Whew! Here we are, the first official post on the new site. I’m still settling in, so please forgive the mess, but I’m so happy you’re here!
Some of you may be wondering “why the change”? Over the summer, I participated in a mental health writing workshop hosted by Mark Freeman, called Write Your Brain. In addition to being massively impactful to my writing skills, the workshop helped me to hone in and refine some of the nitty, gritty logistics in my work as a mental health writer/content creator/coach person (what do I call myself?!). Namely, my audience.
Most of you haven’t been around this long, but my site has actually undergone two other rebrands in the past. I started my little blog after the loss of my unborn daughter, Clara, and it was titled Grief to Growth. Under that title I used it to process, stay afloat, and connect with other bereaved parents as I doggedly navigated the tumultuous seas of grief which seemed to have taken over my life. After a time, and a major relapse of OCD, I rebranded as Motherhood Misfit. Under that title, my blog became a place of shelter for myself and many other moms struggling with mental illness. It was a place where stigma found no purchase and, as a result, community and encouragement took root. So much so, that over the time that I was writing as Motherhood Misfit, working to give that safe space for sharing and learning to moms like me, I recovered from OCD. Fully, completely, and gloriously recovered.
During the writing workshop, it became clear to me that it was time for yet another rebrand, because the purpose of my work has grown and changed, and the audience with it. This work carried me through grief. It carried me to and through recovery from mental illness. Now, it has a new job to do. I hope that it will help you!
Recovery doesn’t mean that I am “done” working on myself. Recovery isn’t an end point, so much as it is a new path to follow. This work still keeps me accountable. It continues to help me grow and make new discoveries for my own mental wellbeing. However, the new core purpose of this space and the work that I do is to help others find their way to this path. And not just moms! I love the maternal mental health community, but the skills and thoughts shared here are beneficial to everyone with a squishy, blobby brain riding around in their skull.
Hey Kelly Renee is a place for anyone and everyone to improve their mental health skills. It is my hope that you will think of me as someone you can reach out to when you are struggling. Someone who knows what it is like to be in the deepest, darkest pit of despair, because I have been there myself. Someone who has knowledge of the skills required for you to find your way out of that pit and onto this path.
I’ll continue to share frequent, short form, content over on my IG @ohheykellyrenee (come join me!), and you can look to this space for less frequent, but longer, ramblings offerings.
In the meantime, you can always use the contact me link or send me a DM on IG or FB if you have a question, a suggestion for a topic you’d like to hear more about, or any time you just feel like saying “Hey Kelly Renee…”
Keep Moving Forward,
Hey Kelly Renee 