Today, 19-year-old Karim Pina is in an elite club of Twitter accounts that boasts having over 100,000 followers. Very few people ever reach this many followers on Twitter, which makes what Karim has achieved quite impressive. It took Karim nine years to reach the coveted 100K followers he now enjoys.
Being on a social media platform like Twitter has been helpful in improving his mental health. The reason he struggled mentally was due to his physical health being problematic ever since he was 10 years old. Karim was in and out of hospitals throughout his childhood. He was diagnosed with not only one, but two highly rare illnesses, as well as a third that was less rare, yet still causing him a great deal of pain.
Life has not been easy for Karim. Yet, he has already been someone who looked for opportunities. Just because he could do something didn’t mean there wasn’t anything he could do. Maintaining an active presence on Twitter and amassing 100K followers is one of those.
Karim started his Twitter journey back in 2010. Initially, this was to be a way for him to stay connected with his friends and have a bit of fun. Given the rare illnesses he suffered from on a daily basis, having something that could improve his mood was something he welcomed with open arms.
Breaking through the 100K barrier on Twitter was surreal for Karim. After all, when he first got his start on the social media platform, he wasn’t thinking about follower counts at all. He was mostly looking to have a good time and take his mind off of the illnesses he had to focus all too much on in real life.
Improving his mental health has been one of the benefits of maintaining an active presence on Twitter. This social media platform sometimes gets a bad rap due to Twitter fueds and all sorts of political drama. However, it is what you make it, and Karim has decided to make it something that can make him laugh, as well as something that lets him stay in touch with his friends.
Karim’s teenage years have been anything but a walk in the park. Getting diagnosed with a highly-rare digestive disease called eosinophilic gastroenteritis was not easy to deal with at the age of 10. It also was challenging to live with esophagitis at such a young age as well. If that wasn’t all enough, living with a disease that affects his mitochondria was another blow to having a normal teen life. All of this compounded can take quite a toll on someone.
As someone who inspires others suffering from rare illnesses to improve their own mental health. Karim has become a bit of an inspiration to others. Having a large platform allows him to connect with others who may be suffering in similar ways to him. They get to see that Twitter can be a tool to improve your mental health, especially if living a normal life is challenging.
You can follow Karim on his Twitter page @voecs.
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