Search on Vocal and Medium for Mental Health writers.

Talking about Mental Health struggles is some of the most vulnerable written work out on the internet. The energy, bravery, and vulnerability it takes to show up and share ones' most difficult mental struggles and disabilities is unbelievable. If you learn anything from this piece today, I hope it is that you start to search for mental health bloggers more on these platforms (namely Vocal+ and Medium). Take some time out of your week to go follow, subscribe, comment, and tip these writers. You have no idea how much it will mean to them.

I began writing about my own Mental Health journey back in 2019 through my self hosted blog Jaded Savior. I was struggling so badly as a mother of three in my late twenties, breaking down daily into tears and having only enough energy to leave bed to care for my kids basic needs. That guilt, shame, and self loathing made me hate being on social media. I was surrounded by stories and images of perfect lifestyles of other moms who seemed to have it all together. I felt like such a failure in my breastmilk and sweat stained pj's, drowning in laundry and other home duties that seemed never ending. I was sure that I just had the wrong mindset and needed to be inspired so I kept investing into courses and coaching from Facebook friends to "cure my issues".

After a breaking point one weekend, I decided to start writing about these insecurities I had and how I compared myself to all the Insta + Pinterest curated motherhood posts. When I tell you I was dumbfounded at how many women came forward either in the comments or in my inbox to say they related... I was so shocked. I really lived in this little depressed bubble for over four years until finally having the bravery to tell everyone I was suffering. Only to realize so many other women were silently suffering too.

I spent the next 2 years sharing my blog posts from my site to my Facebook, creating a group and page to share out my updated pieces about Mental Health and trauma. I wanted to purge all my thoughts and experiences that went back to early childhood trauma through adolescent hardships. I wrote as therapy for myself and it became a source of healing for others too. I was told by one of my readers in fact about Vocal+, so in 2021 I made the decision to take my blog + favorite stories written over here to this account.

I have been writing feverishly about my trauma for a year now on this platform which I am so proud of. With almost 70 stories published and over 111 subscribers now (organically and a surprise to me!), I still continue to host my Jaded Savior blog on Vocal. I also started a Medium account to write about Neurodiversity and Autism.

As it turns out, I am Autistic and have ADHD as well as several learning disabilities. There are EXPLANATIONS for why I was suffering and struggling with the most "basic tasks" that other moms I saw on social media were NOT. The one's not having a hard time were confidently sharing their kids lunch photos and diy projects from START to FINISH on insta because they did not struggle with executive dysfunction, anxiety, sensory issues, or a crap memory. I did. That information was not apparent to me though for over a DECADE of my motherhood experience. I finally know now in 2022 as a mother of 3 ( my oldest being almost 15) that I am neurodivergent, specifically Autistic with ADHD.

Funny enough, looking back at my own published stories about my trauma as well as my memories from childhood through College, the signs were always there. I just simply went undiagnosed or noticed as being different.

What brought to light that I had any Mental Health struggles or signs of neurodivergence? Reading other content creators' stories! I saw myself in the stories of fellow Mental Health bloggers and realized so much about my own identity, which led to being able to chart my own assessments and explore my long-expressed neurodivergent traits. I can thank the help of Tiktok creators, bloggers on Vocal+, and on Medium for writing all about the ways they struggled in every day life settings / situations. I made sure to comment and thank creators along the way that gave me insight on my own struggles as well as how to work around them.

In the last year of writing on Vocal, I have seen SO MUCH MORE content created in the Psyche and Humans communities. I am actually going to email Vocal to see about starting a community exclusively about Neurodiversity so I can share more about my journey with figuring out my neurodivergence right here!

Vocal+ honestly feels like home to me as a writer. I love the Vocal support groups on Facebook, as well as the comradery between writers in the comments of writers' published stories. I know this app is big on Fiction and Fantasy writing, but I am proud to see more Mental Health writers popping up.

It takes so much EFFORT mentally, emotionally, and physically to show up publicly writing about Mental Health. The possible embarrassment and social shame would be obvious, but I want you to understand (as my readers) that mental health (and neurodivergent) symptoms can make it so challenging to actually be a published writer.

For instance, the ability to conceptualize a blog post or story, sit down with patience and focus to write it, the ability to begin and finish a story, and then the bravery to publish it are all steps that someone with ADHD and other disabilities would find so hard to accomplish in a short period of time. Being able to organize and execute story writing is not easy for any writer, but add in mental health challenges of doing multistep tasks and staying on task... ooof.

I commend all the writers out there with ADHD who are able to map out visually what they will write and then work in energetic spurts to get the job done. That could take days or WEEKS! I know.. I am one of them.

My friends here who write about childhood and adolescent trauma like I do, I know how hard it feels to relive the suffering you have been through in order to get a piece written. It might be triggering for some readers and other survivors will feel a sense of validation + support from hearing their experiences shared.

The TOP comment I have gotten for years now on my content is 'YOU ARE SHARING WHAT I AM TOO AFRAID TO SHARE. THANK YOU.' As a trauma survivor and writer fulltime, I put my emotions and sweat into these pieces. Some days the writing just pours right out of me like it has a life of its' own. It has healed me so much to put my pain into words, but it means even more when I have done that for someone else. - Jean Grey, Jaded Savior

I hope to inspire more Mental Health bloggers as I continue to share my Vocal profile and the new work I am writing on Medium. I want to see more people share their struggles and what they have done to manage their lifestyle as a person who is neurodivergent, disabled, and/or has Mental Illness. This is important work to be shared because it is giving people who have such a hard time in life already a chance to use their writing skills and content creating skills to make a living. It is also changing lives, empowering people to hang in there and find their own communities, as well as make the changes necessary in their lives to have a better quality of life.

This year I am excited to be one of the content creators who does not talk about mindset but about accommodations, support, and empowerment. I am not one of the coaches from my past who either deliberately or inadvertently profited from bypassing Mental Health for "Guru tips to X,Y,Z.

The me of 2018 that gasped to breathe while crying and hiding in the bathroom from her kids.. I feel for her. But I am so proud of how far I have come.

Please, make today the day you like - follow - subscribe - and TIP a Mental Health blogger for their efforts and freaking GRIT to keep showing up sharing their journeys.

Please support my blog by subscribing, sharing, commenting, and if you want to - tipping my stories! It helps me continue to write as a freelancer / remote blogger and content creator. Here's where you can follow my work entirely:

www.neurodivergentrising.podia.com

www.neurodivergentrising.medium.com

https://linktr.ee/jeangrey_rising

Tiktok : https://www.tiktok.com/@neurodivergentrising