Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Hi! My Name is Maureen. I am a Hashimoto’s Sufferer but I am NOT a Blogger!

I have a confession. I have an addiction. Besides chocolate of course—I can’t stop trying to get the message out to the world that the longer you wait to address your Hashimotos (the autoimmune nature of this condition), the more damage to your thyroid and the more likelihood you will develop other autoimmune diseases.  Yes, this is my addiction. It is why I blog.

But I found out something important yesterday. When hitting 10,000 “likes” on my Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis Support Group on Facebook, I wanted to do a give-a-way of something special to some of the members. I had it all set up but then read the rules for give-a-ways—the hoops I would need to jump through, the fine print I would have to think about, and the details I was not prepared for. I learned something yesterday. I am NOT a true blogger.  That is not why I’m here. I’m here to get a message out, not to compete with other blogs or become successful financially.

You see, a professional blogger does these things:

  • It’s their full-time job/hobby.
  • They put up a new post every day or every other day (or at least are very regular).
  • They often have tech support and other people helping them.
  • Their goal is to earn an income to sustain their passion or livelihood.

Me? I never knew I would still be blogging 7 years after starting. I only knew I wanted to get this message out.

In contrast, my “blogging” looks like this:

  • This is my full-time passion because I, too, struggle with this condition. And what I learn, I want to share with others who are also struggling.
  • I put up a post when I have been inspired to do so, which varies from week to week, month to month.
  • My son is my tech support when I am in dire need for help (which has been way too often lately!). Other than that, I am on my own!
  • Quite honestly, I don’t seem to be able to be consistent enough due to my focus on healing – at least not now – to be as committed as you have to be to be a “professional blogger”.

What I have learned is that I will continue my mission and do the best I can with my passion. I will not be able to match the massive and consistent amount of content most bloggers produce. I will continue to work once per day on the Facebook support group and get to as many posts as possible (to the extent that I can maintain a healthy balance each day). But, I may not always be perfect and I might miss a day here and there. Why? Because I have Hashimoto’s. And although my healing has been dramatic, I still have to work on lingering Hashimoto’s issues.

This is what I still deal with:

  • Losing a night’s sleep for a Hashi person is like becoming disabled. At least for me it is. So those days are sometimes days I need to resign, grab some tea, do the very minimum I can get away with, and wait for another chance to sleep. These days I have a hard time getting to my Facebook page. I try hard, but sometimes I must wait a day to get back into the groove after some well needed rest. Yesterday I had that kind of day.
  • Stress overload – I have learned with Hashi’s that stress tends to cause symptoms that become a serious setback if you don’t learn to manage it well enough. For these reasons, I have to sometimes skip a day or take a few days off. This is not a very good habit for a real blogger but my main goals are my main goals…to get time-saving and pain saving information out to as many as possible without causing my own condition to worsen. That is what my blog is for, and the information stays up there even when I am resting. So that makes me happy.
  • Overwhelm – A common symptom with Hashi’s is the feeling that you cannot keep up with life. I think it’s mostly because you have to look inward so much when other healthier people can pretty much focus outwardly on their duties and pursuits. We have to focus on our health. We have to make sure we are getting rest, eating right, and sleeping well to function. I have learned that if these things are not in place, I cannot function properly. These times also require me to step back.

I wrote this post because I have felt a sense of obligation to so many members to “be a blogger” and deliver the give-a-ways, dish out the many posts each week and be, well, a “blogger.” No one has said anything to me or complained. I put that on myself. I am a perfectionist. But I know this is something I must accept. I am still healing. I must put my health before blogging in order to keep the healing going and in turn help as many of you as possible by getting important posts up that will keep people in touch with the newest and most helpful natural interventions as possible. My focus is there. And when those posts go up, you will know it was important to me to deliver them to you. You’ll know it wasn’t a post I came up with just because I needed to keep the content coming.

I received two beautiful thank you emails this week in the middle of my day of exhaustion from not sleeping much the night before. I had been disappointed in myself as a “blogger” and felt like I was letting the community down for not being as attentive as usual. The emails encouraged me that this is exactly why I’m here and why I keep going. My focus to get the message out is the only pressure I will put on myself. Because I know it is helping people.

I may not be a professional blogger. I may not travel to conferences or do fun give-a-ways, but I am a Hashimoto’s sufferer like you are. And I have seen great progress in the last two years and more is coming! I will focus on that. And I will be here for you as much as this body can manage. You have my word on that.

The main thing I have learned is that it’s okay to keep things as they are. I don’t need to put more pressure on myself when my only goal is to “be here” for all of you. I can do that just the way I have been doing so far. And so I shall!

Here’s to our healing journey!

Disclaimer: All posts are describing my personal journey through health issues and are in no way meant to guide anyone towards any method in particular. I am not a medical practitioner or have a dietary or medical license, and this blog is not intended to be taken as authoritative advice. Please see your doctor, or health professional before making any drastic diet changes! Also, occasionally I find others to partner with whom I have had tremendous help from and therefore, there may be paid advertisements and links to support them and help me financially run this website.
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6 responses to “Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Hi! My Name is Maureen. I am a Hashimoto’s Sufferer but I am NOT a Blogger!”

  1. Shelly Avatar
    Shelly

    Thanks Maureen!! It is a great resource and NO, you are not letting anyone down by not posting daily. Some of the other bloggers take it a bit too far by keeping their content active, we don’t need to know when and how they fart! We all can related to the fatigue and exhaustion, it is hard for me to focus and read the blogs sometimes so hats of to you that you actually write them and collate information for us!! I look forward to more posts!!

  2. Jacki Avatar
    Jacki

    You are an inspiration for so many.. I appreciate all that your Facebook pages does.. Everyday it helps me keep moving forward.. Thank you and always know how many lives you have touched and helped…

  3. Jess Avatar

    You are a wonderful blogger. Believe it or not, there are no rules that you have to follow. It sounds like you have a healthy set of “rules” that work for you. I often find myself putting posts off or taking a personal day (which is weird, because I work from home) due to my health. Here’s to putting our feet up and being kind to ourselves.

  4. maureen Avatar
    maureen

    Yay! Thank you Jess! What a nice response. And good for you too! I found that I am of no use to anyone else if I am not keeping myself on the healing path. 🙂 I appreciate your response and thank you for being here! 🙂

  5. maureen Avatar
    maureen

    Jacki – I am very thankful for you and your contribution to the community! You may think it is a small thing that you commented but it is not! It helps ME keep going! Here’s to our continued healing journey! Thank you so much!

  6. maureen Avatar
    maureen

    Shelly – thank you so much for understanding. And you know what? As a Hashi sufferer myself, I can identify with information overload so I think my blog reflects that! 🙂 I hope the info I put up not only inspires others to keep up the fight but gives them powerful tools to do so! I am so thankful for our little community (which is growing pretty quickly these days!). Take care and may you find more and more improved health in the new year!

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