Parenting with Mental Illness – Mom and Children

I finally did it, and I still can’t believe I did it. I created the Facebook group finally after mentioning it and asking about it. It was just an idea at one point for me. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure about creating the group. It has nothing to do with being a bad idea since I know it’s a great idea. It was more due to the insecurities and doubts I kept replaying in the back of my mind.

Today, I took a seminar for eight hours where I learned unique techniques to be a fantastic coach, which I am working on next. After all of the positivity poured into me for those hours, it gave me the drive and confidence needed to stop my doubts and insecurities.

I found myself scrolling on my Parenting With Mental Illness page on Facebook, checking the notifications, and creating the group the next thing I know. I was so dumbfounded with how easy it was to develop, and here I had a whole panic attack over something that I created in less than ten minutes.

Of course, it was easy; all I was doing was creating the group, setting the rules, writing the group description, and linking it to the Parenting With Mental Illness page. Something simple is, of course, going to be a no-brainer and take almost nothing to create. The hard part actually has yet to come if you ask me. I have decisions to make, where the hard part starts.

Yes, the group is now created and attached to its page. Now we have a place we can go to when we need to find extra support from other mental health “family” members. A group we can go to when we need to vent, talk, laugh, cry, share, celebrate, support, advice, etc.

The big question I need to ask myself is how I will market this group. I am slowly growing and evolving in this mental health advocate role. I plan to continue to grow and develop as best as I can. In making the above changes, I still have to get my family out of this motel and in a place.

I still have to bring in income to leave this motel room and move into our own place. I am ready to soar. With this being said, I can charge a small membership fee for the Facebook group. Of course, I believe that having a support system at your fingertips from a group of your peers is priceless. I was thinking of placing a fee on it. Not a high cost, nowhere near a high expense, just something for the time we spend behind the scene with or away from our family to invest into the group “family.”

My daughter and I will be working for the group together for those that need our assistance. She will be available to assist teenagers who need someone closer to their age who can relate to what’s going on. This is something that you’re not going to find anywhere else, and due to this fact, I believe it would be worth a membership fee since we are giving our time.

Not only am I available as needed, but she will be available as well. I will provide tips and pointers in parenting scenarios, trigger scenarios, anxiety, etc., positive quotes, inspirational messages, adult conversations, group, and 1-on-1 mental health talks once a month. These are a few of the offers that we will be offering at this time. Once we grow, the benefits will be growing.

Oh no! I did it; it is done no turning back now. No need to start panicking now. All I can do is put on my big girl bridges and move on to the net phase. That is where I need you, my Normee’s and Non-Normee’s to let me know would you be interested in becoming a part of our Facebook group family?

I am interested to see how many would be willing to pay for the membership. Please provide us your feedback by shooting an email to parentingwmentalillness@gmail.com or lifeasaparentwithmentalillness@gmail.com. I would appreciate any feedback you may have.

Due to these ideas and goals, I am unsure if I should charge for the group or leave it as a free unorganized/organized community. If I go this way, I will offer none of the above since it would require our time. We still have a store we are trying to build off the ground, and let’s be real-time isn’t free. We will not defeat homelessness, constantly giving all of our time away for free.

A stranger who tells you that time is free has a hidden agenda. I am sorry my time is valuable. I do not like to waste it. Ask my kids, and they will tell you how I will catch a whole attitude if my time was wasted by someone. This plays a big part in my thoughts, leaning towards charging a little more than not having a membership fee.

Do not get me wrong. If there is no membership fee, I will still provide inspirational quotes and offer support. This is the whole point of the group; it just won’t include everything I mentioned or with a consistency like the membership would consist of. I also have other plans, but these are things that I feel should be paid for since they do take time to execute.

I plan to keep the membership as a closed group regardless of a membership fee. I am doing this to monitor the group to make sure it can stay a safe space for all members. If we can’t feel comfortable, to be ourselves, it defeats the purpose. Imagine if it takes a village to raise a child, then how much would it take to help a mental health household or person keep on going?

I hope that everyone reading this has a blessed day, and if your day isn’t going well, I am writing into existence that your day shifts into a fruitful, joyous day. Believing your day’s energy shall shift from the negative to the positive. We got this!