One Year Of Psych et al
The founders of Psych et al reflect back on the year that has passed and talk about their outlook for the upcoming year.
To celebrate the amazing year that has gone by, Vasudha and I (Maragatha) sat down for a chat and asked each other a few questions. This is just a snippet from that conversation.
1. What are some of the lessons you have learned through your first year of running "Psych et al"?'
Vasudha: Where do I even begin? Despite having looked into the inner workings of running a blog, my understanding has developed on the job. From a technical standpoint, I have been trying to stay current on new changes that can be applied to "Psych et al" right from digital marketing to web design. The writing process has also been an excellent teacher. Each article has given me valuable lessons, broadening my knowledge and encouraging my development.
In addition to these, one of the most important lessons I've learned this year has been to prioritise my mental health. As psychology students, we frequently encourage people to prioritise themselves, yet we somehow fail to apply the same philosophy to ourselves. At "Psych et al" we began publishing articles biweekly but quickly ran into creative exhaustion. This taught us the critical lesson of prioritising self-care and well-being, allowing us to preserve our passion for psychology while providing insightful content.
Maragatha: The most obvious learning experience is putting together a new article every other week. These articles give me the opportunity to explore and further, my understanding of various topics, be it a topic I am already familiar with or something completely new.
Of course, running the blog has been a huge learning experience in and of itself. From learning how to publish our latest articles to understanding the ins and outs of posting content on social media, the blog has given me the opportunity to expand my horizons in a range of areas for sure.
Last but not least, one of the most important takeaways from the past year is to be realistic and set boundaries. When we first started we probably bit far more than we can chew, without considering our other responsibilities and commitments. Despite talking about the importance of focusing on one’s mental well-being, we definitely did not practice that in the first few months since our launch. Looking back it was only inevitable that we felt super burnt out or exhausted or a terrifying combination of both.
2. Knowing what you know now about running a blog, if you had to give one piece of advice to yourselves right when you started "Psych et al," what would it be?
Vasudha: Stick to the process. You may have days when you doubt everything, putting your determination to the test. But despite this, you have to keep going. Even if you can simply put in 1% effort per day to improve your work, it will have a transformative impact on your progress over time. Trust me. You have got this! 💪🏽
Maragatha: Not everything may go as planned. You may think you have planned for almost everything down to the tee but I guarantee you have not; there will be so many unexpected things that will throw you off. Yes, have a plan but make sure it is flexible enough so that when the inevitable spanner falls into the works you do not get completely blindsided by it. Always be ready to improvise where necessary.
3. How do you decide on a topic for a blog article?
Vasudha: Each of my article topics spring from observation or personal experience. It's funny how, in the week preceding to writing an article, I typically come across the central idea all around me. Podcasts, audiobooks, YouTube videos, or incidents in my life are where I will come across an idea that will compel me to research it further to gain a thorough knowledge of it. When it happens, I can't help but share it on the blog.
Maragatha: To be honest, my topic selections can be quite random. Some topics are ones that are close to me which I believe are super important for us to start or continue talking about in order to raise awareness within the community. On the other hand, some simply come about because I want to learn more about a specific topic and writing an article about it seems to be a good way to understand the basics of it. There have also been times when I have had to veto a topic because I did not find enough research to a) understand the topic and b) be able to produce a holistic article.
Ultimately there is no one way I approach my articles. However, I’d say my approach has an element of organised chaos which has yet to fail me.
4. Can you share a personal favourite article from the last year and explain why that stands out to you?
Vasudha: It is difficult to pick just one favourite article, so I will mention two that are particularly meaningful to me; "Distractions: Why Do They Occur and 4 Ways to Avoid Them" and "Why Do You Experience Imposter Syndrome?". These articles stand out not because of recency bias, but because they relate deeply to my feelings and experiences. They became comforting notes to me throughout the writing process, encouraging me that many others have similar feelings and challenges. Knowing that others have faced these obstacles and triumphed has been extremely inspirational.
Maragatha: I have two. One is the piece on stigma around mental health which me and Vasudha both worked on as part of Mental Health Awareness Month. It is a topic that I am quite passionate about. And despite there being so many similar articles out there, the stigma around mental health seems to stand the test of time regardless of where we are; mental health is often just misunderstood by the majority. I was really glad that both me and Vasudha could do our part to raise awareness about the stigma in mental health.
Another favourite of mine is the article about masculinity and the role it plays in men’s health, whether it is physical or mental health we seldom observe men speak up about needing help. This was particularly close to home and had I not personally observed this, I’d have probably continued to be unaware of its implications. Ultimately, the aim of the article was to encourage individuals to break the mould we seem to have placed on men across the world to remain stoic, tough and in control at all times.
However, this is not to say the others are not my personal favourites but these 2 are quite close to home.
5. Looking ahead, what are your goals and aspirations for Psych et al in the upcoming year?
Vasudha: Last year, we concentrated on building a solid foundation and obtaining knowledge on how to run a blog. Motivated by the lessons we acquired from this process, we are enthusiastic to incorporate them into our website and social media. We are also keen to remain open to ongoing learning and development in this period. Our goal is to broaden everyone's understanding of psychology and make a lasting impact on our readers. We realise that we are only at the start of our adventure, but as Robert Frost once stated, "We have miles to go before we sleep."
Maragatha: There are just so many different potential goals buzzing in my head, that it is hard to choose one to be honest, let alone consider its feasibility. However, I can say this, we have learnt a lot in the past year and yet we have barely scratched the surface but ultimately the gold standard would be to continue learning and evolving, whilst also continuing to be mindful of our boundaries. The night is young, and we have quite the journey ahead of us.