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When I came across a report from The Guardian indicating that more than half of the top trending mental videos on TikTok contain medical misinformation…well, let’s just say I wasn’t terribly surprised.
Social media is a breeding ground for false claims regarding health, after all. While we've had plenty of mainstream discussions about physical health misinformation on digital platforms, it's just as important that we address the real rise of misguided mental health content.
While The Guardian’s findings focus primarily on TikTok videos (including some that platform bizarre, unfounded claims — see: The idea that eating an orange in the shower can reduce anxiety), mental health misinformation exists across other social platforms as well.
In order to set the record straight, we caught up with psychologist Terri Bacow, Ph.D., who shares her insights on mental health misinformation on social media, and what we should remember as we wade through it.
Misconceptions about mental health are alive and well online
If you've ever come across a post from a creator who says, "Yoga is great for my mental health" or "Getting dressed and doing my makeup every morning cured my postpartum depression," you might be feeling like those lifestyle hacks are all it takes.
That can be a dangerous trap that leaves you stuck in a cycle where nothing ever improves.
“In general, there are several misconceptions about mental health that are populating social media,” says Dr. Bacow. “One is the idea that mental health challenges can easily be overcome with simple hacks or tricks. For example, social media promotes the idea that people can overcome real problems by thinking positively, journaling, or meditating. While these are helpful tools, they are not always helpful in isolation and are best used under guidance of a trained therapist.”
Social media simplifies complicated conditions
Sometimes, seeing someone detail their experience on social media can lead to an “aha” moment — you recognize your own symptoms in their story, and you begin to gain a sense of what you’re experiencing.
That’s a powerful thing, but the reality is that both mental and physical health conditions are complex. They don’t always present one specific way, and they can’t always be resolved in a specific way either.
“Mental health issues are complex and require sensitivity and care,” says Dr. Bacow.
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Social media has us pathologizing regular emotions
We all feel nervous from time to time, but that doesn’t mean we all have an anxiety disorder. We all feel emotionally low from time to time, but that doesn’t mean we are living with depression.
“A [major] misconception is that ‘everyone’ has a little bit of anxiety, trauma, ADHD or OCD and that you can diagnose yourself online,” says Dr. Bacow.
“Many accounts suggest that certain specific emotions may be the sign of something bigger or larger,” she adds. “These are uninformed opinions that do not reflect psychological science. For example, while fatigue may be a sign of depression, it could also be that you are not getting enough sleep…social media makes very normal, everyday experiences sound so much worse.”
You can’t diagnose yourself based on what you see online
The rise of “self-diagnosed” conditions is here, and social media plays a major role in this.
“The DSM-IV requires an individual to meet numerous specific criteria over a specific time period, with a single emotion (i.e. sadness, difficulty concentrating, irritability) being insufficient to be categorized as depression,” says Dr. Bacow.
So yes, social media content may make you feel seen where mental health is concerned — but you can’t diagnose yourself because someone on TikTok’s description of their depressive symptoms hits home.
What you can do, however, is visit a licensed mental health professional who can assess and potentially diagnose you.
Self-diagnosis, though? It’s just not a good idea.
“Diagnosing oneself online is very dangerous because it may lead to a false or inaccurate understanding of yourself based on tools that are not valid or reliable,” says Dr. Bacow. “For example, if you decide you have depression based on a random online assessment, you may begin to skip work or stop attending social events because you believe yourself to be depressed, when you are merely having a hard week.”
Self-diagnosis can also impede your ability to seek out appropriate treatment. While lifestyle modifications can play a role in mental health care, they are not a replacement for therapy, medication, or other expert-guided treatments.
Misinformation about mental health treatment abounds
Maybe a creator you follow says that “incorporating sunlight and movement via daily mental health walks” pulled her out of depression. In reality? Those things may feel nice, but they’re not mental health treatments. And what that creator was experiencing may very well have been run-of-the-mill sadness rather than clinical depression.
“A mental health walk could be a nice step to take to improve your mood on a given day, but it is not a wise thing to suggest to someone who is struggling with depression, especially if it is suggested that going on this walk would be a ‘fix’, says Dr. Bacow. “Similarly, suggesting that a person take certain kinds of popular supplements to treat anxiety has no scientific basis. Many, if not all, of these suggested lifestyle modifications are not evidence-based, have no research support, and are woefully inadequate for helping people with real mental health conditions.”
Misusing therapeutic language is another real issue
On social media, words like “gaslighting”, “narcissist”, “triggered”, and “trauma” are everywhere. And, according to the expert, they’re frequently misused in a way that waters down the real meaning of these terms.
“This is a growing concern,” says Dr. Bacow. “Social media often takes complex therapeutic language and oversimplifies or misuses it.”
Social media has blurred the line between mental health and personal comfort
Listen, we’ve all been there: We’ve committed to plans and when the time rolls around, we simply don’t feel up to sticking to those plans. We may be tempted to chalk up our cancellation to “protecting our mental health”...but that isn’t quite an accurate statement.
“Social media discourse around mental health has promoted an idea that one's personal comfort is an overwhelming priority and that it would be dangerous to do anything that might even minimally affect one's well-being,” says Dr. Bacow.
“I always tell my clients, ‘There is a fine line between avoidance and self-care.’ It is important to take care of yourself, truly. However, it is also important to be mindful whether you are avoiding a person or situation to escape an opportunity for growth or challenge just because it might feel uncomfortable,” she adds. “It can be optimal, for example, to take a single mental health day or two to manage genuine burnout. It would be a different story to take an entire week off work (notwithstanding vacations) to ‘protect’ your mental health. I do think these days mental health is misunderstood by many people on social media as a way to justify escaping a difficult or uncomfortable experience.”
Zara Hanawalt is a freelance journalist and mom of twins. She's written for outlets like Parents, MarieClaire, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Motherly, and many others. In her (admittedly limited!) free time, she enjoys cooking, reading, trying new restaurants, and traveling with her family.