Jacksepticeye, one of YouTube’s most popular and beloved creators, is taking a short break from uploading daily videos, citing mental health concerns and burnout.
In the video, which was published on July 11, Jacksepticeye, whose real name is Sean McLoughlin, addressed recent struggles and unhappiness with his work lately, as well as burnout that other creators have experienced, as parts of why he’s taking a few days off from the platform. McLoughlin said that his mental health issues, combined with an upcoming two-month trip to Los Angeles, seemed like the perfect reason to take time away from creating videos and refocus on himself.
“My mental health has not been in the best place recently,” McLoughlin said. “So the reason I’ve been taking more time off is because I have to. I need to take the time off to get my brain back in order, to just get that energy and that motivation back, to record the videos. I could have forced myself through it, to try and make videos from when it’s done, but it’s not worth it.”
McLoughlin stressed he’s not taking more than a few days off, promising his fans he’ll continue to upload videos while he’s out in Los Angeles. These few days off, however, will mark the first time in four to five years that he hasn’t uploaded a video every single day, according to the video. McLoughlin admited that trying to upload a video every day led to less than ideal work conditions, including isolating himself for weeks at a time.
“There’s times when I don’t leave my house,” McLoughlin said. “For the last two weeks, I don’t think I’ve left my house at all to go do anything. I don’t really like doing that, and it gets to you after a while. Doing the same videos over and over again kind of weighs you down.”
Other popular creators, like Shane Dawson, have reached out to McLoughlin following his video to thank him for speaking about issues that affect the community at large.
“Watching your video about ‘taking a break’ and I loved it so much,” Dawson tweeted. “It’s so good to see another youtuber talking about that cause I feel the same way. you are such a sweet caring guy and I loved this video.”
The more people come forward to talk about issues like burnout, McLoughlin explained, the more honest the conversation can become. Having creators reach out and talk about the mental stress that comes with working seven days a week, and isolating themselves to focus on creating videos, can help other people going through similar issues feel less alone.
“Just not being able to talk about these things is a hard thing to go through as well, cause you know how honest and transparent I try to be,” McLoughlin said. “But sometimes there’s stuff that you can’t talk about, so that’s kind of been weighing on me as well. So I just need a little bit of time to find that motivation and energy and I’ll be back stronger than ever. I’m not quitting YouTube. I love YouTube.”
McLoughlin is one of several other creators, like Elle Mills and elrubiusOMG, to talk about mental health issues. More and more creators have come forward with stories about burnout or dealing with mental health issues. Creators only take a couple of days away before jumping back into the grind, with some creators citing YouTube’s algorithm as an issue. The longer they’re away from the platform, the less likely it is that YouTube will promote their content. With more than a billion people on YouTube and 450 hours of content uploaded every minute, the competition to stay seen and relevant is extremely high. McLoughlin doesn’t mention the algorithm in his video, but other creators discuss it, like in the video below.
YouTube has acknowledged that creator burnout is a serious issue on the platform, launching a new course in its Creator Academy program to help educate people on tips to avoid burnout and participating in ongoing discussions with creators to talk about mental health.
