Reading Rainbow host Mychal Threets is sharing an update on his mental health, admitting he believes he is “running out of time.”
“People keep on saying, ‘Michael, I’m glad to see you’re doing well. I’m glad to see you’re OK.’ But I’m not doing well. I’m not OK. But I believe that’s OK, because I’m trying my best,” the TikTok-famous librarian said in an Instagram video on Saturday, October 10, to mark World Mental Health Day.
Threets, 36, continued, “My brain is very loud. My feelings are very big. I believe I am running out of time. I don’t know how much time I have left. But I’m going to keep on trying to find joy each and every day. No matter what happens, I believe joy is out there for me. Joy is there for you. I am going to pursue joy relentlessly with all the time I have left. I don’t know what tomorrow has in store; I haven’t met tomorrow yet, but I have hope.”
“I want to see you at the library, at the bookstore, in the world where we all belong,” he went on. “I want to stay. I’m trying to stay. I am asking for help. I am asking for joy. I am seizing hope I’m on a journey to OK, to keep on to tomorrow, each and every day. I’m trying to stay, and I’m thankful for you. Thank you for trying. Thank you for staying. We’re still here.”
In August, Threets sparked concern with a cryptic Threads post announcing that he was seeking medical treatment.
“I am not okay. Maybe I’ll never be okay. I’m seeking help. Going to the hopital [sic] tomorrow. In this moment I am safe. By God’s grace,” he wrote at the time. “No matter what happens to me I will always be thankful for the extraordinary people in my life who worry, who help me. Thank you for your care. I will always love you. 💚”
Later that month, Threets updated his fans and followers on his well-being, revealing that he had completed a psychiatric hold for his mental health.
“I just wanted to apologize for worrying so many people,” Threets said in a video shared via Threads on August 22. “I just got back from a five-day stay at the hospital, a five-day psychiatric hold. I haven’t been OK for what feels like a very, very long time. I am not OK. But I have hope that I will get to OK.”
He continued, “I’m on the struggle bookmobile. It’s gonna take a long time for me to be OK. It’s going to take a long time, but I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ to the multitude of doctors, nurses and mental health workers I saw — it’s not enough, but thank you, you saved my life.”
Threets has hosted Reading Rainbow since it relaunched on YouTube in October 2025. The popular children’s program initially aired on PBS from 1983 to 2006 and was hosted by LeVar Burton.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
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