Schizophrenic influencers feel abandoned by TikTok
“For Michelle Hammer — a 34-year-old schizophrenic creator from New York who has nearly 17,000 followers on her TikTok account, @Schizophrenic.NYC — sharing her experiences on social media was an impulse decision. Although Hammer was no stranger to discussing mental health online — she founded her clothing brand, Schizophrenic NYC, to raise awareness about her disorder — she hadn’t really filmed herself before.
But when she set up a security camera in her living room and captured some of her episodes, she knew she had to upload them to TikTok. “I have one of them where I’m just shoving my face with ravioli as I’m talking to myself. For a while, that was my most-viewed video,” says Hammer, who has taken medication for schizophrenia since she was diagnosed at 22.“
