Two Unwell Minds Think Alike: The Effects of Mental Illness Support on YouTube

Before the evolution and growth of the Internet, there were very limited sources of information and understanding on mental illness. This led to negative stigmas and confusion about such illnesses. Now, the Internet has provided people from all over the world a way to connect, communicate, and learn. Through this connectivity, people from every kind of background, particularly sufferers of mental illnesses, can find others who are experiencing similar situations. The studies that will be considered are about people self-represented online as having schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or autism. When people discuss their illnesses through online video, peer support is given from the video creator and commenters. Discussions are created, coping techniques are shared, experiences about mental health care are given, and a means of feasible communication is possible, whereas before it would not be possible in the offline world. When sufferers of mental illnesses create and post videos about their illnesses on YouTube, their valuable knowledge, through personal experiences with those illnesses, creates a sense of support through the online medium.


 

Research

The Sharing of Experiences and Coping Techniques

ihaveschizsophrenia1
IhaveSchizophrenia1

I have found a couple of articles that support my argument. In the first article, the positive effects of mental illness peer support through online videos are discussed. The authors argue that the video medium of YouTube, although often unstructured, acts as a podium for individuals, offering support to others that may be struggling in similar situations. The authors also contemplate the pros and cons of these individuals being so open about their experiences and communicating with other users of YouTube. The authors make their point through exercising techniques in online ethnography. They studied 3,044 comments on 19 videos uploaded by video creators, who recognize themselves as having schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder (Nadlund, Grande, Aschbrenner, &Elwyn, 2014). Four reoccurring themes were recognized in the videos and the comments: offering a sense of comfort and optimism, finding support through relevant discussions, sharing techniques for managing the daily struggles of mental illness, and learning through peer experiences about medications and seeking mental health care (Nadlund, Grande, Aschbrenner, &Elwyn, 2014). These themes support the argument of mental illness support naturally occurring through posting videos online. The positive effects outweigh the possibly negative effects that may come with posting self-disclosed videos and comments online.

A Means of Feasible Communication

mattylikesrainbows
Mattylikesrainbows

The last article that supports my point covers the topic of autistic people posting videos about their experiences and the effects on the individual and the audience. Through media platforms such as YouTube, people with autism are given a voice to support and spread a realistic awareness about the illness. With this new voice, autism can be represented in an optimistic and empowering way. The knowledge of this illness through personal experiences versus scientific and medical knowledge has an insurmountable value, which is the main consideration for this article (Brownlow, O’Dell, & Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, 2013). Self-representation through YouTube and other Internet technologies arguably offer an important tool for sharing experiences and understanding that, before, would have been impossible. Several researchers have performed studies on this topic relating to autism. Researchers theorize a connection between a person’s choice of self-expression, and understanding oneself and actions (Brownlow, O’Dell, & Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, 2013).In addition, studying the correlations between online and offline interactions can provide understanding of how these relate to each other (Brownlow, O’Dell, & Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, 2013). These considerations reverberate the works of other researchers who studied how the Internet could be used by disabled people as a means to surpass their physical bodies (Brownlow, O’Dell, & Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, 2013). In other words, online platforms, such as YouTube, can give a means to express oneself in a way that a person wants to be seen and not in the way that others want to see that person (Brownlow, O’Dell, & Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, 2013).

In conclusion, when sufferers of mental illnesses create and post videos about their illnesses on YouTube, their valuable knowledge, through personal experiences with those illnesses, creates a sense of support through the online medium. The Internet and social media platforms have also provided a feasible way to communicate that would otherwise be very difficult  or impossible in the offline world.


 

Discussion

1. Have you ever found peer support through sharing or viewing online content?

2. Has peer support through the Internet or social media benefited you in any way? How?


The Effects of Mental Illness Support on YouTube

References

Brownlow, C., O’Dell, L., & Rosqvist, H. B. (2013). COMMENTARY: Challenging Representations of Autism –Exploring Possibilities for Broadcasting the Self on YouTube. Journal On Developmental Disabilities, 19(1), 90-95.

Naslund, J. A., Grande, S. W., Aschbrenner, K. A., & Elwyn, G. (2014). Naturally Occurring Peer Support through Social Media: The Experiences of Individuals with Severe Mental Illness Using YouTube. Plos ONE, 9(10), 1-9. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110171.


Related Videos To Watch

AustismAssociationS’s channel. “My Autism and Me.” Perf. N.p., 30 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 July 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejpWWP1HNGQ>.

IhaveSchizophrenia1. “Schizophrenic on a Bad Day.” Perf.  N.p., 13 Apr. 2013. Web. 20 July 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LCtV1_TgiM>.

Mattylikesrainbows. “I have autism.” Perf. N.p., 19 Sep. 2014. Web. 20 July 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll9FRZGML2Y>.

 

 

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  1. Just wondering how you made the cover picture and who the YouTuber with the pink hair is ?

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