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Youtube sensation Jaclyn Hill recently responded to nasty commenters for trolling her Youtube videos with comments accusing her of being bipolar. Hill posted a screenshot of the comments on her Twitter account to show her disgust with the trolls and their speculations.
Commenters began a thread discussing and digging into Hill’s personal life, including false diagnoses about her health. One commenter stated that Hill “is a classic case of high/low,” as if a mental illness could be easily diagnosed on the basis of fitting one criteria after watching a makeup tutorial. One of the big problems with mental illness is the stigma that surrounds it and these commenters are only adding to that stigma
One of the biggest problems for those living with mental illness is the stigma that surrounds it. These commenters only perpetuate that stigma.
Hill’s reaction was a courageous, head-on approach to the situation. If people do not take a stand, these kind of comments will continue to circulate, only adding to the negative stigma surrounding mental health and bullying other creators.
With Hill saying it is “disgusting” to make someone feel mentally ill, it makes mental illness seem like a huge insult. Bipolar disorder is a very complex mental illness, one about which many people have very limited knowledge. There is much more to being bipolar than mood swings and having the illness does not have to come with such a negative connotation.
Hill was furious and probably did not have any poor intentions with her tweet but any phrasing that adds a negative connotation to the subject of mental health should be avoided. Yes, it’s negative for people to speculate, but having bipolar disorder is an illness.
Clearly, Hill’s main point is that digging into someone’s personal life and bashing it from every angle from over the internet is extremely inappropriate.
Many of her followers reached out to Hill with support and loving arms. They shared their own experience with mental health and explained that it was a subject that should not be taken lightly, giving both Hill and these negative commenters a lesson on life with mental illness.