Words by Lucy Beetson
Have you ever found yourself scrolling through TikTok, thinking you’ll only watch one video, and before you know it, you’ve spent hours on the app? Or maybe you’ve noticed that your For You page is constantly showing you content that seems eerily accurate to your interests and personality. Trust me, you’re not alone. As a fellow TikTok addict, I know just how easy it is to fall down the rabbit hole and lose track of time. Lately, though, I’ve been feeling conflicted about a trend that my TikTok-addicted friends and I have noticed on the platform. Videos surfacing that claim to identify various mental health conditions, such as “signs you might have ADHD” or “if you put more than 6 fingers down, you probably have OCD” were, for a while, a common feature of the ÔÇÿfypÔÇÖ. Being forgetful, procrastinating, binge eating, overspending, losing things, and zoning out are common occurrences for many people (including myself!), however, according to TikTok they are also signs that you have ADHD, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and excessive anxiety. The danger is that this may not necessarily be the case for every viewer despite them ÔÇ£having the signsÔÇØ. Despite not being sure of how accurate or helpful these TikToks really are in diagnosing mental health issues, they do have the potential to really boost and raise awareness about different mental health conditions.┬á┬á
Talking about mental health and giving it the recognition that it has so often not got, helps normalise the conversations around mental health. Not only does open up opportunities to break down stigmas and the embarrassment or shame around mental health but, it also gives people the space to better understand and reflect on their own behaviours and perhaps help them seek support. For many people, TikTok has become a space where they can relate and discuss their experiences and why should this be any different for mental health issues? ItÔÇÖs a place where communities and support networks can form and by connecting with others who have similar struggles, we can find comfort and validation for our feelings and behaviours. Perhaps it is in the 7th finger you put down that in a sigh of relief you think ÔÇÿthank god I’m not the only oneÔÇÖ or maybe it’s more of an ÔÇÿaha! It all makes sense nowÔÇÖ moment or it could even be that you are just happy to have finally put all your fingers down for a TikTok video…but ultimately, itÔÇÖs the sense that you are normal and not alone in your habits that these videos seem to somehow offer us a sense of realness and legitimacy.┬á But is this just another TikTok trend that has no real basis? Is this sense of realness and legitimacy an undermining fa├ºade that instead of helping mental health issues, presents us with the risk of false self-diagnoses?┬á
TikTok trends go as fast as they come so it’s only natural to question whether these attempts at diagnosing mental health issues are actually legit or just another passing fad. I mean, it’s great that we’re creating environments where we can talk about mental health more openly, but I feel relying on social media to self-diagnose could potentially pose risks to people. I mean, let’s be honest, we’re not all medical experts and we could easily misinterpret symptoms or jump to conclusions based on a video we saw on TikTok. Scrolling through TikTok and being inevitably sucked in by its algorithm means that it’s so easy to find yourself pulled into a For You page of reoccurring videos about vague symptoms that could apply to just about anyone. It’s kind of like visiting a psychic who tells you that something good will happen to you in the next year… you pin anything good that year to be what your psychic was talking about, only this could have you spiralling. I like to binge on food sometimes, do I have ADHD? I forgot where I put my keys, maybe I have BPD, I zoned out of my lecture today, is it because IÔÇÖve got dissociation disorder? Personally, if anything, I’ve found that self-diagnosing through these TikToks has caused more anxiety than it has helped. I can’t even begin to imagine how, for some people, this could be really damaging in its potential to worsen already underlying mental health issues. This is not forgetting how the oversimplification of mental health issues can drive viewers to believe that these conditions are straightforward and easily identifiable. This reinforcement of oversimplified stereotypes can ultimately make it more difficult for people struggling with these issues to feel understood.┬á
The reality is that mental health issues are much more complex and just cannot be explained in a 30-second video about a few ambiguous ÔÇ£signs”. Whilst these videos can help normalise mental well-being talks and create a supportive space for people, I don’t think they are without their downfalls of self-diagnoses, spiralling and reattaching stereotypes and stigmas. All in all, it’s definitely important to be mindful of the potential downsides of these trends and to seek professional help if we’re experiencing any mental health concerns.┬á┬á
If you or anyone you know are struggling with mental health issues, please click here for support and helplines.