloween? There’s a sadness to remembering times when I was at my sickest and how much agony and stress the holiday would bring. Whether through restricting or bingeing, I feel sorry for my younger self and wish they could have enjoyed the holiday more.
From the archives: Binge or treat: The scariest time for eating disorders
November 2022
Highlight: Being published on CNN!!!! This was unreal. I got an email one day from the Opinion Editor, almost mistaking it for Junk and deleting it. She asked me to write about my experience relapsing with an eating disorder over the pandemic: here’s a look at the final result.
Lowlight: I had a family medical emergency that threw things for a loop. The good news is my family member is doing much better. I also learned a lot about being a caregiver, especially the importance of self-care when you’re in this type of role.
December 2022
Highlight: Being published for a second time in the Toronto Star. This op-ed was a tough one to write as it detailed my experiences with sexual assault and its impact on my eating disorder. As challenging as it was to write, it was also part of my trauma healing process and I’m proud to have put the thoughts to paper.
Lowlight: Just a sense of overall fatigue, which I don’t think is unique to me. Holidays bring an increased focus on food, which is challenging for anyone recovering from an eating disorder. However, writing this blog post has helped put in perspective the highs and lows and mid-level peaks of the year.
I’m all for sharing yearly highlights. The issue is when we glance back on 2022 and only see the positives without recognizing the challenges we needed to overcome. That does a disservice to the very-real concerns we may have faced in the past and minimizes them, glossing over them like they didn’t cause sleepless nights or anxiety-riddled days.
On that note, I genuinely hope there are more good days than not-so-good ones in 2023 and beyond. Wishing everyone a wonderful and restful start to the New Year!
What were your highlights and lowlights over the past year? I'd love to hear all about them in the comments!
I love that you took the time to share the highlights of each month of 2022. Hope 2023 is treating you well so far!
Thank you, Colleen! That feedback is great to hear. It’s helpful to take a look at the overall picture when it comes to things like eating disorder recovery and celebrate all the ups and downs and middle parts. Hope your 2023 is also off to a gentle start!
What a fabulous way to capture all that was important this past year , Chloë !!
I enjoyed reviewing those items that had links
I had a great time reflecting back on the highs, midlights and lowlights! Glad you also enjoyed this post, Maria!