Elijah Daniel's #HowImDoing trend starts mental health talk: ‘I tried to kill myself, no one noticed’
The indefinite shelter-in-place due to the pandemic has been hard on people. As the dire circumstances, caused due to coronavirus, continue to force people to remain cooped up in their homes, a significant number of them have expressed concerns over the extended lockdown taking a toll on their mental health. The 26-year-old multidimensional media personality, Elijah Daniel, took to Twitter to share his struggles with mental issues which he says have soared in the past few months.
On July 19, Daniel announced on Twitter that he was “going to rest for a few days”. On July 25, he returned to the platform to keep his fans posted about his condition and extend his support to #HowImDoing, a trend started by Twitter users to support one another through issues related to mental illness, especially during the ongoing health crisis. Daniel shared, “Miss y’all :( been on break to fully get healthy, have an appt to see if rona me organ damage. my stress & anxiety have been at an all time high, and i need to get that under control, off twitter. so I’m just focusing on work. i love you all thank u for checking in on me."
The majority of them on seeing Daniel's post started opening up about their struggles with mental issues. One expressed, "I tried to kill myself a few days ago and nobody even noticed." Another thanked him for boosting their spirit as they are worried about the world being bogged down by negativity, Daniel shared another tweet, saying, “Also remember this is temporary, we are just currently living in the worst time America’s had in a really fucking long time, and it will get better, and we will get better and do better. #HowImDoing."
Daniel also used the opportunity to call out a few influencers who are not complying with the safety measures and protocol. He wrote, “Let me make this very clear: F*CK EVERY SINGLE INFLUENCER NOT RESPECTING QUARANTINE. all of em, you are ALL incredibly selfish & disgusting for putting people at risk. you don’t care about your fans. you don’t care anything unless it gets you papz. f*ck ALL of you. #HowImDoing." Seconding Daniel’s above tweet one wrote, “There’s people dying and all they’re worried about is sucking each other off. They break quarantine rules for parties and don’t even want to protest and fight for people’s rights and justice. And people choose to stan them.”
Meanwhile, a lot of them have appreciated his gesture and emphasized on the necessity to talk about mental illnesses, supporting one another through it. “#howimdoing this thread is absolutely needed. To everyone who is sharing their story, thank you for your courage. It helps more than you think. @elijahdaniel,” tweeted one. “I’ve just be scrolling through #HowImDoing watching people vent, but then seeing folks lift each other up as well. On Twitter of all places!? I don’t know what simulation I’m in now, but I’d like to stick around here pls,” added another.