The #JustCheckingIn Movement
This project is dedicated to Karen Saywitz, who selflessly devoted her life to fight for accessible mental health treatments. She is also my mother. After her death in 2018, I set out on a personal mission to use my super-powers in building brands and social media strategy to help break down stigmas surrounding mental health treatments by starting a grassroots movement.
CHALLENGE: Two years before the Covid-19 Pandemic mental health was not discussed openly. Yet approximately 1 in 5 adults experiences mental illness in a given year, which means everyone knows someone struggling with these challenges. But why are mental health treatments still so taboo, compared to physical health?
SOLUTION: #JustCheckingIn helps normalize mental health treatments and save lives from suicide by encouraging people to reach out to loved ones who might be struggling, and those challenged by anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses to feel comfortable opening up.
RESULTS: The hashtag has already been shared by unpaid celebrities and influencers, covered by E! News, featured on BuzzFeed and viewed over 150 million times through GIFs we created that started trending on Instagram Stories. More importantly, it has helped thousands of people actively open up about mental health online—and even more people offline. People have used the hashtag to share that they are starting therapy for the first time, struggling with challenges, advocate for checking in on loved ones and initiating hard conversations using our GIFs when they didn’t know what else to say.
The project began in 2019 during Mental Health Awareness Month at a Creative Week panel I led with the intention of raising awareness for mental health using hashtag activism. Panelists included Doug Melville (Chief Diversity Officer of TBWA), Allison Raskin (mental health influencer), Lee Chernotsky (founder of ROSIES Foundation), and Elle Ginter (director who gives voice to the voiceless).
STEP ONE: Seeding the Concept on Social with the Right Voice
It was important to launch the movement with a leading voice in the fight to destigmatize mental illness. Allison Raskin is a NYT best selling author, YouTube star and podcast host studying to become a therapist. Thanks to her 250K Instagram and 110K Twitter followers, we were able to seed the concept with a wide audience already passionate about this cause. Posts tagged #JustCheckingIn prior to this launch were not unified around a single topic including the concepts of mental health or checking in on loved ones.
STEP TWO: Growing through Influential Endorsements and an Engaged Audience
Even before the pandemic, #JustCheckingIn was starting to take off. Thousands of people were using it to open up and be vulnerable about mental illness. Established brands and mental health organizations are continuing to building on the concept daily by creating their own #JustCheckingIn resources. It’s even made it onto BuzzFeed.
The Just Checking In film has 15K+ views | Claudia Restrepo is a Los Angeles-based writer, director and actor, focusing on Latinx content for BuzzFeed's Pero Like.
STEP THREE: Staying Relevant with Cultural Shifts (ie. COVID-19)
As people were asked to stay at home, a mental health crisis was in the making. It was now more important than ever to check in on loved ones, but with so much going on in our own lives, it was hard to make the time to reach out, let alone know what to say.
So in May 2020, for Mental Health Awareness Month, I made it easier and quicker than ever to let someone know you care by launching a handful of #JustCheckingIn GIFs that helped bring the concept deeper into popular culture, further removing the stigma. To create the GIFs I reached out to GIPHY Artist of the Year, Megan Motown. The #JustCheckingIn GIFs instantly began trending on GIPHY and showing up at the top of Instagram Stories GIF recommendations. The GIFs now have over 150 million views combined (not counting loops).
We’ve also inspired other designers to create their own GIFs, furthering our mission to make it easier than ever to reach out and start these difficult conversations. This led to hundreds of new GIFs added with messages like Thinking of You, I’m here for you, and Wanna Chat? The same time our GIFs were trending on Instagram, the New England Patriots shared their own Just Checking In GIF, which I assume is no coincidence.
To use the GIFs, search the term “Just Checking In“ on your mobile GIPHY keyboard, through Instagram Story GIFs, or on the GIPHY Website here.
Movements take decades to build. So while #JustCheckingIn is only in its infancy, I am surprised by its momentum and humbled by the fact that it has already been seen by millions of people. I feel proud that I turned the loss of my mother into an opportunity to impact the way we think about mental illness and possibly save lives. Thank you to the brilliant Creative Week panelist and audience who attended my event and collaborated to develop this concept. Allison Raskin (NYT best selling author) for flawlessly launching it and Megan Motown (Giphy Artist of the Year) for creating the GIFs.