I agonised for ages over business plans for blogs:
- should I try to blog for profit
- should I have one blog or several
- should I use PhotoShelter or should I use my own site for photo galleries
- should I put everything on www.avetlens.com
- what were the best keywords to use
- should I put everything together on my genealogy site
- should I keep Superwoman-blues completely separate and private…
the list was endless.
The website ‘gurus’ tell us that we have to have a “niche” site. But my neuro-divergent brain doesn’t do “niche” – but it does do eclectic! I was going through Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way (again!), doing morning pages, and I wrote one of those epiphanies that anyone who does her morning pages will know all about: “I have learned so much and put things together that is specific to my brain….” I’ve wanted to be a vet since I was 12 years old and I have fought with my mental health all that time; both of those colour everything I do – which is why this is ‘Through a vet lens!’
My aim is to show that we can do anything we are really passionate about, in spite of all our inner demons. I want to share my knowledge, and the convoluted pathway that I came by it, to support and to mentor my family, friends and colleagues.
Editor’s desk
If you came here to find editorial/publishing advice, you will find that here. (And no, sorry editors, links don’t do apostrophes!)
Photo stories
My photo website has my photo galleries and my travel stories, for you to see how I learned to take animal portrait photos for the Australian Veterinary Journal front covers for 14 years, and how I am still learning things every time I go out to take photos.
Fens and family
For many years I had a family history site, based on our book, Three Holes, portrait of a fen village. This has now moved to these pages where you will find my own family history, fen stories and genealogy links.
Superwoman blues
The name “Even superwomen get the blues” came after I remembered a friend telling me that I was superwoman because I did everything effortlessly – not like his wife, who stayed at home and “only” brought up the four children! Ha! Little did he know!
Yes, my brain is super intelligent: high IQ; excellent at passing exams; I’m a vet; I have a PhD etc etc. BUT, my secrets are that I have ADHD, generalised anxiety disorder, an overdose of impostor syndrome, and am liable to slide into reactive depression without a medical pharmacy in my bathroom and a great deal of personal support.
What has really surprised me, has been just how many of us have our own well-hidden mental challenges, or have family, friends or colleagues who are affected in the same way. Our veterinary profession is going through a crisis of depression and suicides.
I am an advocate for mental health and for getting everyone to recognise that this is a difficult and common problem. We also need to think long and hard about the bullying that is rife in our professional lives, and find ways to call out those monsters without destroying our own careers in the process.
If you are interested in how I keep my lurking demons at bay, check in on avetlens.com/superwomanblues.
I hope that you find these pages interesting, empowering, annoying….just never boring.
