Thanks, Gina. It’s always difficult putting yourself out there, and the negative feedback always seems to stick because it cuts so personally. It becomes a lesson in itself to learn how to dismiss it.

Thanks, Elizabeth!

I had a personal article published on an international news site last year. I wrote it knowing there would be people who could relate to the emotions I had experienced and might benefit from having these validated.
In rolled the trolls, slashing my validity and burning my honesty.
It was as simple as me saying “I feel sad” and trolls saying “you f#$king selfish b#$ch, you have no right to be sad”.
Feelings are never wrong. I knew I wrote with noble intentions, even so, the abusive venom was so demoralising and upsetting, I gave up reading any comments at all. This means I missed positive feedback too. The news site removed the worst of the troll comments. In the end, a friend read the comments to me, censoring the bad guys.

I don’t consider myself a delicate petal. I’m pretty thick skinned. And yet,the trolls made me question whether publishing anything on the Internet was worth it. See? I nearly fell into their trap.

It’s why your blog is great.

It helps to rationalise these irrational slime bags hiding behind their putrid egos.

Fore warned is fore armed. There will always be faceless trolls. There will always be writers writing and rising above them. The perfect position from which to spit on these Internet terrorists.

Sticks and stones…