Well, hello there! I just wanted to give you a quick update on how things are going over here in Winter World. Let me tell you, friends…things are going. As I mentioned in my last update post, I’m trying some new things out. I’m building on The Winter Of My Discontent. I’m trying to see what works for you, my beloved audience, and what works for me.

Updates to The Brand

I’m sure that some of you may have noticed that ads are back on my site. I hate ads. They mar my beautiful blog. Alas, capitalistic society has ruined me. I may not keep them up, but for now…there’s ads.

I’m still debating whether or not I’m going to do the blog collaboration. I’m very leery about letting companies post to The Winter Of My Discontent. The information would have to be incredibly relevant and helpful to you all. I don’t know…the pay isn’t that great for a blog my size anyway and it sort of feels like selling my soul. We’ll see how it goes.

I am really excited about the Merch Shop. We’ve got some really cool merchandise with 5 different designs. Four of the designs are super cute and one of them is hilarious. Make sure you check it out and grab yourself a souvenir!

Now on to the really exciting stuff…

PDF Download Library

First, the PDF download library. It’s up, y’all! I’m not sure if I’m going to keep it as is or put it behind a password for subscribers only, but for now I have a few printables up and ready for you to download! I think there are 8 designs up so far, for various different things. You can check them out at the PDF Download Library.

I’ll be making PDFs for all of the categories that I touch on a lot in my blog, all mental health related. There will be infographics, bullet journaling spreads, goal planning tools, wellness guides, planners, workbooks, and so much more. Make sure you sign up for the email list to receive updates.

I’ve been working so hard creating these and I hope that you find them useful. Even if you’re on the email list already, feel free to grab them still! I just got done working in Canva and I made this informative OCD Overview e-booklet. Be the first to get your free copy before it’s even uploaded to the site!

The Big Announcement

If you listen to The Winter Of My Discontent Podcast, then you know that I made a big announcement on last night’s show. I was honestly going to hold off on this, but I’m feeling good about it so I might as well share. In the next month (or less), I will be launching an e-course section (The Winter Academy or is that too lame?) of the site! The first course to launch will be Mental Health Blogging: A Beginner’s Guide.

It will be a while until it’s ready for you all…I really want it to be perfect. I have the entire curriculum and course built out and I start recording the videos of the lessons tonight. There will be 7 modules with a total of 30 lessons. I have poured my whole heart into this project and I promise you that the information is in-depth and comprehensive. If you’re looking to start a blog or you are just starting out, this is the e-course for you so stay tuned!

Contact Me If…

There will be more courses in the very near future. Now that I’ve worked out all of the technical aspects, I’m brimming with more ideas to help educate and advocate for people with brain disorders. If you have any topics you’d like to know more about, questions that you’d like answered, activities that you’d like to learn, or problems that you need solutions to please feel free to contact me. Also, if you have a downloadable that you would like to have built out.

Please be aware, I will need people who are willing to test the course. You will be provided access, free of charge of course. If you’re a new or beginning blogger or even (maybe especially?) if you’re a seasoned blogger. If you have experience building or teaching course or if you’re just plain old interested to know.

I have a lot of material that I will need to get together that will based off of your feedback. The course will be approximately 2 hours long. If your interested, have 2 hours to spare, and want to provide constructive criticism, please feel free to contact me.

You can reach me on the Contact Us form here on the site or you can email me, amber@thewinterofmydiscontent.com.

I have big plans for both of these things. I have plans to make 50+ PDF printables with great content from the blog. I also have plans to start a Become A Teacher program with the education program. This will give me the opportunity to mentor others on how to build a course curriculum, find and create course materials, and build the course from scratch using LearnPress. If you are interested, there is a link in the Course menu on the sidebar of the homepage.

Disclaimer

So, this is the last time I will bring this up, but it’s eating at me so I have to address it with you guys. I promised you that I would always be honest about my experiences and my journey and I intend to do just that. I am having a moral quandary about the new projects with the blog. The ads, the sponsored posting, the email farming, and the exchanging of monies for the information inside my head.

You see, I love this blog. I love this cause. Since deciding to become an advocate at the beginning of 2020, I have grown and healed in ways that I didn’t think were possible. My confidence and self-esteem are at an all-time high. People come to me at times and tell me that my words helped them; changed their lives, even. I know of at least 2 women who are actively pursuing adult diagnoses and several more who are pretty sure they have it even though they haven’t seen a doctor yet. The whole reason that I started in the first place, coming to fruition before my eyes. Helping people.

Being able to take 6 months, while I was off work, to focus full-time on writing and building a community around this blog has been a beautiful and magical experience. Though we are still a little blog, we have surpassed my wildest dreams for it. I have surpassed what I thought I was capable of and I continue to keep moving forward.

So I feel guilty about creating things that I have to charge money for.

I feel guilty because I feel like I’m monetizing mental health. I feel guilty because I feel like I’m selling out. I feel guilty because I care about the readers and friends that I have made over the last several months. I am conflicted.

Dr. W Says…

She says to stop feeling that way. See, here’s the thing. Dr. W knows more about me than maybe anyone else in the world. She knows that my day job is killing me. Literally. A little bit at a time, it is shortening my life. It’s only going to get worse from here and we’ve known that during my entire recovery process. So, here I am on the other side, but nothing about the toxic environment that I work in has changed.

Dr. W has been trying to get me to think on a career path for a while now. She keeps asking me where I see myself in 5 years, but that’s too much to ask of me. I can’t see forward that far. So then she asks what I would like to be doing for a full-time career. That answer is a lot easier. I want to be advocating. Full-time; writing, speaking, and teaching about ADHD and mental illness. So, she has encouraged me to find ways to monetize my brand from the beginning. I just didn’t feel confident enough.

Honestly, at 39 years old, it feels like I’m not going to get many more chances to “make it,” if you will. To let my dreams come true. In order to be advocating and writing full-time, I’ve come up with the above ways to make money. This role in life feels like home to me and I believe this is right where I belong; that I’m somehow doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. For someone who spent the vast majority of their life feeling lost, it’s a big deal.

After a lot of soul searching, I realized something. All of the things that I am doing to branch out with TWOMD make sense. All of them. The printables, the classes…it’s all part of educating, advocating, and building a community around people with ADHD and mental illness. So, my promise to you is that any project I bring to you through TWOMD will always be beneficial to you and relevant to why you follow the blog in the first place.

I work really hard. I invest so much of my blood, sweat, and tears into this blog and I will gladly continue to do it for free for the rest of my life if it means staying true to my reason and to the cause.

My heart is in a good place and I’m trying my best to reconcile where I am, what I want, and what I need. I appreciate your understanding and your support, as always.

Everything Bagel Update

So, here’s a quick update on everything else…things are going pretty good, to be honest. There is some stress, here and there, but I’m doing very well mentally. We finally got my medications figured out and I won’t be switching to something new every month. It took as 9 months, but we never gave up. It feels good to feel good.

Work is…work. It’s never really good, but I’m doing alright. I’m staying on top of my metrics, for the most part, and everyone is pretty much just leaving me alone. I like it like that. I’m realizing more now than ever that my biggest problem with my job, as far as liking it or not, is that I am bored out of my mind. It’s not a lack of work…it’s a lack of stimulating work. But, I’m dealing with it. I’m figuring it out. This is not my forever.

Therapy. As I mentioned above, I’m back in therapy with Dr. W. I’m still taking a break from my other therapists, but I’ll be seeing Dr. W once a month. She thought that was a reasonable schedule since I spent 6 months in their office 2-4 times a week. It was a lot of therapy. Since I’m feeling good and coping well, there’s no need to overdo it anymore.

Finally, the blog. It’s been quite some time since I’ve written on a regular schedule. I’m still not writing regularly, but I have some inspiration for some great posts and I feel good about the fact that The Winter Of My Discontent blog will be back in action regularly and full-time on Tuesday, August 3rd. I can’t wait to get back to what I love and to be back in the blogging world with all of my friends and colleagues! I’ll see you all then!

Love and light! Keep fighting the good fight!!💜💜