“Mental health is priority”: Fans wish Pokimane well as she announces break from streaming

Fans react to Pokimane taking a break from Twitch (Image via Sportskeeda)
Fans react to Pokimane taking a break from Twitch (Image via Sportskeeda)

Imane "Pokimane" announced a hiatus from streaming in a short but sweet note on Twitter. The Twitch superstar has been streaming for almost a decade now, becoming one of the leading online personalities. Her announcement understandably saddened her gigantic fanbase as they rushed to social media to bid her a temporary goodbye.

Pokimane cited mental health reasons and a need to take a break from her hectic streaming schedule. Creating non-stop content for months on end for her nine million followers on Twitch is a tall task. Many streamers and fans sympathized with her situation, wishing her a good holiday.

Streaming is a hectic profession as it requires a high level of focus and attention for long periods of time. Collaborative streams and IRL content require a lot of curation too. Pokimane is also one of the co-founders of the popular content group OfflineTV, adding another feather to her already illustrious cap.

Streamers and content creators (who have an idea of the stress an online career brings) praised the Canadian streamer for keeping her mental health in order. Creators such as YouTuber Daisy wisely said:

"Time off is super necessary, mental health is priority"

Well-wishers praise Pokimane for taking care of her mental health

Pokimane was born on May 14, 1996 and started streaming when she was 17. She dropped out of college to pursue streaming full-time and moved to LA for the same. With over nine million followers, she commands a vast community of fans who adore her. She also has multiple YouTube channels, with over six million subscribers to her main account.

She also traveled to Europe to meet with fans over the last weekend at TwitchCon in Amsterdam. Suffice it to say that she works hard and is justifiably worn out from regular streaming. She took to Twitter to break the news of the hiatus:

"I've been feeling in need of a mental reset & some time to focus on myself / my life offline."

She also thanked her fans for bearing with her through thick and thin, promising to come back in a better mental state:

"I'm so grateful for the support y'all have shown me over the years. Thanks for putting me in a position where I'm able to take time off this... Looking forward to coming back refreshed and ready to make more content."

Her fans and other well-wishers gathered to support her decision to take time off. A lot of streamers and content creators such as Flexinja, ethos, Ludwig, and aria felt that prioritizing mental health was a necessity in today's stressful world, lauding her decision.

Valorant streaming sensation Ethos had a good point about mental health and productivity:

"A week of work at 100% is more meaningful than a month of work at 30%"

Former OfflineTV member Aria Saki pitched in, telling Pokimane that she could use the time to travel more:

A lot of OfflineTV has been in Japan for the summer, but Pokimane opted out of the trip. However, she did visit Korea for some time this June. This is what Scarra, another OfflineTV founder, said about the break:

Many people thanked the streamer for all the hard work she puts into the stream, urging her to have a fun break to recharge her mental battery so that she may keep making amazing content:

Many fans expressed their discontent at the news of their favorite streamer's hiatus. Some replied with sad memes and emotes:

Pokimane is one of the most popular Twitch streamers right now. She was one of the few creators who featured in Ryan Reynold's famous video-game movie, Free Guy, that was released last year. Her fans, while saddened, understand the value of taking mental breaks and eagerly await her triumphant return, whenever that may be.

Quick Links