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Mental health is an issue that is at the center of social debate, especially after the pandemic.
One in four people will suffer from a mental illness in 2024, and 800,000 people will commit suicide in 2023, according to the Spanish Confederation of Mental Health.
But it is not just the data that helps raise awareness among mortals.
Elmo, the most famous red puppet from
Sesame Street,
has also done it.
Good old Elmo, who has more than 524,000 followers on
And all he had to do was ask: “Elmo is here!
How is everyone?” He sent a message on said social network.
To the surprise of many, people began to express their negative feelings and emotions.
“My wife left me.
My daughters don't respect me.
My job is a joke... Any more questions, Elmo?” one user vented.
“The world is burning around us,” wrote another.
Some painted their situations even worse: “Every morning all I want is to go back to sleep.
On Mondays I can't wait for Friday to arrive.
And so, every day and every week of my life.”
Another stated: “Elmo, I'm going to be real, I'm at my fucking limit,” whose response has generated more than half a million
likes
.
Even actress Rachel Zegler (
West Side Story
,
Shazam
) confessed that she was “resisting the temptation to tell Elmo that I'm a little sad.”
More than 16,000 users of the social network have shown their melancholy by responding to Elmo's
tweet
, which has accumulated 194 million impressions since he published it on Monday, January 29.
Within hours of the barrage of responses,
Sesame Street
's official X account shared a follow-up
post
to redirect users to mental health resources.
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The number of responses, mostly negative, has been seen as a worrying situation by many.
As one user wanted to point out: “Even
Sesame Street
had to tweet mental health resources.
God help us".
Even the president of the United States, Joe Biden, wanted to demonstrate his concern with a message on the social network: “I know how difficult it is some days to sweep away the clouds and reach sunnier days.
Our friend Elmo is right: we have to be there for each other, offer our help to others in need and, above all, ask for help when we need it.
Even if it is difficult, you are never alone.”
After two days of receiving messages, Elmo spoke again: “Wow!
Elmo is glad he asked!
Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing.
Elmo will ask again soon, friends!
Elmo loves you.
#EmotionalWellbeing”.
Elmo is just checking in!
How is everyone doing?
— Elmo (@elmo) January 29, 2024
Other members of the Sesame Street
gang
have echoed the barrage of responses and have intervened in the matter, also offering their ears to whoever needs to be heard.
Cookie Monster, the Caponata Hen and Mr. Snuffy wanted to publicly thank Elmo for being a good friend.
“I'm here to talk whenever you want.
I will also provide you with cookies,” the blue puppet responded to Elmo.
“I love being a Snuffleupagus because I have huge ears made to listen to you share your feelings,” the huge animal answered.
Although not everyone was so kind, although due to the character's demands: “I'm not very good at listening to others share their big feelings, but my worm Slimey is.
You should talk to him if you ever need to chat,” he stated on his X Oscar the Grouch account.
I'm here to talk it out whenever you want.
I will also supply cookies.
💙🍪 #EmotionalWellBeing https://t.co/LLF7MzmouY
— Cookie Monster (@MeCookieMonster) January 30, 2024
With the
hashtag
#EmotionalWellness, Elmo has started a campaign of comfort and positivity and has gotten all his friends to join together to raise awareness about the importance of having good mental health.
This is not the first time that the
Sesame Street
characters have come together to raise awareness among children about an issue that affects society.
In 2021, President Biden asked Gallina Caponata, one of the main protagonists of the program, to encourage children and young people to get vaccinated against covid-19.
“I was vaccinated today.
My wings hurt.
But I will give my body a boost of additional protection that will keep me and others safe,” the animal stated that year on his social networks.