Catieosaurus, ADHD TikTok, and the Rise of Mental Health Self-Advocacy

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lking much more about their own mental health struggles, which has brought significant attention to the issue. On the other hand, Catieosaurus (as best as I can tell) has risen to prominence largely in 2021, having built her viewership over the past twelve months or so.</p><p id="6c0a">Mental illness and neurodivergence are hot topics, particularly among younger people who are more likely to talk openly about it. And, as we enter our third year of COVID, the momentum continues to grow. The general public is becoming more aware of just how many people live with mental illness — general estimates are that roughly 20–25% of people cope with mental illness in any given year.</p><p id="814e">Let’s use the lower estimate for the sake of argument. That’s one in five people. Think of five people you know and love. Statistically, one of them is coping with mental illness. Think of how many people work at your job. Do you work with 20 people? Four of them are coping right now. Work in an office complex with 10,000 people? That’s 2,000 people who are living with mental illness right now. Live in a metro area with a million people? There are 200,000 of them doing their best to cope with their illness.</p><p id="c93c">My partner, who was initially diagnosed with ADHD in school, wasn’t given any advice for how to cope — she was just given pills to take for it. Now, as she watches creators on TikTok and elsewhere describe their symptoms — which she lives every day — she sees parts of herself in them. And, as they describe their practical ways of coping with those symptoms, she has found new ways to manage her own symptoms. Not every suggestion works, but everyone has different experiences, and plenty of the methods do.</p><p id="2e19">As those of us who live with mental illnesses and neurodivergence have started speaking up in larger numbers, I am optimistic that things will change for the better. People will see these creators and realize “I’m not alone!” Many will realize that things they’ve dealt with their whole lives — things that they thought were just quirks — are symptoms that we can describe and diagnose. And, as they name their diagnoses, they can start managing their symptoms much better, whether through medication or healthy coping mechanisms and self-care.</p><p id="db95">And, as more people gain that perspective, some of them will stand up with us as advocates. The more of us there are, the more of us will speak, and as more of us speak, more people will listen. Catieosaurus gained 1.4 million followers in a year by making relatable content. People saw her describe her symptoms and said “oh, that’s me!” and spread the word. I have little doubt that she’s inspired many others to talk about their own neurodivergence, which in turn encourages others to do the same.</p><p id="0c8f">I believe that we are at a turning point around neurodivergence and mental illness. More and more of us are realizing that mental illness and neurodivergence are much more common than many people knew. And, as mental health becomes less taboo and neurodivergence becomes more common parlance, more of us are speaking up about our experiences.</p><p id="350b">We have started to rea

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lize that there are a lot of us out there who live with mental illness and neurodivergence and that we encounter people every day who can relate. And, now that our experiences are becoming much more well-known, more and more of us are standing up and speaking out. We will not let our experiences be swept under the rug any longer, and the world will be better for it.</p><p id="3402">If you are interested in watching Catieosaurus, you can find her <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@catieosaurus">here</a>.</p><p id="3895">If you liked this, please subscribe to my publication, Thing a Day. I publish something every day on a variety of topics, so you never know what you’re going to see!</p><div id="5f64" class="link-block"> <a href="https://medium.com/thing-a-day"> <div> <div> <h2>Thing a Day</h2> <div><h3>In which I write one thing each day.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*eDMwsybTKAuurmHy6-tfoA.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="11bf">Here are some other things I’ve written:</p><div id="6192" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-cope-with-burnout-when-youre-too-burnt-out-to-co-fe2e84f35834"> <div> <div> <h2>How to Cope With Burnout When You’re Too Burnt Out to Co</h2> <div><h3>All the coping strategies in the world can’t help when you don’t want to do them.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*bRNooKaDg7kL-fz2)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="4764" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-self-medicate-your-mental-illness-8e4327fc4b73"> <div> <div> <h2>How To Self-Medicate Your Mental Illness</h2> <div><h3>How I self-medicate with coffee and other ways to self-medicate.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*Io0M4stHCP-_rPyD)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="47fb" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/un-helpful-tips-for-dealing-with-depression-9cd33c08efa9"> <div> <div> <h2>(Un)Helpful Tips for Dealing with Depression</h2> <div><h3>For when you’re sick of hearing “have you tried eating right and exercising?”</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*SPqduKMT2TMaKfMZ)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

When those with mental illness start speaking for themselves, everyone benefits.

My partner has recently gotten into TikTok, as many people have during the pandemic. She watches a lot of different channels — everything from food and tea channels to social justice channels. There’s a lot of options for anyone to find something they’re interested in.

One of her favorite channels is a young woman who goes by Catieosaurus. She is, in her words, a “performer, accidental ADHD advocate, and Certified [sex] educator.” As of this writing, she has 1.4 million followers on TikTok.

Catieosaurus makes videos about a variety of topics, but many of them relate to living and coping with ADHD. She is funny, frank, and straightforward in her presentation, laying out exactly what it feels like to live with ADHD and other neurodivergence; she also gives practical advice on ways to cope with the symptoms and realities of living with ADHD.

She is not the only ADHD-related TikTok channel, but she is one of the most prominent. Honestly, my partner has shown me several ADHD channels she follows, and they all feel very relatable. As someone who has dealt with neurodivergence for pretty much my whole life and who is married to someone similar, we can both relate to the brutal honesty that comes from these creators.

As someone who advocates for neurodivergent people — whether it’s myself, my friends and family, or just anyone who might be struggling — I am honestly in awe over how much it has exploded lately. I am also glad that there are people like Catieosaurus who can say something in a clear, concise, and understandable way in a 90-second video. I’m lucky if I can keep my writing on mental health under 1,000 words.

I have been open about my bipolar for a few years now, and I’ve been an advocate on a few platforms. Whether it’s my writing on the subject, presentations on behalf of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or simply one-on-one conversations, I am proud to stand up and speak about my bipolar.

As we are approaching the second anniversary of the advent of COVID-19, mental health has become a much more prominent issue in the public consciousness. Depression and anxiety spiked during the initial few months of lockdown, and as more public figures started talking about their mental health struggles, more of us non-famous folks started talking about it too.

This has led to people all over the place either using their existing platforms to talk about mental health or, in many cases, building their own platforms through the sheer popularity of the topic. Large YouTubers, such as Markiplier, have begun talking much more about their own mental health struggles, which has brought significant attention to the issue. On the other hand, Catieosaurus (as best as I can tell) has risen to prominence largely in 2021, having built her viewership over the past twelve months or so.

Mental illness and neurodivergence are hot topics, particularly among younger people who are more likely to talk openly about it. And, as we enter our third year of COVID, the momentum continues to grow. The general public is becoming more aware of just how many people live with mental illness — general estimates are that roughly 20–25% of people cope with mental illness in any given year.

Let’s use the lower estimate for the sake of argument. That’s one in five people. Think of five people you know and love. Statistically, one of them is coping with mental illness. Think of how many people work at your job. Do you work with 20 people? Four of them are coping right now. Work in an office complex with 10,000 people? That’s 2,000 people who are living with mental illness right now. Live in a metro area with a million people? There are 200,000 of them doing their best to cope with their illness.

My partner, who was initially diagnosed with ADHD in school, wasn’t given any advice for how to cope — she was just given pills to take for it. Now, as she watches creators on TikTok and elsewhere describe their symptoms — which she lives every day — she sees parts of herself in them. And, as they describe their practical ways of coping with those symptoms, she has found new ways to manage her own symptoms. Not every suggestion works, but everyone has different experiences, and plenty of the methods do.

As those of us who live with mental illnesses and neurodivergence have started speaking up in larger numbers, I am optimistic that things will change for the better. People will see these creators and realize “I’m not alone!” Many will realize that things they’ve dealt with their whole lives — things that they thought were just quirks — are symptoms that we can describe and diagnose. And, as they name their diagnoses, they can start managing their symptoms much better, whether through medication or healthy coping mechanisms and self-care.

And, as more people gain that perspective, some of them will stand up with us as advocates. The more of us there are, the more of us will speak, and as more of us speak, more people will listen. Catieosaurus gained 1.4 million followers in a year by making relatable content. People saw her describe her symptoms and said “oh, that’s me!” and spread the word. I have little doubt that she’s inspired many others to talk about their own neurodivergence, which in turn encourages others to do the same.

I believe that we are at a turning point around neurodivergence and mental illness. More and more of us are realizing that mental illness and neurodivergence are much more common than many people knew. And, as mental health becomes less taboo and neurodivergence becomes more common parlance, more of us are speaking up about our experiences.

We have started to realize that there are a lot of us out there who live with mental illness and neurodivergence and that we encounter people every day who can relate. And, now that our experiences are becoming much more well-known, more and more of us are standing up and speaking out. We will not let our experiences be swept under the rug any longer, and the world will be better for it.

If you are interested in watching Catieosaurus, you can find her here.

If you liked this, please subscribe to my publication, Thing a Day. I publish something every day on a variety of topics, so you never know what you’re going to see!

Here are some other things I’ve written: