SENIOR CARE
British grandma goes viral on TikTok for advice on anxiety
12/10/24, 8:18 AM
A video of a 95-year-old British grandmother giving mental health advice has gone viral on TikTok.
Christine Symes, 95, was sharing words of wisdom and encouraging her granddaughter Christina, 30, to take life one step at a time and stay present.
She was quoted as saying in the video: "Look at yourself in the mirror, wash your face, put your makeup on, put your clothes on and then say, 'What must I do next? I must have a little breakfast,' or 'I must have a cup of tea, and then I will start to do this little thing that needs doing.'"
"You're not going to worry about anything else but that at that moment," she continued. "And then when you've done that, you think, 'I'm dressed. I've got some makeup on. I've done that task it's taken me two hours or three hours. I need a cup of tea in the cafe and the gallery. I'll go there and have it. That's my reward and I deserve it.'"
"'I deserve it because I've done those things, and I can take pride in the fact you've done them. Never mind about what else has happened years ago, what's going to happen in the future," Christine adds.
Although the video was recorded the previous year, Christina rediscovered it while looking through old photos. Then she decided to upload it to TikTok.
"I just thought [it was] such a nice message," Christina told PEOPLE. "Maybe some of my followers and friends might like to see it because I see a lot of negativity online. So I just decided to upload it one evening and didn't think much of it."
The next day, the video unexpectedly went viral.
It has since generated over four million views.
Christina shared that many people messaged her on TikTok, expressing gratitude for her grandma's advice and sharing how it resonated with them. Some even mentioned it reminded them of their mothers or grandmothers.
The now-viral grandmother, who doesn't own a cellphone, said she was happy that her words had a positive impact on others.
"If anything I've ever said actually helped somebody to get up and see the sun shining and saying, 'I will get dressed today. I will go out, I'll contact my friend' — that's good."