EricReacts
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Considering changes
🕑 Added 2025-04-13 06:36:25 +0000 UTCHi everyone! Hope you're all doing okay. Sorry I haven't responded to many comments or messages recently. I've been really struggling the last few weeks. I played a video game that was such a good representation of depression that it made me realize I have it again (I'll loop back to that). We had a cancer scare in the family (everything eventually turned out fine but it was months before we got an answer), I had some unrelated anxiety, and am going through some heartbreak right now, so I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.
In some of the free time I've had, I've been reflecting on what effect this channel has had on my mental state and what I can do to help make it better for me. Few things.
1. When I start videos, I put on an energetic face to intro what I'm about to react to, even if I'm not feeling great. Once I start watching the actual video, I'm engaged enough that it will lighten my mood, so my reactions will stay the same. But I think it'll be less taxing and more real to start videos with my actual emotional state instead of like YouTube mode "WELCOME BACK." And if I'm feeling bad and something I watch actually cheers me up, or vice versa, that's probably more compelling too.
2. The thing that is most time consuming for me at the moment is doing the commentary for things I react to. When I started the channel I was adamant about doing it even though it was bad for the algorithm (a lot of people click off after the reaction part so it leaves bad metrics for retention) and talking about issues I find important (like trans rights, income inequality, etc.) was the main source of the hateful comments I got. Over time though, I think it's worn me down? And I find that a lot of the time I'm just recapping a lot of what happened in each episode/film and I don't think that's all that useful. I'm thinking of possibly pausing more during my reactions if I have something to say and then just doing a more off the cuff thing at the end. That would be a huge time and energy saver. It would probably free me up to react to more things, but the main thing is it would give me the ability to do what I've actually wanted to do for years which is...
3. Video essays. Probably just short ones to start and we'll see where we go from there, but at this point I'd much rather focus in on the particulars of shows/movies/games than just giving a big old recap/review at the end of each reaction video. These would probably be pretty infrequent due to the time and effort they'd take and I'd likely put them on a new channel. And to loop back to what I started this post with, one topic I'd like to make a video essay about is the game that made me realize I have depression again.
...the use of phrase "loop back" is something only my editor will get while she reads through this the first time cuz she knows the game is about time loops :P
The game is called In Stars and Time. The game looks like it has a rather simple visual style but things get wild later and the writing is fantastic throughout.
Let me know what your thoughts are about these possible changes.
Comments
Eric Reacts
Yeah, those are some things I did in therapy the last time and I've been applying them this time around!
hydrosnowstormlock
Hi Eric, that's great you've been reflecting! 1. I've watched/listened to a lot of podcasts in which they do this, and it comes off as authentic and relatable. So I don't think the energetic intro is essential at all, and embracing your emotional state at the time can make it better in many ways. 2. I always appreciate your ending commentary and how you comment on things you missed the first time through. However, I see it as more of a bonus thing that I can appreciate, rather than an essential part of the format. Pausing at moments and doing an off-the cuff ending sounds like a great compromise, and it might be more engaging than having the scripted part at the end. 3. Video essays I think are a great way to express your thoughts and creativity. You could also do like ad-hoc videos about topics you care about, and reference things you've learned from all the things you've reacted to. Have you tried gratitude journaling or mindfulness exercises? They won't cure depression by themselves but they can help with lots of things.
Supermonaman
Hey, Eric if doing this stuff will be better for your mental health go for it. I think your mental health is more important then the content anyway & doing this will probably make the videos better as well. If you are just doing the same thing in your videos just doing the discussion during the episode then it doesn’t make a difference to me. Also it would be cool if it let you react to more stuff at some point like the best show ever Attack on Titan far into the future. Oh yeah, are you considering reacting to the MHA spin off Vigilantes at some point? Because it’s great. As always I love your videos & keep up the great work. :-) <3
