Inuk TikToker Shina Nova speaks out for the first time since suicide attempt (VIDEO)
Editor’s note: This article mentions and discusses suicide and depression.
Popular TikToker Shina Novalinga, aka Shina Nova, is back on social media after a battle with depression led to a suicide attempt last year.
The Inuk content creator, who’s known for amplifying Inuit representation in the media, opened up about her experience in a video posted to Instagram and TikTok on Monday.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time now and have a lot of things to say,” she says in the video. “A few months ago, I posted on my socials that I almost ‘un-alived’ myself, and it was a tough year.”
Novalinga says that on November 1, 2022, she was sent to the hospital for undisclosed problems with her liver for about a week.
“It wasn’t the first or last time I’ve tried this,” she explained. “I was in serious need of help. Luckily, I had my friends and my family by my side.”
The Montreal social media star, who has over six million followers on TikTok and Instagram combined, shared a vulnerable Instagram photo of herself in a hospital bed last December.
View this post on Instagram
In her first post since the suicide attempt, Novalinga expressed how all of the love and support she received last year got her through the tough times.
“Never would have thought to be here today,” she wrote in the caption. “Mental illness is real, and you are not fighting this alone.”
Novalinga says she’s been focussing on her mental health and learning how to balance her life and how to love herself again.
“One of the things I love doing is sharing my culture with all of you, so I can’t wait to get back to it and enter a new chapter,” she said. “Thank you all again for being by my side, for sharing your love and support.”
View this post on Instagram
The TikToker went viral after posting traditional throat-singing videos of her and her mom.
“For many years, us Indigenous peoples weren’t allowed to throat sing,” the caption of one of her highest-viewed TikToks reads. “We almost lost this tradition, but today we are strong, and we throat sing for those who couldn’t.”
Since joining the video-sharing platform in June 2020 under the handle @shinanova, Novalinga has amassed 4.1 million followers by using TikTok as a conduit for cross-cultural education.
She’s spoken out against Canada’s residential school system, shared with followers how her family eats raw caribou meat and beluga whale, and even taken people along on her journey to getting her first traditional face tattoo.
If you or anyone you know is experiencing depression and suicidal thoughts, please use the following resources:
- Canada’s suicide crisis line: 988
- Talk Suicide Canada: 1.833.456.4566
- Preventing suicide: Warning signs and how to help
- Suicide crisis centre by province
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