Social Media, a Reliable Source for Mental Health?

One of the things I admire about the conversations we’re having online about mental health is the absolute vulnerability and openness people demonstrate when they talk about their experiences on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. And while much stigma and shame still shroud acknowledging a personal struggle with mental health for many, the number of personal testimonies I watch on social media are doing WORK to break down these barriers and encourage others to seek help. In the mix of all this positive discourse about mental health, however, is also a lot of misinformation floating around. I see it focused mainly on topics like anxiety, depression, and even personality disorders.

Sometimes during a first session in my private practice, I’ll hear that a person is concerned about their mental health because of symptoms they’ve read online and personally identified with. I think it’s great that social media has given people the language to describe what they’re feeling day-to-day, but it’s done little to caution that information shared may not be wholly credible, accurate, and especially not for diagnostic purposes. Clinicians will do their due diligence to explore and assess your symptoms to help us (and you) better understand what’s going on, but I like to go a step further and educate my clients that experiencing symptoms of a mental health disorder doesn’t inherently mean you have a disorder. And if folks are experiencing persistent symptoms that negatively impact functioning, we’re here to help you understand and work through that too.

So, the next time you’re scrolling endlessly, pause and reflect if you find yourself ticking all the boxes on a post titled “5 signs you have [insert diagnosis here]!!” It could very well be that you’re ticking off each box because those experiences are normal, valid, and human. Ask yourself why you identify with the post, if the symptoms are currently a problem for you, and then bring them up to your trusted clinician to discuss in depth.