We started the Bipolar Blog with one simple goal in mind: To write a post in our four core research areas every month. With a quick peruse of our blog categories, one can notice we’ve evolved since then.
Our research remains strong in these four areas. Even as we’re propelled into the second month of 2017, we’ve already published two new articles on longstanding projects — the Bipolar Youth Action Project (BYAP) and the Delphi consensus consultation. As the curator for the Bipolar Blog, and a peer researcher myself, I’ve had the unique opportunity to be involved in some of this research and I bring those experiences to the blog. This touches on what I consider the ultimate goal of the Bipolar Blog:
The ultimate goal of the Bipolar Blog is to connect people to research in a meaningful way, and in turn to be transformed by the meaning people bring and continue to contribute.
This is a project established in partnership to help empower our community — be you researcher, healthcare provider, a person with bipolar, a supporter, or however else you define yourself. And as research grows and as people grow, we have evolved. What initially started as a means to make our research more accessible has cultivated new grounds to travel.
I reflect back on little less than a year ago, when this blog was an infant in thought. Barring our summer and winter breaks, we’ve managed to post every week — and this is where I see the evolution. I realized not too long ago that while this is meant to be a research blog, we can’t deny and never have denied the power of personal stories. From my perspective as both a researcher in the making and someone who lives with bipolar, I believe personal stories should drive bipolar disorder research. Thankfully, I seem to be in good company.
With that in mind, I realized it was time to create a new blog category — “personal stories.” Noting that this content already existed on the blog, I thought it natural to give it the space it deserves. These are stories that embody our core research areas in unique and significant ways. There are many ways to tell a personal story, and this is a specific way to tell it. It’s another way to understand the value of how we interact with research.
I imagine as World Bipolar Day comes around — the official launch date of the Bipolar Blog — there will be much more to discuss. With that, I hope you continue to enjoy our content and engage with us and each other. Please don’t hesitate to send me any questions or thoughts at crestbdblog@gmail.com.
Click here to see our introductory post to the Bipolar Blog.
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What a neat idea, Natasha, to have a special category titled “Personal Stories!” I’ll definitely share this posted blog with friends of mine who may be interested in sharing their own personal stories. Keep up the excellent work.