Thank you everyone for your wishes. My cousin is doing a little better, but is still really down. I think it was likely the cumulative effect of all the passive-aggressive (and also just outright aggressive) bullshit that Hirons has been spouting and that last live was probably the final straw for her. She started following CH about a year and a half ago because she had a flareup of pretty bad acne so she was at quite a low ebb. A couple of months ago she was diagnosed with early menopause and I imagine, because she never misses a live or a story, that she's internalised all the tit Hirons projects about menopause and "old women" so when she listed to that live on (I think?) Thursday the emotional tit just hit the fan.
When I spoke to her, before I'd watched the live, I didn't realise that some of the things she was sobbing about were word for word repeats of what CH had said in that live: shrivelled ovaries, end of babies, face dropping, old woman, part of her died, etc., etc., etc. Then I watched it and the negativity was just so blatant - even if you're not vulnerable you'd leave there thinking "tit, menopause is awful and old women are wrinkly prunes!" and that's before you get to her calling her detractors traditionally elderly names such as Doris, Ethel or Margaret, etc. It just adds up over time, I guess. On top of being distraught at what her diagnosis means (no children for someone who so wanted to have a family) she said something that was just so incredibly sad: she had always wanted to have at least a small period of time where her skin would be good and she could be happy but it seems that now she's going to go straight from acne to sagging and that she must have been a terrible person to be punished like this. It really broke my heart. The saddest thing is that my cousin really is such a brilliant person but CH has managed to reduce her to believing that she's just bad skin and "shrivelled" ovaries.
We're supporting her as best as we can and her GP has been good despite limited resources, and there are some charities that can offer advice, counselling and support but on top of that we're going to advise that she has a social media break, in particular in regards to Hirons although how successful that will be is another issue - I mean, it's tricky to make me do something sometimes and I'm nearly 30 let alone someone who is only a few years into their twenties. Once again thank you for your wishes and I am so glad to have found a place that isn't all YASSS KWEEEN! #GIRLBOSS! about Hirons and her awful brand of patriarchy serving misogyny disguised as skincare expertise.