Jake Paul defends tweet about anxiety after facing backlash: 'It's now spreading more awareness'
Jake Paul has defended himself against criticism after facing backlash over a tweet he wrote about anxiety being "created by you".
On Monday, the YouTube star tweeted: “Remember anxiety is created by you. Sometimes you gotta let life play out and remind yourself to be happy and that the answers will come.”
“Chill your mind out. Go for a walk. Talk to a friend,” the 23-year-old advised his more than 3.7m followers in the since-deleted tweet.
In response to the advice, many people accused Paul of diminishing mental health issues by telling those who suffer with anxiety to simply “go for a walk”.
“This is actually really harmful,” one person responded to the social media star. “Anxiety can be incredibly physical as well as mental. Mental illness is not the fault of the sufferer.
"Just stop having anxiety" -jake paul pic.twitter.com/8gNieApz68
— Avery (@dunkpig)
“Please delete this, you are doing actual harm to your followers who very well may need to be seeking professional help for their problems.”
Another said: “Words by someone who doesn’t understand how crippling anxiety can be.”
Yeah that’s cool and all Jake Paul, but living with a medically diagnosed anxiety disorder cannot be cured simply by reminding yourself to be happy or smiling more. It’s a medical condition, not just a bad day or week. pic.twitter.com/inhosG3Qkm
— Jen🌻 (@itsjenniferbell)
Damn Jake Paul deleted his tweet guess I have anxiety again :(
— mitchy collins (@MitchyCollins)
since jake paul tweeted anxiety is made up my anxiety has been cured i can’t believe his power
— 2020 Predictions (@2020predicts)
Following the criticism, Paul defended himself on Twitter by suggesting that his initial tweet was helping people because it raised “awareness” of anxiety.
everyone clowning my tweet but it’s now spreading more awareness about anxiety which i didn’t even know was a thing till I was 18 but had it my whole life & never knew how to deal with it🤷🏼♂️
if u think u have it or wanna deal with it try reading this👇🏼https://t.co/orknebThfw— Jake Paul (@jakepaul)
“Everyone clowning on my tweet but it’s now spreading more awareness about anxiety which I didn’t even know was a thing till I was 18 but had it my whole life and never knew how to deal with it,” Paul wrote.
He continued: “If you think you have it or wanna deal with it try reading this,” adding a link to a HealthLine article about 11 methods for coping with anxiety.
Despite attempting to clarify his reasoning, the YouTuber was also urged to delete that tweet as well.
nobody is 'clowning' on your tweet
your tweet is dangerous to your young impressionable audience. anxiety is bad enough as it is, but now you're trying to make it seem like its our fault that we feel anxious.
it's just so invalidating and shortsighted.
You should delete it.— ♡♪!? (@SkyWilliams)
The only clown here is you. Your tweet was dangerous, ignorant and just wrong. If you want to be advocating for mental health educate yourself instead of spewing garbage on the internet.
— NICOL CONCILIO (@nicolconcilio)
“Nobody is ‘clowning’ on your tweet,” one person responded. “Your tweet is dangerous to your young impressionable audience. Anxiety is bad enough as it is, but now you’re trying to make it seem like it’s our fault that we feel anxious.
“It’s just so invalidating and shortsighted. You should delete it.”