Public Opinion: Tik Tok and the Rise of Self Diagnosis

Disclaimer: I have posted on Tik Tok once two years ago before I realized it wasn’t really my scene. I have seen a handful of videos taken from Tik Tok and posted on Youtube. Those are really the videos I am referencing in this post.

I think anyone who spends a substantial amount of time watching Tik Tok videos (especially those made by the late teens/ early twenties demographic) will agree that mental illness is a popular theme in these videos. Tik Tokers love nothing more than to diagnose themselves with a number of mental disorders including (but not limited to) ADHD, autism, Tourette’s and OCD. Of course alot of these Tik Tokers are misrepresenting symptoms and how they manifest in people. Yes, that’s right people will actually fake tics for the camera (for those who don’t know tics are involuntary and repetitive muscle movements or repeating a word or phrase). This brings me to one of my biggest gripes with Tik Tok (not to mention it is a manifestation of the communist Chinese who are sitting real pretty right now based on how stupid our youth looks): it is glorifying mental illness. These are kids who want attention. And right now they are getting it because unless you have a mental illness yourself or know someone who does it can be hard to tell the difference. 

This might not be a popular opinion but I don’t really care: I hate when people self-diagnose themselves or (worse) ask me instead because they know that I have been diagnosed by a professional (we could call that a secondhand diagnosis). There is nothing wrong with asking a friend what they think especially if you happen to be close but if you are that worried I urge you to seek professional help. I’m not going to be useful. I don’t know how to conduct therapy for someone else. I can’t prescribe meds. If you need assistance you need to go to someone who can help you. But back to Tik Tok.

I see all these young faces coming clean about their self-diagnosis. These must be the worst actors I’ve ever seen. They are confessing they have a life altering illness that makes daily functioning difficult. Yet they look a little….proud? Excited? Like this is some fun adventure, a cool ride they are boarding. Then they begin misrepresenting symptoms to the point that it is almost funny. It’s like sketch comedy except these people just have no idea what they are talking about. Again, I am not making fun of people who are genuinely worried they have a mental illness. If you feel there is something “wrong” please seek out help. If your parents are not an option talk to a teacher or a guidance counselor. 

One very popular condition on Tik Tok is DID, dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. The kids on Tik Tok have a lot of fun with this, creating different “alters” and switching between alters in as little as three seconds. It’s usually pretty obvious to anyone with deduction skills that the Tik Toker’s are pulling alters out of their ass. It gets to the point that I’m almost embarrassed for them. The thing about DID is that it is very rare and there is still some speculation about if it is even real. But the rarer the better on Tik Tok.

I still think that fabricating mental illness for likes is wrong. As someone who has suffered since age eight, I write about my experiences to help others and yes, to relieve myself so  I’m not just screaming into the void. I think the more we encourage this and buy into the angsty teenage shit the more we damage our society. No you don’t have four personalities. No that tic isn’t real. Just go home, sit down and be happy with the way you are.