“Reading Rainbow” host Mychal Threets shared an update on his mental health weeks after he announced he was checking into a hospital to seek more intensive medical help for mental health issues.
In a recent Instagram post, shared on World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, Threets, 36, opened up about feeling like 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 popular TikTok librarian told his 1 million followers.
“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,” Threets continued, before noting that he’s “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.”
Mychal Threets, who started hosting the “Reading Rainbow” reboot in October 2025, has been open with his fans about his mental health struggles.
Leigh Vogel via Getty Images
Wrapping up his message, Threets said, “I want to see you at the library, at the bookstore, in the world where we all belong. 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.”
He then deeply thanked his fans, adding, “Thank you for staying. We’re still here.”
Threets received an outpouring of support when he told his fans in August that he was seeking medical treatment.
“I am not okay. Maybe I’ll never be okay. I’m seeking help,” Threets wrote in an Aug. 17 Threads post. “Going to the hospital tomorrow. In this moment I am safe. By God’s grace.”
The beloved librarian, who hosts the “Reading Rainbow” reboot, continued, “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.”
Threets later shared an update after his five-day psychiatric stay at the hospital.
“I just wanted to apologize for worrying so many people,” he said in a video clip shared to Threads on Aug. 22. “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.”