Ninja on his break from streaming and the importance of mental health
NinjaTyler ‘Fortnite streamer missed him for almost two weeks, with the American explaining to his audience why he had to take an extended break away from the platform.
Following the release of Fortnite, Ninja, already a popular streamer, quickly became one of the most recognizable figures on the streaming platform, and gaming at large, regularly drawing in tens of thousands of viewers to watch his gameplay.
In July, Ninja headed down to Los Angeles to attend the NFL Player Social Summit, and while he intended to stream occasionally when he was in California, he chose not to and took time away, explaining his reasoning in his return stream on July 18.
Ninja explained why he needed a break from streaming.Ninja revealed that he would have been able to use the Red Bull studios to stream from, but chose not too because he wasn’t feeling like it.
“Red Bull has a hook up for me where I can go stream in a little studio by them,” said the 28-year-old. “Every day when the question came up, I was like ‘nah’.”
Ninja continued: “I always missed streaming. I missed gaming, I I love gaming, gaming is my life.”
“I found myself sitting around some days doing nothing, but it almost felt better than – I definitely don’t way to say forcing myself to stream – but my last five streams before I left were pretty horrible man. They were all insanely toxic, the chat was bad.”
Ninja went on to explain how these kind of things can wear on him, especially when they keep happening over a long period of time, and that he needed to take some time away to refresh.
The former Halo pro explained: “I know ‘Don’t let the hate get you down.’ It’s one of those things where when it happens for months, the same stuff over and over again, that’s the stuff that wears and tears you down. Some of the dumbest things, but after eight months I need a break.”
“Just necessary man,” concluded the Twitch sensation. “It’s just necessary when you’re feeling overwhelmed or you feel like you’re just stuck in a loop to break out of it. Mental health man, you’ve got to take care of yourself first, always.
“I just spent every day with my wife, saw my closest friends out in California and met a bunch of new people.
While many may look at livestreaming as the perfect job, being in the limelight and in front of an audience all day, every day, can take a toll on content creators, especially if they feel that their chat isn’t behaving how they would like.
For Ninja, the stress of being one of Twitch’s biggest stars had clearly been weighing for him, so the chance to visit friends and take a break from streaming appears to have been the perfect opportunity for him to recharge his batteries.