TikTok Said I Have Anxiety
The Plague of TikTok Diagnosis on Mental Health
“Welcome to counseling. I can’t wait to get to know you and walk this journey of healing with you!”
“Don’t worry. Tiktok has already told me that I have OCD and likely a personality disorder, so really I just need you to tell me how to fix that.”
TikTok diagnosis. The newest craze and epidemic plaguing teens and young adults nationwide. As TikTok has grown, so too has the niche of psychTok – channels that provide “mental health” diagnoses. Many of these channels claim expertise in the field of psychology or therapy. They list out symptomatology of mental health disorders that are vague enough that vulnerable populations can connect to them. On the surface this cam seem like a helpful tool. In reality it is causing a large subset of our population to believe that they are experiencing serious mental health concerns. In turn they then take those labels on as their identities.
Since COVID, the usage of social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have risen by 180% amongst 18-25 years olds. In addition, this demographic is also experiencing a large uptick in feelings of isolation and anxiety. Pair this with increasing awareness on the importance of mental health and you have a recipe for the perfect influential target. Social media “influencers” are praying on these individuals by providing them a relief from their loneliness. This comes as a titled diagnosis and a perceived connection to others – the idea that they are “not alone”.
In practice, the idea of bringing connectedness and relief to clients is part of the long term goal of all therapists. However, TikTok diagnosing is taking away a key component – human variation and perspective. When clients come to my office and tell me that TikTok diagnosed them with xyz, the first thing I do is ask them what about that diagnosis they connected with. Most teens and young adults have connections to 2-3 defining components of a disorder. However, they don’t actually “qualify” for a diagnosis. Furthermore, the things that TikTok is taking away is the fact that we are all living a unique human experience. Resources like the DSM-V provide educated and licensed professionals a guideline to help clients work through their own experiences and the behavior that derived from the cognitive impacts of such. Key word: guideline.
While I would love to see this trend disappear completely, the reality of our ever growing virtual world is that this problem isn’t going anywhere. Therefore, it is more important than ever that we become increasingly aware of the limitations on these platforms. Understanding that TikTok and other social media cannot stand in for the highly trained service that therapists provide. Becoming aware of the subliminal, subconscious, and blatant attempts to influence and change the perspective of the vulnerable. Working to use caution when engaging with content. And ultimately, recognizing that no virtual, highly influenced experience can truly stand in for human experience, connection, and knowledge.
If you or someone you know is struggling with the impacts of social media on mental health or inclined to TikTok diagnosing, turn to Anchored Hope Counseling in Kannapolis, NC. Anchored Hope Counseling provides a wide range of therapy services from couples counseling to personal one-on-one sessions. View a list of our offerings online, or schedule a consultation today. If you liked these tips remember to subscribe to our weekly blog for more news and insights.
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Discovering Healing at the Root
A reflection on why we should do the hard work to heal
By Meghan Ray, March 13 2024
Instant Gratification
When we look at today’s society, we see an influx in taking the easy way out. We are living in the generation of “right now” with instantaneous access to everything. You can google the name of that one guy in that one movie in a matter of seconds. I can have anything from books, clothing, groceries, and a Dunkin latte delivered in a matter of minutes. You no longer wait a week for the next episode of your favorite show to drop. Rather you binge an entire series in a matter of a few days. I can even “search find” a phrase of the bible in our ever handy bible apps instead of searching through the text firsthand. Instant gratification, contentment, happiness and knowledge. Everything happens right now and when I want. The time of waiting, working, and devoting time and energy, no longer defines our society.
Application to Therapy
As a therapist, I see this in no better example than in the demand for instantaneous “healing” from our traumas, anxieties, depression, stressors – whatever is plaguing our mental health. We are all looking for a magical phrase or tactic that will change our lives and our emotions overnight. What’s difficult in working with a “right now” society is that healing is not instantaneous. Healing is hard, long, time consuming, and frustrating. It is only when we give it that time and hard work, that we actually get to the root of our problems and heal in a long term substantial way.
The Problem in Mental Health?
One of the biggest issues, to me, in the mentality of wanting right now healing, is the immediate turn to medication. While medication has a time and place in some situations, the chronic referral to medicate to address mental health is on the rise. We are living in the most medicated society of any other developed nation. Why? Because when I have a pill I can take each morning to “fix” my emotions and feelings, then I don’t have to do all the leg work therapy entails. I am “instantaneously” healed. Let me emphasize that there is nothing wrong with medication – it is a very useful tool to help regulate brain chemistry so that clients can be stable enough to do the leg work of therapy. However, when we are only pushing for medication and not therapy we are doing a disservice to our clients and their long term growth.
Turn from Shortcuts
It is in my nature as a therapist to turn my nose down to shortcuts in healing. Shortcuts don’t help us find the things that are plaguing our personal and generational problems. They don’t help us find coping skills and strategies to address these problems long term. Shortcuts don’t help us face the things that are difficult for us and make us grow within that uncomfortably. So whether you have been dealing with mental health issues for years or it something that has just come on to your radar, ask yourself – will instant gratification get me to long term happiness? Will taking the shortcut help me become and sustain the person I want to be?
If you or someone you know has gotten to the point that you are ready to heal from the root and promote a lifetime of sustained stability, turn to Anchored Hope Counseling in Kannapolis, NC. Anchored Hope Counseling provides a wide range of therapy services from couples counseling to personal one-on-one sessions. View a list of our offerings online, or schedule a consultation today. If you liked these tips remember to subscribe to our weekly blog for more news and insights.
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