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Pivoting towards a new path: Mental Health topics written by an actual scientist!
- arianacahn
- Jan 25, 2022
- 2 min read
"Oof, that doesn't sound very good", a librarian commented on a book she found when I asked her to give me suggestions of books similar to those written by Jenny Lawson.
The book in question was "Easy Crafts for the Insane: a Mostly Funny Memoir of Mental Illness and Making Things" by Kelly Williams Brown. I guess to this librarian, who maybe had solid mental health, reading about the nitty-gritty, sometimes awful side of mental illness, sprinkled with some comedic relief, was not her thing. But to me, an anxiety-prone perfectionist who has experienced some bad bouts of depression during this whole "Pandemic" debacle, it was right up my alley.
Much like Jenny Lawson's books (and blog!) on her challenges with mental, and sometimes physical, illnesses, Kelly Williams Brown's book comforted me, helped me feel less alone. I think I gravitate to these kinds of memoir-meets-short-essays-meets-dark-humour books.
So on that note, I think I'm going to change up the content of this blog a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love writing about science... but I have found it very difficult to look for new and trending topics, research the science, and then write about it for a generalized audience. As I said, I have some mental health issues, and so this added workload was a bit much for me.
Instead, I think I'm going to pivot this blog to be a Mental Health blog written by a scientist, who also has lived experience. I can go on about this stuff for days.
Yes, I am qualified to talk about this stuff, I have a BSc and an MSc in Neuroscience, have conducted research in psychology and psychiatry labs, and like I said, I have lived experience and I speak with mental health professionals on a regular basis.
ALSO, the only other mental health blog written by actual scientists I could find was this one, which I highly recommend checking out if this is your thing too! You can also check out this Podcast episode I spoke in, talking about mental health as a grad school student! The podcast is produced by my friends at Resolvve Inc., an organization whose mission it is to bring mental health services to university students.
I would love for you all, my readers, to come on this journey with me. Mental health is at the forefront of our lives as we continue to wade and attempt to stay afloat in this increasingly confusing and disappointing world, so let's talk about it! Destigmatize it!
We can talk about:
the science behind mental illness (yay neurochemicals!)
the social determinants of health
depression, anxiety, and others
daily experiences
answers to questions you might have about mental health
Let's make this a nurturing community!
So please, subscribe to my blog to receive semi-regular emails about mental health topics. We'll cover it all, and I'll take requests too! I can't wait to embark on this journey with you!
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