Social media star Josh Seiter has a major milestone to be proud of. He just secured one million followers on Instagram. #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos has the scoop.
On securing this digital milestone, Seiter said, “Knowing my advocacy for mental health resonates with so many people around the world is a great feeling. I first went public with my mental health struggles in 2016, back when I only had a few hundred followers.”
“I have been raising awareness for body positivity and mental health ever since, and it’s been amazing to watch it grow to over a million people today. It hasn’t been an easy road, but seeing so many people rally around me has been humbling and beautiful,” he added.
This year was quite difficult for Seiter due to the death hoax that he was a victim of, yet he managed to stay strong despite the challenge. “Staying positive during the death hoax was hard to do,” he admitted. “The international media descended on me in a matter of hours and it was absolutely overwhelming for me. My anxiety spiked and I went through several depressive periods.”
“Thankfully, I chose to focus on my health and fitness early, and having that structure provided me with an outlet to project all of my frustrations on. It was also a great distraction. I chose to be happy despite the terrible things that were being said about me online and in the media, and it helped me stay resilient through that terrible storm,” he elaborated.
Seiter addressed his work in the mental health field. “Mental health is still in its infancy, in my opinion,” he said. “We really went from the Wild Wild West days of mental health in the early 2000s to a much more progressive approach by 2023. Despite this, there’s still so much that needs to be done in normalizing mental wellness and bringing attention to the reality that depression and anxiety are endemic.”
“My work is definitely cut out for me—and I still face some resistance online when blogging about my struggles with body image issues and depression—but overall, I think we are making great progress in this field,” he said.
Seiter shared his plans for Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. “I’m in Chicago for Christmas,” he said. “I’ll be celebrating with my mom and girlfriend. We don’t have any huge plans for New Years Eve but we may head into downtown Chicago and try to stay awake so we can countdown to midnight with other Chicagoans. As they say, when In Rome…”
When asked about his New Year’s resolutions for 2024, he responded, “What a great question. So, for this year My New Year’s resolution is to practice contentment. I think a lot of us make ourselves miserable by comparing our life to others. We become jealous and envious because of the ubiquity of images propagated by social media which creates a sort of ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ on steroids,” he said.
“I think the key to contentment is to stay off social media as much as possible, and to practice mindfulness and gratefulness for all the things we already have, while continuing to strive for realistic goals we have set for ourselves,” he added.
Regarding his goals and plans for the future, Seiter said, “For 2024, my goal is to continue blogging about body positivity and mental wellness, and to continue working on myself. I stopped competing with other people a long time ago, so I just want to strive to be better in 2024 than I was in 2023.”
“Happiness is all about showing yourself grace and mercy. We don’t need to be perfect. We don’t have to bat 1000. We just need to strive to do our best. So, if I don’t accomplish everything I’ve set out to next year, that’s more than okay. I’m ready to show myself grace,” he added.
He reflected on some of his proudest moments in 2023. “Remembering my late father by establishing a gun range in his name was at the top, as was helping my mom in her day-to-day life after his death. I also conquered my mental health and physical health through consistent exercise and am proud to say I’m in the best mental and physical shape of my life,” he said.
“Most importantly, I found peace in 2023. That’s not easy to do, but I was able to achieve it through therapy and hard work,” he added.
For his fans and supporters, he expressed, “I would like to thank all one million of my followers and supporters for listening to what I’ve had to say over the years, and for giving valuable input throughout my journey.”
“I really consider my followers family,” he admitted. “They’ve helped me through thick and thin the last six years, and I’m just so proud to count them all as my family. I love them more than they could ever know, and I’m just so humbled to be in a position to speak to so many people on a daily basis.”
Seiter concluded, “I want anyone reading this to know that no matter what you are struggling with, your now is not your forever. It is not permanent. It is just a moment in time. Whether bad or good, enjoy it. If you are in pain, know that the pain will fade, and you will experience joy and happiness again. I know because I’ve been there before. It gets better. You just have to keep going to find out.”
To learn more about Josh Seiter, follow him on Instagram.
