India Walker-Flynn had amassed almost 150,000 followers on the social media site and she used her platform to raise awareness of mental health.
The 20 year old began struggling with self harm as a teenager and had previously spent a year on a specialist ward, her inquest heard.
Whilst she was an inpatient at Elmleigh Hospital, Havant, she was found with a non-suspension ligature around her neck and passed away from her injuries five days later.
Speaking after the inquest concluded earlier this week her mother Victoria Walker hit out at the care she had received and said she was ‘more than a Tik Tok handle’.
‘We believe that India’s unfettered access to social media whilst in hospital greatly hindered her chances of effective recovery,’ she said.
‘We were also horrified to learn that staff also joined in making videos with patients whilst on the ward, which was grossly unprofessional in our opinion.
‘India received some exceptionally vile, hateful messages to her social media posts, and we believe this must have negatively impacted her.
‘It is now common knowledge how harmful the effects of social media can be, and for this to not be taken seriously by the very people who were meant to keep her safe, is a horrifying thought.’
Using the online name The Bluebell System, India kept her audience updated about the 11 dissociative identity disorder ‘alters’ she claimed to have – multiple different personalities she believed she was experiencing.
Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a condition where someone feels that they have different identities that can take over their mind, some people refer to the individual identities as ‘alters’ and all of them together as a ‘system’.
India did not have an official diagnosis of DID but she was diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) and C-PTSD.
On October 16, 2022, she was found in her bathroom by nurse Marilise Lockyer with the ligature around her neck, the alarm was raised and CPR performed, although the compressions were too shallow, before she was taken to the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, Hants.
CT scans at the hospital showed swelling on her brain and doctors thought the likelihood of recovery was low. India did not regain consciousness and she passed away on October 21, 2021.
Giving evidence at Winchester Coroner’s Court, Hants, India’s mother Victoria said she was ‘sceptical’ of the conditions her daughter claimed to have online and said she was worried her social media use was not monitored properly by the NHS hospital caring for her.
Mrs Walker said: ‘India was always popular on social media but her content changed from discussing music to discussing physical and mental health in the name of awareness.
‘I was sceptical of her DID diagnosis.
‘In November 2020 I was contacted by India’s care co-ordinator, I told her I was worried about her social media use.
‘They did not appreciate the impact of her social media usage on her health.’
