Famed for his appearance on Embarrassing Bodies, Dr Christian Jessen has fast become one of the nation's most loved medical professionals on television. Despite his passion to "educate" the public through an entertainment format, the 39-year-old has revealed the negative impact he has received through social media.
During an exclusive chat with HELLO! Online, the TV star opened up about the pressures he deals with online trolls after being hit with various negative comments on Twitter.
"I tell myself that everybody gets it," he explained frankly. "I'll be honest, it's actually quite hard. Especially when it's a personal attack. People just tell me, 'Oh, don't read them.' But it doesn't really work that way, we have all read stuff that we shouldn't have.
© Photo: Getty ImagesEmbarrassing Bodies star Dr Christian has opened up about the pressures of social media
"I've dealt with comments by engaging with people because usually behind the negativity there's usually a false belief, they think I've done something that I haven't done or said something which I believe I haven't said. The way to handle it is to grow a very thick skin, something I have had to do."
The openly-gay media personality believes the best way to deal with such comments is to confront the person behind it so he can incite an online discussion.
"Lots of people have said to me that I shouldn't engage in it on Twitter, but I suppose if you want an open discussion or deal with a point of view you think is very wrong, you should give people with negative comments a platform," he admitted. "It allows us to hear what they are saying and then it can be confronted. Otherwise, it just goes underground and becomes a much more sinister shipping movement.
"If someone is attacking you because they don't believe in having a vaccination, for example, then having that discussion in public is ideal, so the public can see. By doing this you can actually perhaps change people's minds who are watching from the sidelines. Slinging personal insults just doesn't get anyone anywhere to be honest."
© Photo: Getty Images"I'll be honest, it's actually quite hard," he confessed
Although being a medical professional in the public limelight has its pitfalls, Dr Christian has confessed to the sincere amount of attention he receives from the public - even if they approach him off-guard on the streets.
"It's a massive compliment in a way," the star confessed. "If a complete stranger comes up to me on the streets to trust me enough for some advice – well then that's a massive privilege. However, in the nicest possible way, I sometimes wish that they would pick their timings a little bit better."
"Sometimes, I'll be in the middle of dinner in a restaurant - with my mother - and along comes someone with a very intimate problem, and you're thinking, 'Ah this is probably not the best time,'" he said with a laugh.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe TV star believes the best way to deal with such comments is to confront the person behind it
Meanwhile, Dr Christian has teamed up with antiperspirant brand, Sure Antibacterial Odour Protection. Together, they are tackling the key issues surrounding social odour, allowing you to live life freely and keep on moving. Talking about the issue on hand, he noted: "People do come in and say they are really worried about their odour, if it's not breath then it is body odour. It is surprisingly a common complaint, it is one of those weird and wonderful things.
"Every day we either get hot and sweaty from stress, we get nervous - all of those things cause us to perspire more. It is a real issue and people do become self-conscious about it. They don't really know how to handle or talk about it."
