The YouTuber — and brother of the slightly more infamous Logan — has had a lot on his plate. From his promotion of fickle "mystery boxes" to his mystifying pseudo-marriage to Tana Mongeau and an unfortunate instance of leaked n-word usage, it's expected that Paul would experience some degree of anxiety. His coping mechanisms, you ask? Chilling his mind out, of course.
In a now-deleted tweet, Paul once generously gave us peasants a free therapy session: "Remember anxiety is created by you," the unlicensed professional wrote. "Sometimes you gotta let life play out and remind yourself to be happy & that the answers will come. Chill your mind out. Go for a walk. Talk to a friend." Thank you, Jake, for curing my anxiety disorder.
As is the case with much of his behavior, Paul received a lot of well-deserved backlash for the tweet. This is a classic example of mistaking anxiety for just a nervous, antsy mood, ignorant to the severity of panic and anxiety disorders.
Paul isn't alone in spreading these falsehoods, but it's especially dangerous considering his young, impressionable fanbase. Paul has never admitted to being diagnosed with anxiety disorders; regardless, he absolutely isn't qualified to be giving advice on how to deal with anxiety. It perpetuates the harmful narrative that people with diagnosed anxiety disorders are overreacting.
So in response, Paul clarified. "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," he added, linking to an article with tips to cope (that thankfully does mention diagnosed disorders).
Surely Paul meant no harm, but his ignorance is aggravating and damaging. In the one-in-a-million chance that Paul himself reads this: I hope you learn the key differences between fleeting anxious moods and diagnosed mental illnesses. Or, just pay for my therapy and SSRIs, you coward.