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ONE TEENAGER who has made an online video series to raise awareness about mental health issues has ‘gone viral’.
Over a million people have now watched Elle Brewster’s shorts which shed light on a range of psychological issues affecting young people and adults.
She covers topics such as suicide and depression, bullying, and body image concerns, using TikTok, the Chinese video sharing app.
The 17-year-old, who suffers from anxiety and OCD, said: “I want to make people feel that they are not alone in some of these circumstances.
“It’s difficult because I’m still struggling and if I post a video I won’t watch it for a day or two.
“I hate the sound of my own voice so it’s hard, but I want to help other people.
“I want to reach those who are in difficulty and it is not only young girls but also adults. ”
His recent film on depression has been viewed over 250,000 times while more than a million people have viewed his video on OCD.
She, from Meadowfield, said: “Some people don’t get it, but there was a recent one where people say it really helped them.”
She, who lives with her mother, Emma, ​​is studying for a BTEC level 3 in health and social services at St Leonard’s School in Durham and hopes to become a mental health nurse.
She said: “My most recent was about body image and how people feel the need to fit in.
“You have girls on Instagram who did all the editing and all the fills, the surgery and the makeup.
“Some people think it’s real and it really isn’t.
“Kids start being bullied when they’re younger because they don’t have certain things like clothes or new phones, but you don’t need those things to fit in. ”
One of Elle’s recent powerful films features clips of her pretending to be happy while internally contemplating suicide and trying to overdose.
She said: “I was struggling and was suicidal at one point.
“I still have suicidal thoughts.
“I made the video to express how I was feeling with everything that was going on.
“I wanted to open people’s eyes to the fact that you can’t be mean to people or say the wrong thing.
“You have to think about what you tell people.
“You might not think you are hurting them, but you are.”
She, on the right, with her mother, Emma
Elle’s mother, who is currently being treated for stage 2 breast cancer, is supporting her awareness campaign ahead of World Mental Health Day on Sunday.
Read more: Support for the family after the death of the father of five
This year’s theme is Mental Health in an Unequal World.
Emma, ​​37, said: “She has been diagnosed with mental health issues and is keen to raise awareness.
“She would like to become a mental health nurse when she is older and wants to go to university.
“Some of his videos have gone viral.
“There were people who said she was just looking for attention, but she wasn’t.
“She just wants to help people who are like her.”
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