SECS 8 Week 4: The mental health of a content creator

Hi steemians, I welcome you all to my blog as I present my submission on a topic that relatively plays a key role in our health and total well-being as we continue to be relevant in the content creation space. Thank you steem health for bringing this wonderful topic for us to share and express our views and opinions as well as learn from other users.

How do you feel when creating content? Is it a pleasant experience for you or, on the contrary, does it generate anxiety and discouragement?

This is a more complex and technical question with mixed feelings. Before now I write on some different social media platforms without necessarily minding the rules of engagement and the necessary formatting skills needed. Also, these social platforms do not come with any form of incentive or reward. During this time, it was just a neutral experience that didn't propel me to do more but rather make content based on emotions or situations around me. This is simply because of the no motivation and the cost of engaging the platform which still consumes resources.

On the contrary, this feeling is different since my joining the steemit platform. The Steemit platform came with a different feeling that was obtainable from the other social media platforms. There was the feeling of always wanting to create more and new content in the platform given to the offerings and rewards it brings to the user. Aside from the rewards that it offers, it has also improved me in the area of content creation and efficiency in using the HTML tool in writing. Most of the formatting tools used today were understood since my joining the platform.

Hence, just knowing that my organized content posted on the platform would receive heart-cheering comments, rewards, and a source of sharing my views and opinions with other many users in the system, drives my quest to do more on the platform. Therefore, at present, I feel positive about creating content in the system and pleasant with all that concerns the active status in the steemit platform.

But no one feels pleasant and positive about content creation when it is not noticed or appreciated by other public users or receives the commensurate rewards as anticipated despite the effort put in. Sometimes, if not recently, I have witnessed over 90% of my content not receiving the required attention. This sometimes does not give the required feelings to keep publishing but it also requires a strong-minded user to continue publishing and creating content.

Have you ever felt mentally exhausted by generating content on a daily basis? Tell us about your experience.

Yes, this is my story to your question. I do feel mentally exhausted from generating content in the system. Since my introduction to the system, I have tailored most of my activity and strength in creating content in steemit other than the centralized systems. However, the first cause of this mental exhaustion is the prolonged feelings of lack of support from the efforts put in. Each time this is remembered, it drives these cold feet that ignite taking a break. It is only the determined and focused tarries irrespective of the scarcity of support therein.

Secondly, It happens I am engaged offline with my conventional job mostly during the day, and coming back after the day's job is tiring to start making content. So most of the time, creating content sees that I go to bed quite late in the night. This comes with a lot of exhaustion and sometimes I doze off while trying to take a little break. Hence, this makes my next day a little dull due to the poor sleep from the previous. We all know the overall effects of this. Let us also imagine most of these creative efforts going down the lane unattended to. It is discouraging but just as I have earlier said, it is also the determined and focused stay back here.

What do you feel when your content is not valued as you expect it to be? Does this affect you mentally?

I didn't even know this question would come up as I have partially attended to it. Creating content for me is something I have always wanted to do at my leisure and with little time during my tight schedule. Just as I have narrated, I mostly pass through compressed times to make a majority of my posts. Sometimes in the dead of the night before completion and sometimes, it overlaps with the next day's activities. Some other times, I have to use my break time to create my posts and visit some of the community's demands.

I think there's no one with such content conditions that would feel positive when their articles are not valued except for ill-created content tailored to occupy space. The time put in to create content is a valuable one and the resources needed to get it to quality are also precious. It is a direct demotivational and mental retardedness when such happens. We do not have to be all strong to pretend that we are fine. However, not quitting is the solution, rather we need to continue and soldier on with what we know how to do best.

What would be your recommendations for a content creator to keep a healthy mind?

Creating content should be seen as doing those daily routine chores to have the right mindset. We do not have to see it as a tasking activity that is impossible but rather as an avenue to express ourselves through writing. When we feel exhausted while writing, we need to take walk or break to refresh ourselves so as to ease off. This would help put us through refreshing ideas when we continue.

Also, we get to have this determining and focused mindset on what we want to achieve irrespective of the obstructions ahead. Our articles not being valued or supported now should not be the reason for quitting. We should position our minds in a way that we need to look beyond just the rewards that come immediately.

In conclusion, content creation should be done with passion and not necessarily reward-minded. This would help build a healthy and stable mental state of mind that would be void of premature stoppage and exhaustion.
Thank you, friends... This is my submission.