Psychologist Julie Smith uses visual props to explain concepts on her short-form social media videos. Photo: Instagram / drjulie
Psychologist and TikTok sensation, Britain's Dr Julie Smith breaks down complex ideas about how our mind works into simple and creative snack-size viral videos.
Her first book was the million-selling Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?
Now back with Open When, Dr Julie told Saturday Morning the title and concept of her second book was inspired by the reaction to her first smash hit.
The idea is that when you're going through a rough patch - such as "when you're dealing with difficult people or when you find out your friends aren't really your friends, or when you're overwhelmed with stress" - you can whip out this book to regain focus and help you deal with the emotions, she says.
But about a week or two before handing in the book, Smith was facing her own challenges. She was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. It prompted her to rewrite the chapter on fear.
"Anyone who sort of reads that chapter might notice that it's kind of less of the kind of gentle approach, and it probably sounds a bit more like a sports coach.
"It's sort of like: okay, here we are, we can't change the fact that fear is here, but we can use it to help us through and help us to cultivate the courage that we need to get into action, and be a part of my own rescue in this.
"It really helped. It got me making phone calls, getting second opinions, booking an appointment and things like that, which turned out to be really helpful."
She says there was a point where she thought she might be able to hold off on treatment until after the book was finished - before she gave herself a "bit of a talking to".
"I guess the reason that I sort of went public about it [the diagnosis] later on was that a) I knew I was going to be okay and that sort of thing, but also I just knew there were probably other busy working parents out there, like myself, who were tempted to put off their own health until times were easier.
"In truth, there isn't an easier time. There's always an endless list of things competing to be your priority, and so we have to force our health to the top, because if not, then we'll suffer the consequences later."
Photo: Will Bremridge
'I wasn't hanging any of my self-worth on likes or views'
Starting her social media accounts, she felt she was "swimming against the tide professionally". At the time, there was limited mental health education online and she could see youth posting about being in distress, she says.
"It turns out that everybody was really hungry for that kind of information … The questions and the curiosity was just like opening the floodgates.
"I can't change the fact that everyone's attention is on social media ... there was lots of unhelpful stuff out there that I also can't change, maybe what I could do is make a little positive corner of the internet where if someone is out there looking for something then it improves the chances that they come across something that's evidence-based and decent information.
"So I guess it's just my way of cleaning up one little corner of the internet."
She says it's been a creative challenge to unpack topics that would usually take half an hour, in just a minute.
"When you're competing against that scrolling thumb, the minute you get boring or you're off subject, people are gone. So you have to be really clear in what you're saying."
Although she had no ambitions of being a public figure as a "shy, private" person, she says the support from her professional peers has been a great compliment because that was her biggest fear - what they would think of her social media presence.
"I'm so glad that it [gaining attention] happened to me slightly later in life, where I already had a good marriage, children, a career that I loved, because it meant that I wasn't hanging any of my self-worth on likes or views in any sense, actually having views was more uncomfortable for me than reinforcing, so that really helped me not to kind of buy into this idea that it meant anything about me."
'Huge dilemma' for parents
As a mother herself, Smith says she understands it's hard for parents to navigate questions around when they should buy a phone for their children or let them on social media.
"There's this huge dilemma where you don't want your child to be left out. You don't want them to be rejected at school because they're the only one that doesn't have this thing. Yet you also, as a parent, recognise that you don't really want them to have it, and you would much prefer them not to.
"I think that's where things like legislation that's really clear and evidence-based can just really help parents to navigate it and set clear rules.
"Even though social media say they have these rules, I know there are lots of kids on social media that are way younger than they should be."
While social media comes with risks that children do need to be educated about, it's also provided a platform and empowered people to talk about mental health, she says.
"People are now talking about it in schools and adding bits of education in and stuff like that, whereas before it was almost the unspeakable, now people are sort of able to have that conversation a bit more.
"That's the power [of] social media. It can have huge benefits, but again … we have to use it in the best way possible, so that we're reaping the benefits but protecting people from the downside."
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