These youngsters on Instagram dole out advice from exams to mental health

Imagine a nineyearold worried because she is overweight contemplating suicide Where would she go Who would she tell She doesnt think her parents would understand and her friends have their own problems Who does she turn to Of course its Instagram and her favourite Instagrammer Mumbai girl Prajakta Koli aka MostlySane her handle on Instagram and YouTubeWhen I saw that message saying that she was contemplating suicide because she was fat a chill went down my spine especially because it was two days old So who knows what had happened by then says the 25yearold hugely popular for her funny sliceoflife videos But Koli knew she couldnt handle this by herself and so her team at One Digital Entertainment got in touch with the childs parents She never wrote to me again Perhaps she felt I had betrayed her in some way but I couldnt have ignored her message and not done what I didAranya JoharYoung and wiseBut the nineyearold isnt the only one Koli who has more than 2 million subscribers on YouTube and 675k followers on Instagram continues to get messages from followers in need of either advice or a shoulder to cry on Her posts are heartfelt videos about lifes important difficulties why its important to cry or how to deal with bullying She is also one of the newage Instagram therapists for the thousands of teens whose everyday trials range from school and college woes peer pressure body gender and relationship issues to mental health concerns like anxiety depression and suicidal thoughtsIndias young Instagrammers themselves vocal about their problems make themselves relatable to their followers They address the fans issues through their posts live streams where they take questions YouTube channel and also private messages So I get problems that go from what stream I should take in college to I might kill myself today says 19yearold spoken word poet Aranya Johar who talks heartbreak gender consent body positivity with her 762k teenage followers on Instagram Even though Johar says she recommends that each of her followers seek professional therapy she herself goes to a therapist fortnightly there are many youngsters who are now choosing to find quasi therapists in their online idols Its key to show them not just the highlights of your life but also the bad days when you yourself are going through depression and anxiety Its important to make them believe this too shall pass and that they have to believe in themselves If I can get through it so can they says Mumbaibased JoharFor Koli its less about giving advice and more about telling a story I usually talk about it from a very personal point of view I say this is what I did on my first day in college or this is how I got over my heartbreak If I dont have an answer I ask people around me who usually are older to help me arrive at a few answersAjey Nagar also known as CarryMinatiGetting professionalA while ago Johar undertook an online course on a portal called 7 Cups which provides free therapy and counselling for people in distress and became a certified listener Johar who felt the course would help her help others better says It taught me many things mdash especially that you have to let people come to their own decisions You have to just break it down for them mdash why do you feel like this Have you talked to your parents When the layers are exposed they are better equipped to take those decisions On days I am suffering with anxiety I send them a list of therapists they can reach out to for free Like her Faridabad boy Ajey Nagar also known as CarryMinati on social media knows when to direct his followers to professional helpFor the 19yearold giving advice comes easy because he himself was once an insecure teenager who now knows he is special I think they relate to me because I grew up thinking I was very ordinary but now I know I can be special Its all about working hard and thats what I tell my followers says Nagar who has 750k followers on Instagram and 38 million subscribers on YouTube They look up to me because I create content they can relate to and then when they ask me questions I can give an answer because I myself am going through it But when someone says they are thinking of suicide I recommend they get professional help because I cant help with thatRajat Sharma of The Rajat CodeTalking mental healthWhat these young influencers are doing is opening up a conversation on a topic most shove under the carpet For Rajat Sharma 24 known as The Rajat Code on social media the diktat to live by is be the best happiest and happiest version of yourself and he himself took a month off recently as he wanted to work on his mental health because he found it suffering because of overwhelming amounts of work I didnt put up any videos and later I did a live stream telling everyone that their mental health was important and they needed to prioritise it and talk about it even if its taboo I say dont let talk affect you as you cant change the world You can wear slippers but you cant carpet the whole world he saysIts the constant talking about it that has helped cement these youngsters reputation as the hip therapists of the online world As they say they are just sharing their growing pains with the world and its starting a conversation As Sharma says Talking about it always makes it better When I feel bad I talk about it and when they feel bad they talk about it and together we all feel better Its a winwin situationCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates