Months after his disappearance, TikToker Christopher Rooney — generally known as “Uncle Chris” to his hundreds of thousands of followers — is opening up about his manic episode in hopes of utilizing his platform to boost consciousness about psychological well being.

Rooney, 26, rose to prominence in 2020 with the TikTok account theyeetbaby, which options comedic movies of him along with his niece and nephew. Since then, they’ve grown a fan base of 5.7 million followers.

But in July, the Richmond, Virginia-based creator made headlines after he went lacking for 9 days, alarming a lot of his followers. He later checked into an inpatient program at a psychological well being facility. Doctors recognized him with bipolar I dysfunction. This week, he publicly addressed what happened in full. 

“Here is the story about how I went missing and ended up in the psych ward for 17 days,” he mentioned in a TikTok video uploaded Tuesday, which has since obtained greater than 5 million views and an outpouring of supportive feedback.

Rooney will not be the primary creator to get candid about his psychological well being struggles — however he hopes going public along with his expertise will encourage his followers to study and share extra details about bipolar I. He mentioned some followers discovered what a manic episode was by means of his journey.

The expertise has additionally allowed him to be extra “himself,” after primarily being generally known as healthful “Uncle Chris” on-line.

“I still want to keep going on with our Yeet Baby page and everything,” Rooney mentioned in an interview with NBC News this week. “But now I see that my posts can help people if their family members or they are going through something themselves. So I definitely want to continue on this road and spread awareness and help in any way I can in the mental health world.”

Bipolar I dysfunction is characterised by extended manic episodes or extreme manic signs — described as “extremely ‘up,’ elated, irritable, or energized behavior” — that require fast medical consideration, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. 

Rooney mentioned docs instructed him that his manic episode had been induced by trauma he had not too long ago skilled in his private life. He had been struggling after he and his spouse, a creator who’s now personal on TikTok, suffered two miscarriages and determined to break up. 

He mentioned he was manic for round 30 days, throughout which he went “off the rails” at a on line casino, donated $20,000 to baby trafficking organizations after watching the film “Sound of Freedom” and destroyed all of his belongings. Eventually, he went on a drive and threw objects out of his automotive to attempt to get the eye of cops.

“I basically was begging for help. I knew something was wrong,” he mentioned.

During this time, Rooney posted a number of movies, which prompted hypothesis about his marriage from followers. He mentioned folks have been making assumptions that others began to consider, which exacerbated his psychological state.

“There’s multiple perspectives given that were just completely false about what’s going on in my personal life, and it’s frustrating to see,” he mentioned. 

The movies confirmed a unique aspect of Rooney that followers didn’t anticipate. He hadn’t shared lots about his private life prior to now.

“I had and have a life outside of [theyeetbaby],” he mentioned. “I never really showed it before. That was a big thing. They’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, casino and drinking.’ I’m like, ‘I hate to break it to you guys. I get to stay here for free because I’ve done this before.’”

After three years as a creator, he mentioned he’s principally unbothered by feedback from followers. He simply wished folks understood that “no one knows what anyone’s going through.”

Now, Rooney mentioned that he appears like he can share a bit extra of himself and his persona on-line. As he’s been posting movies about his expertise, signs and restoration, followers have left encouraging messages. 

“Your heart is always in the right place Chris. Wishing you the best and happy to see you are doing so well,” one commenter wrote. 

“You have no idea how much you are helping people. Mental health is important and YOU are important,” one other wrote. 

Rooney has since began an intensive outpatient program. He mentioned he’s been “getting [his] stuff together” as he’s been treating his bipolar I. He’s additionally engaged on launching a podcast with a good friend quickly, which is able to contact on psychological well being points. 

And, he reassured followers, he nonetheless hangs out along with his niece and nephew — it’s simply been principally offline. 

“There’s so many options of what I can do moving forward and that’s a freeing feeling,” he mentioned. “It’s a little scary, because I gotta figure what I want to do out. … I just feel like I can be more of myself.”